How to upgrade local installation

Is there any way to upgrade seamlessly on my own server without using FTP?

Yes – you can simply drop the new copy of WordPress into the relevant folder and then upgrade manually using wp-admin/upgrade.php.

Hello Esmi

Thanks for your update. That sound like a manual process so I guess my question should have been phrased “Is there no way of automatically upgrading a local hosted site without FTP?

Also do i have to install something to import content from another wordpress site as I though import capability was included out of the box.

If I have to install an import tool again will i have a problem if I am not running FTP?

Is there no way of automatically upgrading a local hosted site without FTP?

That tends to depend upon your server. If yours is asking for FTP login details, then, in your case, no.

Hello

Here is what the documentation says:

“Automatic Update –

Current versions of WordPress (2.7+) feature an Automatic Update. You can launch the automatic Update by clicking the link in the new version banner (if it’s there) or by going to the Tools -> Upgrade (or Update for version 3) menu. Once you are on the “Update WordPress” page, click the button “Update Automatically” to start the process off. You shouldn’t need to do anything else and, once it’s finished, you will be up-to-date.”

This does not say anything about FTP so I guess the documentation needs to be updated for version 3.x.

I have copied over the new files as you have suggested however I cannot find wp-admin/upgrade.php. Having copied I logged back into the wordpress backend but cannot find the upgrade feature. I do not have an Upgrade option in the tools section. I entered MyServer/wordpress/wp-admin/upgrade.php in my browser and I received the following message

“No Update Required

Your WordPress database is already up-to-date!

Yet whenever I logon on I still get the message that I am on version 3.5.1 and do I want to upgrade to version 3.5.2.

How do I upgrade?

This does not say anything about FTP so I guess the documentation needs to be updated for version 3.x.

The instructions assume that WordPress is being run in a properly configured server environment – part of which can normally include access to an ftp account (which requires that you be running an ftp server).

It seems that a) you aren’t running an ftp server on your local installation and b) your WordPress files and – or – a running process is owned by something other than just your user account owner:group. That’s probably why you’re being asked for credentials.

How do I upgrade?

The upgrade procedure should be – in a nutshell – just as you’ve done. Some detailed information can be found here: Manual Update

It’s possible that you may have a plugin that’s preventing you from seeing the updated version. Did you remember to deactivate all plugins prior to the upgrade procedure?

While there may be alternatives that would allow you to perform an automatic update without the benefit of running an ftp server, it would require that you mention some details about your server environment.

Hello CJ

Thanks again for your suggestions and insights.

I checked the permissions on the wordpress folder and the owner was root not www-data as expected. I checked the other virtual hosts and they all too had root as owner. None had www-data. Should I checge the wordpress folder to have www-data as owner for increased security?

The permissions doco I reviewed stated that I should use the same permission that the web server is running under. What is the best way to tell what user my Apache2 server is running under. Is their a command to show this and where should it be run?

I manually copied all the 3.5.2 files over the old WordPress folder and copied back the moved out WP_Config.php. When I restarted I was able to complete the upgrade and then I was able to see the Network setting in the tools section and I was able to proceed with Network setup although I was not given the expected option of Host Name V’s File system configuration. Instead I go the message “the main site is a sub directory install..so I’m note sure how this will mix with my existing virtual hosts configured in the HTTPD.conf file. I was not using .htaccess files just directory section in HTTPD.config as recommended by Apache2 for those that have complete access to the whole server.

No change was made to the WP_Config.php file that would not work with 3.5.1 so I guess i will never know what was the issue with the PHP file. I did find a number of other users that seemed to have the same problem so there must be something unusual about how this file is Parsed. It might be an idea to have that entry in the sample config file but commented out reducing the possibility of syntax errors.

This issue can be closed and thanks for the assistance.