# Outline

Source: https://coolify.io/docs/services/getoutline

![Outline dashboard](https://coolify.io/docs/images/services/outline.webp)

Outline is an open-source collaboration tool that allows you to create and share documents with your team.

## Upgrade PostgreSQL 12 of an existing service

Since Coolify v4.7.0, a new Outline service uses PostgreSQL 16. An older service keeps `postgres:12-alpine`. Current Outline versions do not start on PostgreSQL 12: the `outline` container restarts in a loop with `syntax error at or near "TRIGGER"`.

Coolify does not upgrade the database for you. PostgreSQL 16 cannot read the data directory of PostgreSQL 12, so move the data with a dump and a restore. These steps keep the old volume, so you can go back to it if a step fails.

Run the commands on the server of the service, as a user that can run `docker`. Replace `<uuid>` with the UUID of the service: it is in the URL of the service page in Coolify, after `/service/`. The container names are `postgres-<uuid>` and `outline-<uuid>`.

### Dump the PostgreSQL 12 database

```bash
docker exec postgres-<uuid> sh -c 'pg_dump -U "$POSTGRES_USER" -d "$POSTGRES_DB"' > outline-pg12.sql
```

Make sure that `outline-pg12.sql` is not empty and ends with `PostgreSQL database dump complete`:

```bash
tail -n 3 outline-pg12.sql
```

### Change the database image and volume

1. In Coolify, stop the service.

2. Open **Configuration > General > Edit Compose File**.

3. In the `postgres` service, change the image to `postgres:16-alpine`, and give the data volume a new name, for example `database-data-16`:

   ```yaml
   postgres:
     image: postgres:16-alpine
     volumes:
       - database-data-16:/var/lib/postgresql/data
   ```

4. Save the Compose file and start the service.

PostgreSQL 16 creates an empty database in the new volume, with the same user and password. The old volume `<uuid>_database-data` stays on the server and keeps the PostgreSQL 12 data.

### Restore the dump

Outline creates its tables in the empty database when it starts. Stop Outline and create the database again, so that the dump goes into an empty database:

```bash
docker stop outline-<uuid>
docker exec postgres-<uuid> sh -c 'dropdb -U "$POSTGRES_USER" "$POSTGRES_DB" && createdb -U "$POSTGRES_USER" "$POSTGRES_DB"'
docker exec -i postgres-<uuid> sh -c 'psql -v ON_ERROR_STOP=1 -U "$POSTGRES_USER" -d "$POSTGRES_DB"' < outline-pg12.sql
```

### Restart and verify

1. In Coolify, restart the service.
2. Sign in to Outline and make sure that your documents are there.

After you verify the data, you can delete the old volume with `docker volume rm <uuid>_database-data` and delete `outline-pg12.sql`.

If a step fails, stop the service, set the image back to `postgres:12-alpine` and the volume back to `database-data`, and start the service again.

## Screenshots

## Links

* [The official website](https://getoutline.com/?utm_source=coolify.io)
* [GitHub](https://github.com/outline/outline?utm_source=coolify.io)