Transition from Alpine Linux to Debian for WordPress on App Service

We’re excited to announce that App Service will be switching the default Linux distribution for WordPress from Alpine to Debian. Alpine has served us well for its lightweight and high-performance nature, but our evolving needs require a more feature-rich environment. Debian is an ideal candidate to support the next phase of development and growth. This transition will also align with App Service Linux, which already leverages Debian as its default Linux distribution.

For those unfamiliar, a Linux distribution or Linux distro is a complete operating system package that includes the Linux kernel and a set of preinstalled programs. There are hundreds of distributions available. Some are commercial and others are community developed. Alpine Linux and Debian are examples of community-developed distributions. The main difference between the two is that Alpine is a small, minimalistic distribution ideal for starting projects, while Debian offers a wide range of features and packages, making it suitable for development, testing, and production environments.

Key points to note:
1. new distribution: Starting October 7, 2024, all new WordPress sites will be deployed on Debian.
2. existing site: For sites created on or before October 7, 2024, upgrading from Alpine to Debian requires several steps:
3. Support timeline: WordPress sites on the Alpine stack are supported until December 31, 2024. Please upgrade your website by this date.

Benefits of switching to Debian:
Switching to Debian will improve your site’s performance and security. By partnering with App Service Linux, you can directly benefit from platform improvements released with App Service Linux. You’ll receive stack upgrades sooner and more frequently. Additionally, all future development will be focused on the Debian platform, so if you use Debian you will continue to receive all product upgrades. It’s important to remember that support for Alpine ends on December 31, 2024. If you fail to switch to Debian by this date, you will miss out on new features, improvements, important security patches, and support.

How to upgrade from Alpine to Debian?

prerequisites:
1. Make sure you have backed up App Service. You can follow the instructions here: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/app-service/manage-backup
2. Startup script: Verify that the startup script is working correctly. Modifications may be required to ensure compatibility with Debian. More information can be found here. Use custom launch commands in Web App for Containers

upgrade steps:
1. In the Azure portal, go to your WordPress site’s App Service page.

2. Access the Configuration blade.

3. In the General Settings tab, find the Stack Settings section. Add screenshot
• Alpine – If you are using PHP 8.3, select ‘PHP 8.3’ as the Minor version.
• Alpine – If you are using PHP 8.2, select ‘PHP 8.2’ as the Minor version.
• For versions prior to Alpine – PHP 8.2, we recommend upgrading to Alpine – PHP 8.3 first and then selecting ‘PHP 8.3’. This step-by-step approach ensures a smooth transition, first updating your PHP version and then switching from Alpine to Debian. However, if you want to perform both upgrades at the same time, you can use that option as well.

4. Then select ‘Save’ to save the changes and restart App Service. App Service updates in the background. You can check it on the App Service overview page.

After upgrade:
We have thoroughly tested Debian images and it is unlikely that this upgrade will cause any unexpected issues. However, to ensure a smooth transition, we recommend testing your website before going live.
Functional Testing: Testing the functionality of your website. If you run into problems, you can use the App Service Configuration blade to debug or rollback changes. You can also use App Service Backup to restore your site to a previous snapshot.

Support and Feedback

We’re here to help! If you need assistance, please open a support request at any time through the Microsoft Azure portal. New Support Request – Microsoft Azure

For more information about our products, check out the announcement about the general availability of WordPress on Azure App Service on the Microsoft Tech Community. Announcing general availability of WordPress on Azure App Service – Microsoft Tech Community.

We value your feedback and ideas on how we can improve WordPress on Azure App Service. Please share your thoughts and suggestions on our community page Post Ideas · Community (azure.com) Alternatively, report the issue to our GitHub repository. Problem · Azure/wordpress-linux-appservice(github.com).

Or you can start the conversation by sending us an email. wordpressonazure@microsoft.com.