Upgrading your store to the latest Magento version is necessary to keep up with the latest features and platform enhancements. Running a compatibility check is vital before the store upgrade not to run into potential issues after the procedure. The official Magento Upgrade Compatibility tool is what makes the process easier.
Adobe Commerce (Magento) is a leading eCommerce platform, well-known for its scalable and versatile range of features. The platform, owned by Adobe, releases regular version updates to help store owners meet the ever-changing requirements of the dynamic online selling industry. Magento works on improving the platform with every upgrade fixing hundreds of known issues and security loopholes and adding new features.
Magento 2 version upgrade can be a straightforward task when you are using the vanilla version of the platform. However, the real struggle is when you have plenty of custom modules, and development in your store and are not sure about their compatibility with the newer version. This can add an extra layer of complexity to the upgrade process.
Fortunately, the Magento Upgrade Compatibility tool is your friend here! The official tool by Adobe lets you find the potential incompatibilities in your system before upgrading, saving precious time and money.
In this article, we’ll explore everything about Magento Upgrade Compatibility Tool – What it is? How to Install it? How to Use it? And more.
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What is the Magento Upgrade Compatibility Tool?
Magento Upgrade Compatibility Tool is a command line offered by Adobe to help merchants check the compatibility of their store with the latest Magento version upgrade.

The tool analyzes the compatibility of the existing site’s functionalities, third-party extensions, and customizations against the new version of Magento. It lists the possible issues so that they can be fixed and avoided during the Magento upgrade process. Therefore, it saves merchants a lot of time and money by avoiding possible mistakes during the version upgrade process.
The Upgrade Compatibility Tool is only available for Adobe Commerce users.
Prerequisites of Magento Upgrade Compatibility Tool
It is essential to make sure your system has the resources required to download and install the Adobe Commerce Upgrade Compatibility Tool. The minimum requirements are:
| Requirements | Constraints |
|---|---|
| PHP version | 7.3 or above |
| Node.js | Node.js versions ^12.22.0, ^14.17.0, or >=16.0.0 |
| Minimum RAM | Gigabytes |
| Operating System | Linux |
| Other Requirements | PCNTL and other PHP extensions |
How to Download Magento Upgrade Compatibility Tool?
The Magento Upgrade Compatibility Tool can be installed anywhere on Linux OS; you do not necessarily need to install it where your Adobe Commerce instance is located.
Run the following command to download Magento Upgrade Compatibility Tool:
composer create-project magento/upgrade-compatibility-tool uct --repository https://repo.magento.com
After successful installation, run the following chmod command to give executable permissions to the tool:
chmod +x ./uct/bin/uct
Useful CLI Commands for Magento Upgrade Compatibility Tool
Magento Upgrade Compatibility tool checks for potential incompatibility issues in Adobe Commerce against a specific version. Here are the CLI commands you can use with the tool.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
| upgrade:check | Runs the Upgrade Compatibility tool and analyzes all the modules installed in the system. |
| dbschema:diff | Finds and displays all the database schema differences between the current and new Adobe Commerce versions. |
| core:code:changes | Compares the current Adobe Commerce core code with a clean vanilla installation. |
| refactor | Automatically fixes a reduced set of issues. |
| graphql:compare | Introspects two GraphQL endpoints and compare their schemas. |
| list | Displays a list of all Upgrade Compatibility Tool commands. |
| help | Returns all help options for the Upgrade Compatibility Tool. |
upgrade:check
The upgrade:check is the main command of the Adobe Commerce upgrade compatibility tool. It checks the core code for all custom changes and lists down the issues. For example:
bin/uct upgrade:check
Here, the <dir> refers to the Adobe Commerce directory path.
Available options:
- –current-version: The current Adobe Commerce version. (Mandatory)
- –min-issue-level: Filter issues according to their issue level.
- –ignore-current-version-compatibility-issues (or -i): Ignore issues from the current Adobe Commerce version.
- –coming-version (or -c): Specify the target Adobe Commerce version. (Default is the latest version)
dbschema:diff
The dbschema:diff checks for database schema differences between two Magento versions. It can be executed as:
bin/uct dbschema:diff
The <current-version> and <target-version> argument refers to the versions of respective Adobe Commerce versions.
core:code:changes
This command lets you find the modifications in the core code of Adobe Commerce as compared to its vanilla version. The command can be executed as follows.
bin/uct core:code:changes
where <dir> and <vanilla dir> are arguments for the directories of current Adobe Commerce and its vanilla version.
refactor
The refactor command in the Adobe Commerce Upgrade Compatibility Tool allows fixing reduced set of issues:
- Deprecated functions that were previously allowed to be used without an argument.
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finalin private methods.
You can use the command as follows:
bin/uct refactor
where the <dir> argument defines the directory of Adobe Commerce.
graphql:compare
This Magento Upgrade Compatibility Tool command is used to introspect and compare graphql endpoints and schemas of the installed Adobe Commerce version with the vanilla version.
bin/uct graphql:compare
Here, the arguments followed by the command define the directory of the Endpoint URL of existing & vanilla installations.
Further, you can also use the list command to get a list of the Upgrade Compatibility Tool commands and get help by using the help command.
Getting Ready for Magento Upgrade
Running Magento Upgrade Compatibility Tool before upgrading to the latest version can help save a lot of time and money by fixing potential incompatibility issues. The command line tool is easy-to-install and use for Adobe Commerce users. Unfortunately, it does not support the Magento open-source version! Merchants using the open-source version of Magento may face unexpected issues after upgrading to the latest version Magento 2.4.8.
Therefore, it is essential to take a complete backup of your Magento 2 store before proceeding with the upgrade, which can be helpful in case of critical issues. Our Magento professionals also advise testing all the third-party extensions and customizations in Magento 2 after the upgrade. Take help from an Adobe-certified Magento professional to upgrade your store to the latest version and mitigate the risks.