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Update Your Foundry VTT Version

How to upgrade (or reinstall) Foundry VTT on your Adventure.

Option 1: Update Through Foundry’s UI

The simplest way to update is through Foundry’s built-in updater.

  1. Open your Foundry VTT instance in a browser
  2. On the Setup screen, look for the Update Software notification or button
  3. Select the version you want to install and click Update
  4. Foundry will download and install the new version automatically
  5. The server restarts — you’re done

This works because your Foundry installation lives on a persistent volume. Updates made through the UI survive container restarts.

Option 2: Force Upgrade via Environment Variables

If the built-in updater isn’t working, or you need to do a clean reinstall, use the Force Upgrade option.

  1. Go to your Adventure’s management page
  2. Find the Foundry VTT component
  3. Open the Environment Variables section
  4. Set START_VERSION to the version you want (e.g., 12.343)
  5. Set FORCE_UPGRADE to true
  6. Restart the Adventure component

When the container starts:

  • The existing Foundry installation is deleted
  • The new version is downloaded and installed fresh
  • FORCE_UPGRADE automatically resets to false — you don’t need to turn it off manually

Note: After a force upgrade, you may need to re-enter your Foundry VTT license key on the Setup screen. Your worlds, modules, and data are preserved — only the application files are replaced.

Finding Your Foundry Version

To check which version you’re currently running:

  1. Open your Foundry VTT instance in a browser
  2. The version number is displayed at the bottom of the Setup screen (e.g., “Version 12 Build 343”)

Troubleshooting

“Software license verification failed” — This happens after a force upgrade. Go to the Setup screen and enter your license key. You can find it at foundryvtt.com under your account → Purchased Licenses.

Update didn’t take effect — Make sure you restarted the component after changing the environment variables. The force upgrade only happens on the next start.

Worlds or modules missing after update — Your data directory (/foundry/data) is separate from the application. If worlds are missing, check that the volume is still attached on the Adventure management page.