Pantheon release notes

Pantheon Search now supports Apache Solr 9.10.0 as a Beta for Drupal 10 and 11 sites. This is available through search_api_pantheon version 8.5.0-beta1, which supports both Solr 8 and Solr 9.

What's new?

• Added Solr 9 support.
• Solr 9 brings improved security defaults, the unified highlighter, and other enhancements. See the major changes in Solr 9 for details.
• Bumped Search API Solr version requirement to 4.3.x.

Getting started with Solr 9 (Beta)

Upgrading from Solr 8 to Solr 9

1. Update the module:

   Commit and deploy the changes to your Pantheon environment.

2. Update your pantheon.yml:

   Commit and deploy the changes to your Pantheon environment.

3. Clear the cache:

4. Post the schema for the new Solr version:

5. Clear the index and reindex content:

6. Test search functionality thoroughly and report any issues in the drupal.org issue queue.

New installations

To try the Beta with Solr 9 on a new site, set the Solr version in your pantheon.yml and install the module:

For detailed setup steps, see the documentation.

What about Solr 8?

Solr 8 (8.11.4) remains fully supported. Existing Solr 8 sites can update to Search API Pantheon 8.5.x without any configuration changes.

Older Drupal versions

Pantheon Search is no longer supported for Drupal 8-9.3 as of December 2, 2025.

Solr 3 is no longer supported by Drupal 9.4+ as of December 9, 2025. Those sites must use Solr 8 or above.

Feedback and documentation

Bug reports, feature requests, and feedback should be posted in the drupal.org issue queue. For detailed installation and upgrade instructions,Pantheon Search documentation.

Starting today, all Test and Live environments that have not yet been upgraded to PHP Runtime Generation 2 will be auto-upgraded over the course of this week. Opting out is no longer available.

After this week, PHP Runtime Generation 1 will no longer be available on the platform.

Action Required

If you experience any issues following the upgrade, please review the Known Changes and Requirements and contact support for assistance.

Support for creating Next.js sites is now generally available to Pantheon customers with Gold, Platinum or Diamond Workspaces. Previously, Next.js was restricted to a private beta program.

Hosting for Next.js sites can be purchased at the same plan levels and pricing as WordPress and Drupal sites. Teams running a decoupled architecture in which Next.js reads content from a CMS on Pantheon must purchase two separate plans, though decoupling may allow WordPress or Drupal to run at a smaller plan level.

Since the beginning of our private beta program last November we have added many enhancements including:

• A cache handler to coordinate persistent caching and CDN for a Next.js site, often in conjunction with a CMS data source.
• Defaulting site creation to Next.js 16.
• Setting secret environment variables at site creation.
• Streaming build & runtime logs in the Pantheon dashboard.

For more perspective on this change to general availability, see the Pantheon blog. To learn how to run Next.js on Pantheon, read our documentation.

Support for creating Drupal and WordPress sites using an external repository on GitHub is now generally available to Pantheon customers with Gold, Platinum or Diamond Workspaces. Previously, this capability was restricted to a private beta program; now, it is included as part of the recent Terminus 4.2.0 Release.

Sites created on an external GitHub repository utilize a GitHub Application that moves code to Pantheon Multidev environments and the Dev environment when correspond to changes are made to on that repository.

This Application is intended for teams that want the simplest possible tool for achieving the above workflow. Once it is turned on, no additional configuration is necessary.

Pantheon continues to offer a GitHub Action that performs a similar function for teams who want to make customization to their workflows and treat the deployment of code as one step in a larger Continuous Integration workflow.

See our Github application documentation page for more instruction on usage and a breakdown of limitations.

Terminus 4.2.0 is now available. This minor release brings major improvements including three integrated plugins and enhanced Node.js/STA site support.

