Testing Drupal Automatic Updates: A Simple Core Upgrade Process

Goran Nikolovski tested Drupal’s Automatic Updates feature two months after installing Drupal CMS for the first time. Running version 11.1.1, he manually updated to 11.1.4 using the CMS interface without prior modifications or backups, as it was a local test. The process was straightforward: clicking the upgrade button initiated a batch process, followed by a few prompts to complete the update and database changes. The update modified Composer files, requiring a Git commit to finalize. Goran found the process smooth and beneficial, particularly for site builders unfamiliar with Drupal’s backend. While he updated manually, Drupal also supports automatic background updates, which he plans to test. He noted that the Automatic Updates module only updates Drupal core, not contributed modules, and that managed hosting platforms like Acquia and Pantheon restrict code modifications, requiring updates to be pushed manually. To update contrib modules, users must enable the Automatic Updates Extensions submodule and perform updates manually.