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Updating the Pioreactor software

We publish new software occasionally that fixes bugs, adds new features, and improves performance. You can update your Pioreactor(s) to the latest software from the UI, or from the command line. We highly recommend keeping your Pioreactor software up to date!

Method 1: Updating over the internet​

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To use this update method, you Raspberry Pi must be able to access the internet. Using a local access point, see method 2 below.

When a new software version is released by our team, you will see a red "badge" in your UI's sidebar:

a red badge is beside the Update link

Upon visiting the Updates page, you can see what version you have installed, and the latest version published by us. You can also read the changelog to see what improvements we've made in the latest releases.

If a release mentions Turbidostat biomass signal selection changes, see Dosing automations for the current biomass_signal behavior, override options, and migration notes.

If you'd like to update, click on the "Update to next release" button. Updating software doesn't interrupt experiments or activities, but we suggest waiting until between experiments to update.

highlight of the webpage showing what to select to update

Updating from the UI will update all the Pioreactors in your cluster.

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A cluster can be on mixed software versions temporarily while a rolling update is in progress. Version skew may expose incompatible features or APIs, so complete the update across the cluster. Adding a worker requires it to run the same software version as the leader. Update workers before changing their models through the leader.

For the 26.11.0 upgrade, update the leader and all workers together, then reload browser tabs: PWM MQTT topics and bioreactor value payloads have changed. See MQTT payloads if you maintain plugins, scripts, or experiment profile expressions that consume these values.

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The updating process will update to the next release, after your current version. So if your current version is 23.4.1, and there are two more recent releases, say 23.5.1 and 23.6.1, then the update process will update to 23.5.1. You can run the update process again to update to 23.6.1. We do this so that you will get changes folded in from each release we make.

Installing previous versions or development versions​

You can install the bleeding-edge software from this page as well. Just select the development build in the drop down. Warning: this version may be unstable (and fun!)

Similarly, from the command line, you can install specific versions. See pio update app --help for more.

Method 2: Update using a zip file and the UI​

Each time we release a new Pioreactor version, we create a bundle of the required files as a zip file. This zip file can be uploaded to your Pioreactor cluster via the UI.

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We highly recommend updating incrementally. That is, update to the next version, and continue only if it succeeds.

  1. Download the release you wish to update to:

    Select version to update to:

  2. In the UI, open Updates. In the dropdown at the top right, select Update from zip file.

Updates page dropdown with "Update from zip file" selected

  1. In the dialog, click Upload zip file.

Update from zip file dialog with the "Upload zip file" option

  1. Select the zip file from step 1 (release_xx.xx.xx.zip).

  2. Confirm the filename appears in the dialog, then click Update.

Update dialog with zip file selected and ready to update

Method 3: Update using a zip file from a USB drive​

Download the release you wish to update to:

Select version to update to:

Copy it to the root of a USB drive, attach the drive to the leader, then choose Update from USB on the Updates page. See Update software from USB for the full steps.

Method 4: Update using a zip file over scp or sftp​

  1. Download the release you wish to update to:

    Select version to update to:

  2. Copy the release archive to your leader Pioreactor. Use either option below.

    Option A: scp on the command line

    scp <path to release archive> pioreactor@<leader hostname>.local:/home/pioreactor

    Option B: FileZilla

    1. Download and open FileZilla.

    2. Make sure your computer is on the same network as the leader. If you use the leader's local access point, connect to the pioreactor Wi-Fi network first.

    3. Enter the following credentials in the top-right:

      • host: pioreactor.local (or, your <leader hostname>.local or its IP address)
      • username: pioreactor
      • password: raspberry (or the password you chose during setup)
      • port: 22

      Click Quickconnect. You should successfully connect to your Pioreactor's Raspberry Pi (and may need to accept a security pop-up).

      filezilla UI connecting to Pioreactor&#39;s Raspberry Pi

    4. On the left-hand side is your computer's file system. Find the release_xx.xx.xx.zip file you downloaded earlier, and double click it to upload to the Raspberry Pi (that filesystem is on the right). filezilla UI uploading file to Pioreactor

    5. You should see a successfully uploaded message, and the file should be present on the right-hand side now. You can close FileZilla. filezilla UI successfully uploaded file to Pioreactor

  3. SSH into your leader Pioreactor. Now enter:

    pio update app --source release_xx.xx.xx.zip

    (Of course, replace the xx.xx.xx with your version). This will kick off a task to update your software.

  4. To update your workers, first distribute the release file to all workers:

    pios cp release_xx.xx.xx.zip -y

  5. Finally, run the following to update the software on the workers:

    pios update app --source release_xx.xx.xx.zip