| name | provider-upgrade |
| description | Upgrade any Pulumi provider to a newer version and reconcile the resulting diff. Use when users want to upgrade or update a provider (including editing package.json, requirements.txt, pyproject.toml, go.mod, or Pulumi.yaml to bump a provider SDK), check for breaking changes before or during an upgrade, fix resources that broke after a provider upgrade, or resolve unexpected replacements, creates, or deletes in a post-upgrade preview. Applies to all providers (aws, azure-native, gcp, kubernetes, aws-native, cloudflare, datadog, etc.) — not just Tier 1. Do NOT use for querying which stacks use what package versions; use skill `package-usage` for cross-stack audits. Do NOT use for general infrastructure tasks.
|
Upgrading Pulumi Providers
The Principle
A provider upgrade is a translation, not a change request.
The user's infrastructure intent hasn't changed - they still want the same bucket, the same function, the same cluster.
What changed is how the provider's API expresses that intent. Your job is to translate their existing code into the new
API so that Pulumi sees no difference between what the code says and what already exists.
There are four layers to keep in mind:
- User intent - what the user wants in the cloud (unchanged during an upgrade)
- Code - how the program expresses that intent using the provider API (may need updating)
- Pulumi state - Pulumi's stored representation of what exists (may need reconciliation)
- Real cloud - the actual infrastructure (should not change during an upgrade)
During an upgrade, layers 2 and 3 may need to change so that they continue to correctly represent the unchanged layers 1
and 4.
A correct translation produces zero diff. The Pulumi engine doesn't have a concept of "upgrade" - it just compares goal
state (your code) against actual state (the state file) and reconciles. If the translation is correct, those two states
match and nothing happens. If you see a diff, either your translation is wrong, or something beyond a code change is
needed (import, alias, manual step). In all cases, the diff is a problem to solve, not a consequence to accept.
The Core Loop
flowchart TD
A[Bump version] --> B[Run preview with env vars]
B --> C{Clean?}
C -->|Yes| D[Create PR]
C -->|No| E[Diff Checkpoint: categorize every diff]
E --> F{Any Category A?}
F -->|Yes| G[Fix wrong translations]
G --> B
F -->|No| H{Any Category B?}
H -->|Yes| I[Investigate with toolbox]
I --> J[Fix or document]
J --> B
H -->|No| D
- Bump the provider dependency
- Preview with required CLI flags
- Diff Checkpoint - categorize every non-
same resource (see next section)
- Fix Category A - code changes that didn't produce
same
- Investigate Category B - diffs on resources you didn't change
- Repeat until clean or remaining diffs are fully investigated
- Create PR with upgrade summary
The Diff Checkpoint
This is the most important section. Run this after EVERY preview.
For each non-same resource, answer one question: "Did any of my code changes affect this resource - directly or
indirectly?"
"Directly" means you edited the resource block itself. "Indirectly" means you changed something that feeds into this
resource - a shared variable, an output from another resource, a helper function, a default value, or a resource that
this one depends on. If your changes could have altered what Pulumi computes for this resource, it's Category A.
Then follow the category that applies.
Category A: I changed code for this resource
Your code change was supposed to translate the same intent into the new API. If the resource shows same, your
translation is correct. If it shows anything else, your translation is wrong. Not "the diff is expected because I
changed the code" - if the change were semantically equivalent, there would be no diff.
I modified an existing resource and it shows update:
Your rename, restructure, or value adjustment changed the meaning, not just the syntax. The resource would show same
if the old and new code compiled to the same goal state. The update means they don't.
Ask yourself: "If this rename were truly equivalent, the resource would show same. It doesn't. What is semantically
different between my old code and my new code?"
Common causes: the new property name maps to a different underlying field; the value shape changed and your conversion
lost or added information; a default value changed in the new version and you need to explicitly set the old value;
additional properties now appear in the diff because the new provider version tracks fields it didn't before (these need
to be set explicitly to match the current state).
