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Last Reviewed: March 01, 2023

Drupal Upgrade and Migration Guides


The latest version of Drupal includes many of the familiar features and layout introduced in Drupal 8, and removes deprecated code to help improve future Drupal development.

Upgrade to the Latest Version of Drupal on the Pantheon Platform

You can upgrade your Pantheon site to the latest Drupal version. The starting point for your upgrade will vary depending on specific factors, such as:

  • Site Creation Method
    • Build Tools
    • Custom Upstream
    • Empty Upstream
    • Pantheon Dashboard
  • Additional Requirements
    • Multidev
    • Drupal version set to 8
    • Build Tools Workflow
    • Site uses the drupal-project or drupal-recommended upstream

Review the starting points below to select the correct upgrade path for your setup.

I created my site with Build Tools

Drupal + Build Tools

Use Upgrade a Site That Was Created with Build Tools to the Latest Version of Drupal to start your upgrade if you used Build Tools to create your site.

Pantheon Dashboard + Build Tools Workflow

Use Upgrade a Site That Needs a Build Tools Workflow to the Latest Version of Drupal + Build Tools to start your upgrade if you used the Pantheon Dashboard to create your Drupal site, and your site requires the Build Tools workflow.

I created my site with an Upstream

Custom Upstream

Use Upgrade a Custom Upstream to the Latest Version of Drupal to start your upgrade if you used Custom Upstream to create your Drupal site.

Empty Upstream + Multidev

Use Upgrade a Site That Was Created with an Empty Upstream to the Latest Version of Drupal to start your upgrade if you used an empty upstream to create your Drupal site, and your site uses Multidev.

Refer to Pantheon Dashboard + Multidev if you used the Pantheon Dashboard to create your Drupal site, and your site requires Multidev.

I use Multidev

Pantheon Dashboard + Multidev

Use Upgrade a Drupal Site with Multidev to the Latest Version of Drupal Using Multidev to start your upgrade if you used the Pantheon Dashboard to create your Drupal site, and your site requires Multidev.

Refer to Empty Upstream + Multidev if you used an empty upstream with Multidev to create your site.

I use Drupal 8

Pantheon Dashboard + Drupal 8

Use Upgrade a Site Created With the Pantheon Dashboard to the Latest Version of Drupal to start your upgrade if you used the Pantheon Dashboard to create your Drupal site, and your site requires the version to be set to Drupal 8.

I created my site with the Pantheon Dashboard

Pantheon Dashboard

Use Upgrade a Drupal Site to the Latest Version of Drupal to start your upgrade if you used the Pantheon Dashboard to create your Drupal site, and your site has no additional requirements such as: Multidev, Build Tools, Drupal version set to 8, or the drupal-project or drupal-recommended upstream.

Migrate From Another Platform

Developers have migrated tens of thousands of Drupal sites to Pantheon to take advantage of our WebOps workflows and platform. Composer is the optimal solution to manage packages and dependencies on Pantheon for Drupal development (Version 8+).

There are different starting points for your migration depending on your Drupal version and dependency management setup- review them below.

I use Composer

Drupal + Composer

Use Migrate a Composer Managed Drupal Site from Another Platformto start your migration if you have a Composer-managed site.

I do not use Composer

Drupal without Composer

Use Migrate a Drupal Site from Another Platform to start your migration if you have a Drupal site that does not use Composer.

Legacy Drupal

I have a legacy Drupal site

Use Migrate a Drupal Site from Another Platform to start your migration if you have a legacy Drupal site (such as Drupal 7) based on the drupal/legacy-project template or a similar non-Composer managed structure.

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