SurrealDB Cloud runs a managed SurrealDB release on each instance. You choose the version at creation time and can upgrade to a newer supported release from the Cloud console or Surrealist without replacing binaries yourself.
Changing the SurrealDB version
Open the instance in Surrealist or the Cloud dashboard and select a new version from the supported list. The platform validates that the target is an upgrade from your current release (downgrades are not supported through this flow).
Before a version change on paid instances, the platform may take a pre-upgrade backup snapshot (visible in the instance backup list) so you can restore to a new instance if needed. See Backups & recovery.
Note
Start vs Scale during upgrades
| Plan | Typical upgrade behaviour |
|---|---|
| Start | The single node is updated to the new image. Expect a short reconnect window while the instance restarts on the new version. |
| Scale | Upgrades roll the new SurrealDB image through compute nodes one at a time while SurrealDS maintains storage consistency. The cluster stays available; you may see briefly reduced query capacity while each node restarts. |
Exact timing depends on instance size, storage volume, and cluster layout. Watch metrics and logs during and after an upgrade to confirm query latency and error rates return to normal.
Planning an upgrade
Read the release notes for breaking changes, new defaults, or removed flags.
Confirm application and SDK compatibility with the target version in a non-production instance first.
Ensure recent backups exist (paid plans) or export logical data with
surreal exportif you need a portable copy outside Cloud backup restore.Apply the version change and verify health checks, smoke tests, and critical queries.
For major-version data migrations, follow Migrating from older SurrealDB versions in a staging instance before upgrading production.
Self-hosted comparison
Self-hosted operators replace the surreal binary and run rolling upgrades node by node. On Cloud, the control plane performs the equivalent orchestration for you. For the underlying concepts, see Self-hosted upgrades & patching.