How do I upgrade Nexus Repository Manager 2?

Visit my.sonatype.com for documentation on Nexus Repository version 2.

Note: Before upgrading, back up "<work-directory>/conf" and "<work-directory>/db".  If you need to downgrade for some reason, shut down the new server, restore the "conf" and "db" directories, and start up the old Nexus Repository 2.

Basic Upgrade

Since Nexus Repository 2 separates its configuration and data storage from the application, it is easy to upgrade an existing Nexus Repository 2 installation. To upgrade Nexus Repository 2, unpack the Nexus Repository 2 archive in the directory which contains the existing Nexus installation. Once the archive is unpacked, the new Nexus Repository 2 application directory should be a sibling to your existing sonatype-work directory. If you have defined a symbolic link for the version of Nexus Repository 2 to use, change that to point at the new Nexus Repository 2 application directory. When you start the new instance of Nexus Repository 2 it will read the existing repository configuration from the <work-directory>.

Note that if you have made any changes to the following files in the application directory, you will need to manually make the same changes in the new version, we do not support copying these files from one version to another:

• <application-directory>/conf/nexus.properties
• <application-directory>/conf/jetty*.xml
• <application-directory>/bin/jsw/conf/wrapper.conf
• <application-directory>/nexus/WEB-INF/classes/ehcache.xml
• <application-directory>/conf/logback*.xml

Also, be sure to check the upgrade notes and release notes for version-specific issues which may need to be taken into consideration before upgrading.

Running as a Service

If you have been running Nexus Repository 2 as a service be sure to make sure the service is pointing to the new instance.

If you are running Nexus on Windows as a service you need to uninstall the old service and install the service from the new instance. 

Migrating Nexus to/from a different Operating System

Normally all storage paths used by Nexus Repository 2 are calculated automatically.

Nexus does provide an admin the option to explicitly override some paths, most commonly the storage locations of repositories. If these paths are explicitly set by an admin, then they will cause problems when migrating to an operating system that has a different directory structure, like when moving from Windows to Linux.

You should carefully examine your configuration files under sonatype-work/nexus/conf prior to OS migration and either remove or change these explicit paths to a suitable location matching the file system of the target system.

Upgrading from the Trial Edition of Nexus Repository 2 Professional

The procedure for upgrading from the trial edition of Nexus Repository 2 Professional is the same as any other upgrade.  Download the latest version of Nexus Repository 2 Professional, and follow the standard installation instructions.  When configuring the location of the work directory, use the one from your trial if you wish to preserve your existing configuration.