Update to Ghost v 5.71 and Update to Node v 20.9.0

justincox

I attempted to update Ghost this morning but ran into an outdated version of Node.js. I followed the information in the original thread, and the instructions in the Node.js thread but, according to Ghost, Node didn't update.

Here is the installation steps I used with the slight modifications to match my installation:

cd ~/apps/ghost_app/node_modules/
mv node node.old
mkdir node
wget https://nodejs.org/dist/v20.9.0/node-v20.9.0.tar.gz
tar zxf node-v20.9.0.tar.gz
cd ~/apps/ghost_app/node_modules/node-v20.9.0
scl enable devtoolset-11 -- ./configure --prefix=$HOME/apps/ghost_app/node_modules
scl enable devtoolset-11 -- make -j2
scl enable devtoolset-11 -- make install

Everything seemed to work as intended. The scl enable devtoolset-11 -- make -j2 process took roughly two hours, and then the scl enable devtoolset-11 -- make install process completed. I then ran the Ghost updater and got the following message:

Message: Ghost v5.71.0 is not compatible with the current Node version. Your node version is 16.20.0, but Ghost v5.71.0 requires ^18.12.1

Debug Information:
    OS: CentOS Linux, v7
    Node Version: v16.20.0
    Ghost Version: 5.70.2
    Ghost-CLI Version: 1.25.3
    Environment: production
    Command: 'ghost update --no-setup-linux-user'

Any ideas about what is missing here? Thank you!

nick

justincox If you issue the node --version or which node commands, I'd suspect the old binary is still in your PATH. You will want to add the new version you built to your PATH so it takes precedence. You can run something like this before you manage the Ghost app to use it, export PATH=$PWD/node/bin:$PATH, just make sure v20 is either in $PWD/node/bin or replace that path with the correct one pointing to it. You will also have to modify the start/stop scripts and update them with this new PATH also.

justincox

nick Ah... so, which node shows ~/apps/ghost_app/bin/node. I guess v20 is now installed at ~/apps/ghost_app/node_modules. Can you be a little more specific about what I'm supposed to do to update the path? Or, should I just re-run the install scripts above and use the correct paths?

nick

justincox Find the exact path to the new Node v20 binary, and append that to the export command used before you start managing your Ghost app from the command line, eg export PATH=$PWD/node/bin:$PATH but replace $PWD/node/bin with the new path. Your start/stop scripts will have a line that looks like PATH=~/apps/ghost_app/bin:$PATH, so you need to update them with the new path too. Try the update process again once you have update the PATH to the new Node version. And always backup the app before attempting any updates. Feel free to open a support ticket if you need more detailed guidance.

justincox

nick I'm still lost. I changed the export command to export PATH=$HOME/apps/ghost_app/bin:$HOME/apps/ghost_app/node_modules/node-v20.9.0/.bin:$PATH to point to the direct location (it was previously export PATH=$HOME/apps/ghost_app/bin:$HOME/apps/ghost_app/node_modules/.bin:$PATH. However, that still didn't take. Do I need to change something in the Ghost configuration or should I just reinstall Node in the proper place?

nick

justincox Please open a support ticket so I can review your setup closer.

nick

If anyone else is wondering, this post basically outlines how to compile Node v18: https://community.opalstack.com/d/1076-unable-to-install-node-18121-lts/5

Just be sure to make sure it’s in your PATH before you manage your ghost app from the command line and update your stop/start scripts to include the PATH to the new version also.

EDIT: Be sure to rebuild your Ghost dependency binaries against the new node version right after you install the new Node version and put it in your PATH (ie ~/apps/ghostapp/bin/). Doing that will look something like this:

cd ~/apps/ghostapp
export PATH=$PWD/bin:$PATH
cd ghost
scl enable devtoolset-11 bash
ghost update 5.XX.X --force --no-setup-linux-user

Replace 5.XX.X with your current ghost version, as well as the paths above so it works correctly.