How to update Pi-hole easily

Here you will learn how to update Pi-hole to the latest version from command line. You are here because you might see there is a new version showing in the footer of Pi-hole’s admin interface. But how do I update Pi-hole?

In rare cases, if you haven’t installed Pi-hole, you can install it in the following 1 command:

curl -sSL https://install.pi-hole.net | bash

Step 1 — SSH into Raspberry Pi to update Pi-hole

You might already know this, you can use ssh <ip/host> to ssh into your Raspberry Pi (4 or 3 maybe). If you installed Pi-hole on Ubuntu or CentOS, you can ignore this step.

On most linux systems, you can use Alt-Ctrl-t to open a terminal and type the following command:

ssh <ip/host>

Once you are on your Raspberry Pi, you will see your bash prompt, actually the username/host, is changed like below:

vh@varhowto-com:~$ ssh rpi
Linux rpi 4.19.118-v7l+ #1311 SMP Mon Apr 27 14:26:42 BST 2020 armv7l
The programs included with the Debian GNU/Linux system are free software;
the exact distribution terms for each program are described in the
individual files in /usr/share/doc/*/copyright.
Debian GNU/Linux comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY, to the extent
permitted by applicable law.
Web console: https://rpi:9090/ or https://192.168.0.130:9090/
Last login: Sat Aug 22 14:53:14 2020 from 192.168.2.103
pi@rpi:~ $

Step 2 — Check Pi-hole version for update

Next, make sure you need to update Pi-hole. Simply run the following command:

pihole -v

You will see similar output as shown in the following screenshot. Here my current Pi-hole version is 4.4 and the latest is 5.1.2. BTW, AdminLTE and FTL are Pi-hole’s components so will be updated as well.

pi@rpi:~ $ pihole -v
  Pi-hole version is v4.4 (Latest: v5.1.2)
  AdminLTE version is v4.3.3 (Latest: v5.1.1)
  FTL version is v4.3.1 (Latest: v5.2)

Step 3 — Update Pi-hole

Updating Pi-hole is a fully automated process and is a piece of cake — super easy.

Run the pihole command with -up, which means update Pi-hole, not bring Pi-hole up…

pihole -up

You will see similar output like below. It will take a while to update Pi-hole.