If the update includes properties you didn't change - new fields appearing, type normalizations (string->number),
additional defaults - that's the provider changing what it tracks. But if the diff is there, pulumi up WILL send those
values to the cloud API. Don't assume they're no-ops. Investigate each changed property.
I added a new resource block and it shows create:
During an upgrade, a new resource block almost always represents infrastructure that already exists in the cloud. The
old provider managed it implicitly (as part of another resource); the new provider needs an explicit resource. But the
cloud object is already there. Pulumi wants to create NEW infrastructure - that's not what you want.
The fix is import, not create. Tell Pulumi to adopt the existing cloud resource.
Ask yourself: "What cloud object does this new resource represent? Does it already exist? How was it managed before the
upgrade?"
const stage = new aws.apigateway.Stage("prodStage", { ... });
const stage = new aws.apigateway.Stage("prodStage", { ... }, {
import: "<rest-api-id>/prod",
});
I removed a resource block and it shows delete:
A delete in the preview means pulumi up will call the provider's Delete API to destroy or unconfigure this cloud
resource. This is real destruction - not just state cleanup. The cloud infrastructure still exists and is almost
certainly still needed.
This is different from pulumi state delete, which removes the resource from Pulumi's tracking WITHOUT calling the
provider's API. When a resource type is removed in a new provider version, the correct approach is:
pulumi state delete '<urn>' - manual step, removes from tracking only- Add replacement resources (if any) with imports - adopts the cloud state under new types
- Verify with preview
Do NOT leave a delete in the preview and proceed to PR creation. A delete that runs via pulumi up will destroy real
infrastructure. If the resource must be removed from state, document it as a manual step for the user.
Ask yourself: "What cloud infrastructure does this resource manage? If pulumi up runs this delete, what gets
destroyed or unconfigured?"
Category B: I didn't change code for this resource
This diff was not caused by your code changes. It comes from the provider version change itself - a different default, a
changed state representation, or a behavioral difference. Read references/diagnostic-toolbox.md and investigate.
These diffs might be:
- Fixable with code - set an explicit value for a changed default, add an alias
- A documented no-op - the upgrade guide says it resolves on
pulumi up without affecting real infrastructure. This
classification REQUIRES a citation from the upgrade guide or provider documentation. Your own judgment that "this
looks like a no-op" is not sufficient - the user is trusting you to distinguish real infrastructure changes from
artifacts, and getting it wrong means unexpected changes to their cloud.
- Requiring manual steps - state removal + reimport, documented for the user
- Unknown - present what you've found to the user and ask for guidance
Category C: Provider version bump
An update on pulumi:providers:{name} showing only a version change is the one expected diff. Verify no other
properties changed on the provider resource.
After categorizing
Completeness check: Every resource in the preview that shows any non-same state must appear in your checkpoint -
including resources with [diff: ...] annotations, even if they don't have an explicit create/update/delete marker. If
you didn't list it, your checkpoint is incomplete. Go back and categorize the missing resources.
Evidence requirement for accepted diffs: If you want to accept any diff as "OK" (not fix it), you need evidence -
whether it's Category A or Category B. "I believe the API treats these equivalently" or "this looks like state
reconciliation" is not evidence. Acceptable evidence: the upgrade guide documents it, a GitHub issue confirms it, or the
provider documentation explains the behavior. If you can't find evidence, either fix the diff or flag it to the user.
Ordering: Fix all Category A issues before investigating Category B. Your code corrections will change the preview
output, so investigating Category B diffs first wastes effort. Fix your own mistakes first, re-preview, then look at
what remains.
No delete or replace in the final preview. If a delete or replace remains when you're ready to create a PR,
stop. A delete means pulumi up will destroy cloud infrastructure. A replace means it will destroy and recreate. These
are never acceptable as "remaining diffs" - they must be resolved (via code fix, alias, or documented manual steps)
before proceeding.
Hard Rules
Required CLI flags
Use these flags when running preview. A preview without them can show false diffs (phantom tag removals, region
additions) that aren't real. Don't interpret a preview that was run without them.
pulumi preview --refresh --run-program
--refresh refreshes actual cloud state before diffing.--run-program runs the Pulumi program during refresh.
