~3 min read • Updated Mar 1, 2026
1. DirectAdmin Update Channels
DirectAdmin offers three update channels, allowing administrators to choose how frequently they receive new releases:
- current – Default channel for new installations. Receives regular updates.
- stable – Delayed channel, usually one version behind current.
- alpha – Bleeding edge builds updated daily.
The selected update channel is stored in directadmin.conf under the key update_channel.
Check current update channel:
da config-get update_channel
Change update channel:
da config-set update_channel current
2. Automated Updates
DirectAdmin includes a built in auto update system that detects new releases and installs them gradually to avoid mass simultaneous upgrades.
Enable auto updates:
da config-set autoupdate 1
DirectAdmin also has an autopatch option for applying hot fixes within the same version.
Disable both autoupdate and autopatch (recommended when using a specific commit hash):
da config-set autoupdate 0
da config-set autopatch 0
service directadmin restart
3. Manual Update Using GUI
Updates can be triggered from:
Admin Level → Licensing / Updates
If a new version is available, an Update DirectAdmin button will appear.
---4. Manual Update Using CLI (da update)
The da update command updates DirectAdmin to the latest version of the configured channel.
Examples:
da update # Update to latest version in configured channel
da update alpha # Update to latest alpha build
da update current # Update to latest current build
da update 00112233...ff # Update to a specific commit hash
Note: DirectAdmin reverts to the configured update_channel daily.
If you manually update to alpha or a specific commit, set update_channel accordingly or disable auto updates.
5. Manual Update Using Full CLI Procedure
If da update is unavailable (older installations) or you want full control, you can update DirectAdmin manually.
Warning: Do NOT use this method on EOL operating systems.
Special CHANNEL values:
- rhel7 – For CentOS 7 / CloudLinux 7 (latest supported version: 1.668)
- debian10 – For Debian 10
Full update procedure:
CHANNEL=current
OS_SLUG=linux_amd64
COMMIT=$(dig +short -t txt "$CHANNEL-version.directadmin.com" | sed 's|.*commit=\([0-9a-f]*\).*|\1|')
FILE="directadmin_${COMMIT}_${OS_SLUG}.tar.gz"
curl --location --progress-bar --connect-timeout 20 \
"https://download.directadmin.com/${FILE}" \
--output "/root/${FILE}"
tar xzf "/root/${FILE}" -C /usr/local/directadmin
/usr/local/directadmin/scripts/update.sh
systemctl restart directadmin
Note: This script installs the latest release without checking OS compatibility.
---6. Checking the Latest Available DirectAdmin Version
DirectAdmin publishes version information via DNS TXT records for each update channel:
- alpha-version.directadmin.com
- current-version.directadmin.com
- stable-version.directadmin.com
- rhel7-version.directadmin.com
- debian10-version.directadmin.com
Example using dig:
dig +short -t txt alpha-version.directadmin.com \
current-version.directadmin.com \
stable-version.directadmin.com \
rhel7-version.directadmin.com \
debian10-version.directadmin.com
Extract only the version number:
dig +short -t txt current-version.directadmin.com | sed 's|.*v=\([0-9.]*\).*|\1|'
Written & researched by Dr. Shahin Siami