# How do you install an earlier version of Discourse?
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-do-you-install-an-earlier-version-of-discourse/31930
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [August 9, 2015, 6:37pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-do-you-install-an-earlier-version-of-discourse/31930 "2015-08-09T18:37:04Z")
**Posts on this page:** 10
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@AstonJ](https://meta.discourse.org/u/AstonJ)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2015, 6:37pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-do-you-install-an-earlier-version-of-discourse/31930/1 "2015-08-09T18:37:04Z")
I only have a backup of an older version and its recommend that both the install and backup are the same version - but how can I specify a specific version of Discourse on install?.
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### Author:  [@johnmuhl](https://meta.discourse.org/u/johnmuhl)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2015, 6:44pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-do-you-install-an-earlier-version-of-discourse/31930/2 "2015-08-09T18:44:50Z")
There should be a `version` key in your `app.yml` file.
```plaintext
#version: tests-passed
```
Remove the `#` and change `test-passed` to the version you want to use; e.g. `v1.3.4`. [Tags · discourse/discourse · GitHub](https://github.com/discourse/discourse/tags) shows the available version strings.
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### Author:  [@AstonJ](https://meta.discourse.org/u/AstonJ)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2015, 7:09pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-do-you-install-an-earlier-version-of-discourse/31930/3 "2015-08-09T19:09:45Z")
Thanks @johnmuhl, do you know how I can find the version from my backup?
In meta.json (in the backup) it says:
`{"source":"discourse","version":20150728004647}`
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### Author:  [@zogstrip](https://meta.discourse.org/u/zogstrip)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2015, 8:48pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-do-you-install-an-earlier-version-of-discourse/31930/4 "2015-08-09T20:48:09Z")
That’s the version of the database in rails _parlance_ (ie: the latest migration that was run). Looks like it’s from 2015/07/28.
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### Author:  [@AstonJ](https://meta.discourse.org/u/AstonJ)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2015, 8:53pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-do-you-install-an-earlier-version-of-discourse/31930/5 "2015-08-09T20:53:44Z")
Yeah that’s the date of the backup too, however looking at [Releases · discourse/discourse · GitHub](https://github.com/discourse/discourse/releases) the closest version seems to be `Version v1.4.0.beta6` but I have restored that and when I go to upload a backup it says it has uploaded but it doesn’t show in the list of backups. Maybe I need to wipe everything and start again : /
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### Author:  [@riking](https://meta.discourse.org/u/riking)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2015, 9:54pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-do-you-install-an-earlier-version-of-discourse/31930/6 "2015-08-09T21:54:10Z")
You should be able to restore any older version to the current version - we keep all the info necessary to upgrade the database.
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### Author:  [@AstonJ](https://meta.discourse.org/u/AstonJ)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2015, 10:17pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-do-you-install-an-earlier-version-of-discourse/31930/7 "2015-08-09T22:17:19Z")
Do you mean I can install a new version of Discourse and then upload an older backup (of an older version) and restore it?
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### Author:  [@zogstrip](https://meta.discourse.org/u/zogstrip)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2015, 10:20pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-do-you-install-an-earlier-version-of-discourse/31930/8 "2015-08-09T22:20:07Z")
Exactly. Unless you’ve installed a plugin that requires a migration, you can restore old backups just fine 😉
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### Author:  [@AstonJ](https://meta.discourse.org/u/AstonJ)
#### Post date: [August 9, 2015, 10:25pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-do-you-install-an-earlier-version-of-discourse/31930/9 "2015-08-09T22:25:08Z")
Ok thanks, I’ll try again.
Though not sure why they backup isn’t showing in the control panel (it’s there in `shared/standalone/backups/default`).
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### Author:  [@JammyDodger](https://meta.discourse.org/u/JammyDodger)
#### Post date: [June 8, 2024, 12:46pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-do-you-install-an-earlier-version-of-discourse/31930/10 "2024-06-08T12:46:09Z")
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