rhdh-upgrade

name	rhdh-upgrade
metadata	{"author":"rhoai3-coding-demo","version":"1.0.0","platform-family":"rhdh","platform-baseline":"repo","ocp-baseline":"repo","skill-group":"Developer Hub"}
description	Use when upgrading Red Hat Developer Hub to a later version using Operator or Helm chart. Covers Operator subscription upgrades, Helm chart version bumps, and the 1.8-to-1.10 migration for custom values.yaml overrides. Do NOT use for initial installation, configuration, or customization of RHDH.

RHDH Upgrade

Use this skill to upgrade Red Hat Developer Hub 1.10 grounded in official product documentation.

Source Grounding

Read references/source-capture.md before using product behavior. Official Red Hat documentation is product authority. This skill covers Operator-based upgrades, Helm chart upgrades, and the specific 1.8-to-1.10 migration path.

Key Upgrade Paths

1. Operator upgrade — Use the OpenShift web console Subscription page to approve an available InstallPlan upgrade for the RHDH Operator.
2. Helm chart upgrade (web console) — Select the newer Helm chart version from the OpenShift console; save values.yaml first if initially deployed via Helm CLI.
3. Helm chart upgrade (CLI) — Run helm upgrade with the target chart version and a values.yaml override file.
4. 1.8-to-1.10 migration — Manually merge new mandatory defaults into custom values.yaml files that override extraVolumeMounts, extraVolumes, or initContainers.

Operator Upgrade Procedure

Prerequisites:

• Logged in as administrator on OpenShift web console
• RHDH Operator already installed
• Appropriate roles and permissions configured

Steps:

1. Navigate to Operators > Installed Operators > Red Hat Developer Hub Operator
2. Click Subscription tab
3. In Upgrade status field, click "Upgrade available"
4. On InstallPlan details page, click Preview InstallPlan > Approve

Verification:

• Upgrade status field shows "Up to date"

Helm Chart Upgrade (CLI)

oc login -u <user> -p <password> https://api.<HOSTNAME>:6443
oc project my-rhdh-project
helm upgrade -i rhdh -f new-values.yml \
  openshift-helm-charts/redhat-developer-hub --version 1.10.1

1.8-to-1.10 Migration (Helm)

When custom values.yaml overrides upstream.backstage.extraVolumeMounts, upstream.backstage.extraVolumes, or upstream.backstage.initContainers, merge these mandatory new defaults before upgrading:

upstream:
  backstage:
    extraVolumeMounts:
      - name: extensions-catalog
        mountPath: /extensions
    extraVolumes:
      - name: extensions-catalog
        emptyDir: {}
    initContainers:
      - name: install-dynamic-plugins
        env:
          - name: CATALOG_INDEX_IMAGE
            value: '{{ .Values.global.catalogIndex.image.registry }}/{{ .Values.global.catalogIndex.image.repository }}:{{ .Values.global.catalogIndex.image.tag }}'
          - name: CATALOG_ENTITIES_EXTRACT_DIR
            value: '/extensions'
        volumeMounts:
          - name: extensions-catalog
            mountPath: /extensions

View full defaults:

helm show values redhat-developer-hub --repo https://charts.openshift.io --version 1.10.1

Important Notes

• OCP supported from version 4.18 to 4.21
• Helm upgrades can skip intermediate versions; review release notes for all skipped versions to identify breaking changes
• Orchestrator plugin 1.7 users must manually update plugin config after Operator approval to avoid failed deployment
• Helm CLI-deployed releases cannot be upgraded via the OCP web console due to platform limitations; use helm upgrade instead

Workflow

1. Read references/official-doc-extraction.md for exact procedures.
2. Identify upgrade method (Operator or Helm).
3. If Helm with custom values.yaml, check for affected override fields.
4. Apply the upgrade following documented steps.
5. Verify the RHDH application initializes successfully.

Related Skills

• rhdh-configure — Configuration with config maps, secrets, and plugins
• rhdh-customize — Appearance and feature customization
• rhdh-techdocs-config — TechDocs plugin configuration

References

• references/source-capture.md
• references/official-doc-extraction.md