Don't chase deprecations
If something is deprecated but still works, leave it alone. Migrating to the replacement introduces risk for no benefit.
A deprecation warning is acceptable - a diff is not.
new aws.s3.Bucket('bucket');
new aws.s3.BucketLogging('bucketLogging', {...});
new aws.s3.Bucket('bucket', {
logging: {...},
website: {...},
});
Be minimally invasive
Every line changed could introduce a regression. Prefer the smallest change that works.
Do not run pulumi up
Provider upgrades modify source code and need code review before deployment. PR -> review -> merge -> deploy via CI/CD.
Getting Started
1. Get version information
Determine the target version from the user's request, the Pulumi Registry, package manager metadata, or the repository's
existing dependency constraints.
Default to the latest stable version if the user hasn't specified a target version. If the user asks which stacks or
projects are affected, use skill package-usage or the best available package inventory tooling before making changes.
2. Update the dependency
- TypeScript/JavaScript:
npm install @pulumi/{provider}@^{version} or yarn add @pulumi/{provider}@^{version}
- Python: Update
pyproject.toml or requirements.txt with pulumi_{provider}>={version} (underscore, not
hyphen), then install
- Go:
go get github.com/pulumi/pulumi-{provider}/sdk/v{major}@latest, update all import paths (e.g., v6 ->
v7), run go mod tidy
- .NET:
dotnet add package Pulumi.{Provider} --version {version}
- Java: Update
pom.xml or build.gradle dependency version
- YAML: Update provider version in resource options or provider configuration. See
https://www.pulumi.com/docs/iac/languages-sdks/yaml/yaml-language-reference/#providers-and-provider-versions for
examples.
After installing, check the actual installed version from the lockfile (package-lock.json, go.sum, etc.) - use these
exact versions for schema-tools comparisons.
3. Run preview
Run pulumi preview --refresh --run-program immediately after updating the dependency. Do not research breaking changes
first - many upgrades just work, especially minor versions.
If the preview is clean (only the provider version bump), create a PR.
Preview Progress
Preview can fail on the first error and hide others. Fixing one error often reveals new errors. This is normal progress,
not a sign that fixes are making things worse.
- New or different errors -> progress, continue
- Error set shrank -> progress, continue
- Same error persists -> your fix didn't work, try a different approach
- No errors but diffs -> run the diff checkpoint
Upgrade Summary
Once the preview is clean (or as clean as possible), present the summary:
## Upgrade Summary: {provider} v{current} -> v{target}
### Code Changes
| File | Change | Why it preserves intent |
|------|--------|------------------------|
| package.json | Version bump | - |
| index.ts:15 | loggings -> logging | Property renamed, same underlying field |
### Preview Result
All resources show `same` except provider version bump.
{Or: N resources show diffs - see below}
### Remaining Diffs (if any)
| Resource | Operation | What happens on `pulumi up` | Risk | Source |
|----------|-----------|---------------------------|------|--------|
| aws:s3:Bucket (myBucket) | update (-tags) | No-op, state reconciles | None | AWS v7 guide section 3.2 |
Every remaining diff MUST cite an authoritative source (upgrade guide, provider docs,
upstream GitHub issue). "I believe this is expected" is not a source.
### Manual Steps Required (if any)
1. `pulumi state delete '<urn>'` - remove old type binding
2. `pulumi import <type> <name> <id>` - adopt under new type
3. `pulumi preview --refresh --run-program` - verify clean
### Deprecation Warnings (no action taken)
- List deprecated-but-working code left intentionally
If the preview is clean (or all remaining diffs are documented no-ops with cited sources), create a pull request. If
unresolved diffs remain, present the summary as an exception report and ask the user how they'd like to proceed before
creating a PR.
References
references/diagnostic-toolbox.md - upgrade guides, schema-tools (install, run, interpret output), stack state
inspection, SDK types, GitHub issues. Read when investigating Category B diffs.