pi@rpi:~ $ pihole -up
[i] Checking for updates…
[i] Pi-hole Core: update available
[i] Web Interface: update available
[i] FTL: update available
[i] Pi-hole core files out of date, updating local repo.
[✓] Check for existing repository in /etc/.pihole
[✓] Update repo in /etc/.pihole
[i] If you had made any changes in '/etc/.pihole/', they have been stashed using 'git stash'
[i] Pi-hole Web Admin files out of date, updating local repo.
[✓] Check for existing repository in /var/www/html/admin
[✓] Update repo in /var/www/html/admin
[i] If you had made any changes in '/var/www/html/admin/', they have been stashed using 'git stash'
[i] FTL out of date, it will be updated by the installer.
[✓] Root user check
.;;,. .ccccc:,. :cccclll:. ..,, :ccccclll. ;ooodc 'ccll:;ll .oooodc .;cll.;;looo:. .. ','. .',,,,,,'. .',,,,,,,,,,. .',,,,,,,,,,,,.... ....''',,,,,,,'....... ......... .... ......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ......... .... ......... ........,,,,,,,'...... ....',,,,,,,,,,,,. .',,,,,,,,,'. .',,,,,,'. ..'''.
[✓] Update local cache of available packages
[i] Existing PHP installation detected : PHP version 7.3.14-1~deb10u1
[i] Performing unattended setup, no whiptail dialogs will be displayed
[✓] Disk space check
[✓] Checking apt-get for upgraded packages… 273 updates available
[i] It is recommended to update your OS after installing the Pi-hole!
[i] Installer Dependency checks…
[✓] Checking for dhcpcd5
[✓] Checking for git
[✓] Checking for iproute2
[✓] Checking for whiptail
[✓] Checking for dnsutils
[✓] Supported OS detected
[i] SELinux not detected
[i] Performing reconfiguration, skipping download of local repos
[✓] Resetting repository within /etc/.pihole…
[✓] Resetting repository within /var/www/html/admin…
[i] Main Dependency checks…
[✓] Checking for cron
[✓] Checking for curl
[✓] Checking for iputils-ping
[✓] Checking for lsof
[✓] Checking for netcat
[✓] Checking for psmisc
[✓] Checking for sudo
[✓] Checking for unzip
[✓] Checking for wget
[✓] Checking for idn2
[✓] Checking for sqlite3
[✓] Checking for libcap2-bin
[✓] Checking for dns-root-data
[✓] Checking for libcap2
[i] Checking for lighttpd (will be installed)
[✓] Checking for php7.3-common
[i] Checking for php7.3-cgi (will be installed)
[✓] Checking for php7.3-sqlite3
[✓] Checking for php7.3-xml
[✓] Checking for php7.3-intl
[i] Processing apt-get install(s) for: lighttpd php7.3-cgi, please wait…
Selecting previously unselected package libfam0:armhf.
(Reading database … 150676 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to unpack …/00-libfam0_2.7.0-17.3_armhf.deb …
Unpacking libfam0:armhf (2.7.0-17.3) …
Selecting previously unselected package lighttpd.
Preparing to unpack …/01-lighttpd_1.4.53-4_armhf.deb …
Unpacking lighttpd (1.4.53-4) …
Preparing to unpack …/02-php7.3-zip_7.3.19-1~deb10u1_armhf.deb …
Unpacking php7.3-zip (7.3.19-1~deb10u1) over (7.3.14-1~deb10u1) …
Preparing to unpack …/03-php7.3-xml_7.3.19-1~deb10u1_armhf.deb …
Unpacking php7.3-xml (7.3.19-1~deb10u1) over (7.3.14-1~deb10u1) …
Preparing to unpack …/04-php7.3-sqlite3_7.3.19-1~deb10u1_armhf.deb …
Unpacking php7.3-sqlite3 (7.3.19-1~deb10u1) over (7.3.14-1~deb10u1) …
Preparing to unpack …/05-php7.3-readline_7.3.19-1~deb10u1_armhf.deb …
Unpacking php7.3-readline (7.3.19-1~deb10u1) over (7.3.14-1~deb10u1) …
Preparing to unpack …/06-php7.3-opcache_7.3.19-1~deb10u1_armhf.deb …
Unpacking php7.3-opcache (7.3.19-1~deb10u1) over (7.3.14-1~deb10u1) …
Preparing to unpack …/07-php7.3-mysql_7.3.19-1~deb10u1_armhf.deb …
Unpacking php7.3-mysql (7.3.19-1~deb10u1) over (7.3.14-1~deb10u1) …
Preparing to unpack …/08-php7.3-mbstring_7.3.19-1~deb10u1_armhf.deb …
Unpacking php7.3-mbstring (7.3.19-1~deb10u1) over (7.3.14-1~deb10u1) …
Preparing to unpack …/09-php7.3-json_7.3.19-1~deb10u1_armhf.deb …
Unpacking php7.3-json (7.3.19-1~deb10u1) over (7.3.14-1~deb10u1) …
Preparing to unpack …/10-php7.3-intl_7.3.19-1~deb10u1_armhf.deb …
Unpacking php7.3-intl (7.3.19-1~deb10u1) over (7.3.14-1~deb10u1) …
Preparing to unpack …/11-php7.3-gd_7.3.19-1~deb10u1_armhf.deb …
Unpacking php7.3-gd (7.3.19-1~deb10u1) over (7.3.14-1~deb10u1) …
Preparing to unpack …/12-php7.3-fpm_7.3.19-1~deb10u1_armhf.deb …
Unpacking php7.3-fpm (7.3.19-1~deb10u1) over (7.3.14-1~deb10u1) …
Preparing to unpack …/13-php7.3-dev_7.3.19-1~deb10u1_armhf.deb …
Unpacking php7.3-dev (7.3.19-1~deb10u1) over (7.3.14-1~deb10u1) …
Preparing to unpack …/14-php7.3-curl_7.3.19-1~deb10u1_armhf.deb …
Unpacking php7.3-curl (7.3.19-1~deb10u1) over (7.3.14-1~deb10u1) …
Preparing to unpack …/15-php7.3-cli_7.3.19-1~deb10u1_armhf.deb …
Unpacking php7.3-cli (7.3.19-1~deb10u1) over (7.3.14-1~deb10u1) …
Preparing to unpack …/16-php7.3-common_7.3.19-1~deb10u1_armhf.deb …
Unpacking php7.3-common (7.3.19-1~deb10u1) over (7.3.14-1~deb10u1) …
Selecting previously unselected package php7.3-cgi.
