Upgrading to 2.5

MODX Revolution 2.5.0 (April 2016) focused on PHP 7 readiness, manager usability, and anonymous-request performance. Full changelog: core/docs/changelog.txt.

Release overview: MODX Revolution 2.5—PHP 7, Performance and More.

Before you upgrade¶

• Confirm the host can run PHP 5.3+ for 2.5.x. Prefer PHP 7 if the host offers it. PHP 7 support landed in this line (modPhpThumb and related fixes).
• Update Extras on the current version first, then clear core/cache and flush sessions before setup.

Behaviour changes¶

anonymous_sessions¶

2.5 adds the anonymous_sessions setting so anonymous front-end hits can skip PHP sessions.

• Default is Yes (sessions for anonymous users still exist unless you change it).
• Set it to No only as a context setting on a front-end context that does not need sessions. Putting No in System Settings can lock you out of the manager.

Manager JS/CSS compression¶

compress_js no longer builds minified manager assets on the fly. The core ships prebuilt min.js / CSS bundles instead. That removes a common source of broken managers after minifier failures. Site developers who patch core manager assets must rebuild those bundles; normal upgrades do not need extra steps.

Upgrade cleanup¶

Setup removes selected legacy core files during upgrade. Keep a backup of the tree before you run setup so you can compare if a custom patch lived in a removed path.

Other additions¶

• More mobile-friendly manager layout and login accessibility work.
• New default manager template / starter content for fresh installs.
• Output filters stripmodxtags and htmlspecial.
• Zip unpack in the media/file tree.
• modParsedManagerController for CMPs that use snippets and chunks.
• Uberbar can search by resource ID.
• Smarty and PHPMailer library updates (Smarty BC restored in 2.5.0-rc2).

After setup¶

Clear the browser cache for the manager domain so you load the new static asset bundles. Re-test login, Package Manager, and any Extra that hooks manager JS.