Upgrade GitKraken Self-Hosted Server (Docker & Client Instructions)

Last updated: March 2026

Use this page to upgrade GitKraken Self-Hosted Server, client installers, and license files when your deployment runs on Docker. It also covers the Super User password reset flow, so administrators can handle both standard upgrades and recovery tasks from the same procedure.

Quick Start

To upgrade the server:

1. Navigate to the folder containing docker-compose.yml and run sudo docker-compose down.
2. Back up the existing docker-compose.yml.
3. Extract the new GitKrakenEnterpriseServer.zip into the same folder.
4. Compare the old and new docker-compose.yml for port, volume, or environment variable changes.
5. Run sudo sh loadImages.sh to load the new Docker images.
6. Run sudo docker-compose up to restart the server.

To upgrade client installers: Locate the release volume path in docker-compose.yml under gk-enterprise-controller, navigate to the host path, and extract the new release.zip into that directory.

To update the license: Copy the new license.dat file to the server, open the License tab on your Enterprise site, and upload the file.

To reset the Super User password: Stop the server, add SUPER_USER_RESET: 1 to the gk-services environment in docker-compose.yml, restart, and visit /reset/super-user in your browser.

How to upgrade the self-hosted server

1. Navigate to the folder where GitKraken Self-Hosted is installed (the folder with docker-compose.yml).

2. Take down the current instance:

   sudo docker-compose down

3. Back up the docker-compose.yml file.

4. Extract GitKrakenEnterpriseServer.zip in the same folder. This will overwrite docker-compose.yml.

5. Compare the new and old docker-compose.yml for differences, such as:

   • Port configurations
   • Volume mount paths
   • Environment variable updates

6. If you are not using docker-compose (e.g., Nomad setup), adjust image names/tags in your swarm manager accordingly.

7. Load Docker images:

   sudo sh loadImages.sh

8. Restart the server from the same directory:

   sudo docker-compose up

Note: Always run docker-compose up from the original directory. On CentOS or RHEL7, you may need full paths:

sudo systemctl start docker.service
sudo /usr/local/bin/docker-compose up

How to upgrade self-hosted clients

1. Open your docker-compose.yml file.

2. Find the gk-enterprise-controller service. Under volumes, identify the client volume:

   - ./gk-data/release:/controller/release

3. This line splits into:

   • Host path: ./gk-data/release
   • Container path: /controller/release

4. Navigate to the release folder on the host machine. Extract release.zip and overwrite existing content.

5. After extracting, your folder should look like:

   ./gk-data/
     └── release/
         ├── linux/
         ├── darwin/
         ├── win32/
         └── win64/

6. GitKraken Self-Hosted users will now receive the latest client.

How to update the license

To update your GitKraken Self-Hosted license:

1. Copy the new license.dat file to the server.
2. Open the License tab on your Enterprise site.
3. Browse to and select the new license file.

How to reset the Super User password

1. Stop GitKraken Self-Hosted:

   sudo docker-compose down

2. Add the environment variable SUPER_USER_RESET: 1 under gk-services in docker-compose.yml:

   environment:
    SUPER_USER_RESET: 1

3. Start the instance:

   sudo docker-compose up

4. Visit /reset/super-user in your browser to set a new password.

5. Confirm login works, then shut down the server:

   sudo docker-compose down

6. Remove the SUPER_USER_RESET variable from docker-compose.yml.

7. Restart GitKraken Self-Hosted:

   sudo docker-compose up