Key improvements in this release

• Integrated core plugins: Three popular plugins are now built directly into Terminus, eliminating the need for separate installation:

  • terminus-secrets-manager-plugin for managing secrets (#2764)
  • terminus-repository-plugin for repository management (#2792)
  • terminus-node-logs-plugin for Node.js build logs (#2791)

• Enhanced Node.js/STA site management:

  • node:builds:wait command for tracking STA site deployment progress (#2798)
  • node:builds:rollback command for easy build rollbacks (#2803)
  • Enhanced builds:list with active build status (#2807)
  • Added deployment status to builds command (#2801)
  • Improved site creation workflow by skipping dev environment wait (#2810)
  • Node.js sites can now use the metrics command (#2806)

• Bug fixes:

  • Update check in env:wake for node sites (#2816)
  • Update Node.js site creation notice to reflect actual build trigger (#2819)

How to upgrade to Terminus 4.2.0

If you use Homebrew (macOS-only) to manage your Terminus installation, you should upgrade using:

If you installed Terminus directly from the .phar file, you should upgrade using the self:update command:

For more information about this release, visit the GitHub release page.

If you have questions or concerns around Terminus, please use the Terminus issue queue.

Terminus 4.1.9 is now available. This patch release fixes SSH output formatting issues and resolves env:wake command failures.

Key improvements in this release

• SSH output formatting fix: Resolved an issue where SSH command output would appear garbled when streaming, improving terminal display readability. (#2814)
• env:wake command fix: Fixed env:wake failures by removing the unnecessary X-Pantheon-Styx-Hostname header requirement, allowing environments to wake successfully. (#2815)

How to upgrade to Terminus 4.1.9

If you use Homebrew (macOS-only) to manage your Terminus installation, you should upgrade using:

If you installed Terminus directly from the .phar file, you should upgrade using the self:update command:

For more information about this release, visit the GitHub release page.

If you have questions or concerns around Terminus, please use the Terminus issue queue.

Solr support for WordPress and the Solr Power plugin will reach end of life on January 11, 2027. After this date, Solr-based search will no longer be available for WordPress sites on the platform.

What's changing?

Solr 3 is a legacy search technology that is being retired in favor of modern alternatives. Sites currently using Solr 3 with the Solr Power plugin will need to migrate to a supported search solution before the end-of-life date.

Recommended alternatives

Pantheon customers

We recommend migrating to Elasticsearch, now available as a Beta add-on for WordPress sites on Pantheon. Elasticsearch offers improved search relevance, real-time search-as-you-type, WooCommerce support, and more. See the Elasticsearch for WordPress Beta announcement for details.

Other options

If Elasticsearch is not the right fit for your site, consider these third-party search solutions:

• SearchWP — A WordPress-native search plugin that enhances the default WordPress search without requiring an external search service.
• Algolia Search — A hosted search API that provides fast, relevant search results with advanced features like typo tolerance and faceted filtering.

What you need to do

1. Identify any WordPress sites currently using the Solr Power plugin.
2. Choose a replacement search solution.
3. Complete your migration before January 11, 2027.

Elasticsearch is now available as a Beta add-on for WordPress sites on Pantheon. This integration is powered by ElasticPress, the leading Elasticsearch solution for WordPress.

What's included?

ElasticPress offloads search queries from your database to Elasticsearch, improving WP_Query performance and reducing load on your application server. Capabilities include:

• Full-text search — Fuzzy matching, synonyms, and weighted fields for more relevant search results.
• Instant Search — Real-time search-as-you-type results without full page reloads.
• WP_Query integration — Elasticsearch can handle WP_Query requests, reducing database load and improving page load times.
• Faceted filtering — Narrow results by category, tag, custom taxonomy, and other attributes.
• WooCommerce support — Product search and filtering for WooCommerce storefronts.
• Related content — Surface related posts and pages automatically.
• Custom content indexing — Index posts, pages, custom post types, and custom fields.

Who has access?

Elasticsearch is available to WordPress sites on Performance Small plans and above, including Elite.

How to enable it

Elasticsearch can be enabled in two ways:

• From the dashboard — Navigate to Site Settings → Add-Ons and activate Elasticsearch. Connection credentials are configured automatically.

• From Terminus — Use the search command:

Once enabled, install and activate the ElasticPress plugin in your WordPress admin and run your initial content sync. No manual credential configuration is required — EP_HOST, EP_INDEX_PREFIX, and EP_CREDENTIALS are set automatically across all environments.

Documentation

For setup instructions and additional guidance, see Elasticsearch on Pantheon.