Preparing to unpack …/17-php7.3-cgi_7.3.19-1~deb10u1_armhf.deb …
Unpacking php7.3-cgi (7.3.19-1~deb10u1) …
Setting up php7.3-common (7.3.19-1~deb10u1) …
Setting up php7.3-mysql (7.3.19-1~deb10u1) …
Setting up php7.3-intl (7.3.19-1~deb10u1) …
Setting up php7.3-xml (7.3.19-1~deb10u1) …
Setting up libfam0:armhf (2.7.0-17.3) …
Setting up php7.3-opcache (7.3.19-1~deb10u1) …
Setting up php7.3-zip (7.3.19-1~deb10u1) …
Setting up php7.3-curl (7.3.19-1~deb10u1) …
Setting up php7.3-gd (7.3.19-1~deb10u1) …
Setting up lighttpd (1.4.53-4) …
Setting up php7.3-sqlite3 (7.3.19-1~deb10u1) …
Setting up php7.3-mbstring (7.3.19-1~deb10u1) …
Setting up php7.3-json (7.3.19-1~deb10u1) …
Setting up php7.3-readline (7.3.19-1~deb10u1) …
Setting up php7.3-cli (7.3.19-1~deb10u1) …
Replacing config file /etc/php/7.3/cli/php.ini with new version
Setting up php7.3-cgi (7.3.19-1~deb10u1) …
update-alternatives: using /usr/bin/php-cgi7.3 to provide /usr/bin/php-cgi (php-cgi) in auto mode
update-alternatives: using /usr/lib/cgi-bin/php7.3 to provide /usr/lib/cgi-bin/php (php-cgi-bin) in auto mode
Replacing config file /etc/php/7.3/cgi/php.ini with new version
Setting up php7.3-fpm (7.3.19-1~deb10u1) …
Setting up php7.3-dev (7.3.19-1~deb10u1) …
Processing triggers for systemd (241-7~deb10u4+rpi1) …
Processing triggers for man-db (2.8.5-2) …
Processing triggers for libc-bin (2.28-10+rpi1) …
[✓] Enabling lighttpd service to start on reboot…
[✓] Checking for user 'pihole'
[i] FTL Checks…
[✓] Detected ARM-hf architecture (armv7+)
[i] Checking for existing FTL binary…
[✓] Downloading and Installing FTL
[✓] Installing scripts from /etc/.pihole
[i] Installing configs from /etc/.pihole…
[i] Existing dnsmasq.conf found… it is not a Pi-hole file, leaving alone!
[✓] Copying 01-pihole.conf to /etc/dnsmasq.d/01-pihole.conf
[i] Installing blocking page…
[✓] Creating directory for blocking page, and copying files
[i] Backing up index.lighttpd.html
No default index.lighttpd.html file found… not backing up
[✓] Installing sudoer file
[✓] Installing latest Cron script
[✓] Installing latest logrotate script
[i] Backing up /etc/dnsmasq.conf to /etc/dnsmasq.conf.old
[✓] man pages installed and database updated
[i] Testing if systemd-resolved is enabled
[i] Systemd-resolved is not enabled
[✓] Restarting lighttpd service…
[✓] Enabling lighttpd service to start on reboot…
[i] Restarting services…
[✓] Enabling pihole-FTL service to start on reboot…
[✓] Restarting pihole-FTL service…
[i] Creating new gravity database
[i] Migrating content of /etc/pihole/adlists.list into new database
[i] Migrating content of /etc/pihole/blacklist.txt into new database
[i] Migrating content of /etc/pihole/whitelist.txt into new database
[i] Migrating content of /etc/pihole/regex.list into new database
[✓] Deleting existing list cache
[i] Neutrino emissions detected…
[✓] Pulling blocklist source list into range
[✓] Preparing new gravity database
[i] Target: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/StevenBlack/hosts/master/hosts
[✓] Status: Retrieval successful
[i] Received 57260 domains
[i] Target: https://mirror1.malwaredomains.com/files/justdomains
[✓] Status: Retrieval successful
[i] Received 26854 domains
[i] Target: http://sysctl.org/cameleon/hosts
[✓] Status: Retrieval successful
[i] Received 20567 domains
[i] Target: https://s3.amazonaws.com/lists.disconnect.me/simple_tracking.txt
[✓] Status: Retrieval successful
[i] Received 34 domains
[i] Target: https://s3.amazonaws.com/lists.disconnect.me/simple_ad.txt
[✓] Status: Retrieval successful
[i] Received 2701 domains
[i] Target: https://hosts-file.net/ad_servers.txt
[✗] Status: Not found
[✗] List download failed: no cached list available
[i] Target: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/privacy-protection-tools/anti-AD/master/anti-ad-domains.txt
[✓] Status: Retrieval successful
[i] Received 41581 domains
[✓] Storing downloaded domains in new gravity database
[✓] Building tree
[✓] Swapping databases
[i] Number of gravity domains: 148997 (132248 unique domains)
[i] Number of exact blacklisted domains: 2
[i] Number of regex blacklist filters: 0
[i] Number of exact whitelisted domains: 9
[i] Number of regex whitelist filters: 0
[✓] Flushing DNS cache
[✓] Cleaning up stray matter
[✓] DNS service is running
[✓] Pi-hole blocking is Enabled
[i] The install log is located at: /etc/pihole/install.log
Update Complete!
Current Pi-hole version is v5.1.2.
Current AdminLTE version is v5.1.1.
Current FTL version is v5.2.

You will see “Update Complete!” when it’s done; you do not need to reboot your Raspberry Pi or computer. Then you can open pihole admin http://pi.hole/admin/index.php and you will see in the footer that pi-hole is updated to v5.1.2 and the web interface is of v5.2.

3 steps to update Pi-hole

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