![Blue clipboard icon with three checked checkboxes and lines representing a checklist](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_hero_image_mobile/public/media/image/2026-07/Group%201000002043.png?itok=6-4YzSP-) Image ![Martin Anderson Clutz](/sites/default/files/styles/post_content_attribution_headshot/public/media/image/2026-07/acquia_250429_128_sm.jpg?h=8ca46522&itok=UXkRuSK3) [Martin Anderson-Clutz](/people/acquians/martin-anderson-clutz) Senior Product Marketing Manager, Drupal Acquia ## Collection [Drupal](/blog/series/drupal) # Drupal 11 Preparation Checklist July 22, 2026 10 minute read [Share this blog post on LinkedIn ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https://www.acquia.com/blog/upgrade-to-drupal-11) [Share this blog post on Twitter ]() [Share this blog post via Email ]() Get your site ready for Drupal 11 with our upgrade checklist. Learn about platform requirements, scanning for deprecated code, and updating modules. ![Blue clipboard icon with three checked checkboxes and lines representing a checklist](/sites/default/files/styles/blog_hero_image_mobile/public/media/image/2026-07/Group%201000002043.png?itok=6-4YzSP-) ## Collection : [Drupal](/blog/series/drupal) Drupal 11 is making an early debut! But don't reach for the panic button just yet; the Drupal 10 support model ensures you still have plenty of breathing room. Drupal 10 will officially reach its End of Life (EOL) on December 9, 2026. While you aren't under immediate pressure to jump ship today, we all know that a smooth transition is better than a last-minute scramble. It's the perfect time to start mapping out your upgrade strategy so your organization is ready well before that December deadline hits. Similar to the upgrade from Drupal 9 to Drupal 10, the latest version of Drupal 10 – Drupal 10.3.1 – defined all the deprecated code for Drupal 11. Also like previous modern Drupal major version upgrades, there is a recommended set of areas to focus on to get your applications upgraded as cleanly as possible. These important considerations are: ensuring your environment is ready for Drupal 11; ensuring your Drupal site is updated to the latest version of Drupal 10; updating contributed modules to the latest versions; updating your custom module code; and then finally updating to the next major version of Drupal core itself. ## **What's New in Drupal 11?** Before diving into the upgrade process, it helps to understand the new features and improvements Drupal 11 brings. The release introduces several enhancements that make the upgrade worthwhile: **Performance improvements** – Drupal 11 benefits from PHP 8.3's performance optimizations and Symfony 7's streamlined architecture; sites typically see faster page load times and reduced server resource consumption. **Modern JavaScript foundation** – jQuery 4 brings a lighter, faster JavaScript library with improved security and modern browser support. **Enhanced content editing** – CKEditor 5 refinements continue to improve the authoring experience; content editors benefit from a more intuitive interface and better media handling. **Future-ready architecture** – Updated dependencies (Symfony 7, PHPUnit 10) position Drupal 11 for long-term support and compatibility with modern PHP ecosystem tools. **Improved developer experience** – Cleaner APIs and removed deprecated code make the main content management codebase easier to maintain and extend. ## **Drupal 11 Requirements** To run Drupal 11 in your environment, you will need to verify that your platform meets the system requirements listed below. On Acquia Cloud, the only changes you will need to make are to update to PHP 8.3 and use the MySQL 5.7 Backport module. ### **Update to PHP 8.3** Drupal 11 requires PHP 8.3 with the zlib extension enabled. Most systems will already have this extension enabled by default. In the development or sandbox environment where you plan to do the initial upgrade, you should have PHP 8.3 enabled. This is a good thing; PHP 8.3 is much faster than earlier versions of PHP and reduces page load times significantly. ### **Update to Drush 13** If you use Drush, make sure you update to Drush 13. In the development or sandbox environment where you plan to do the initial upgrade, you should have Drush 13 available. As needed you can do this with: ``` composer require drush/drush ^13 ``` ### **Database Requirements** The requirements for the database drivers supported by Drupal 11 are as follows: **MySQL** – The MySQL database driver requires MySQL 8.0. Drupal 11 does not directly use MySQL 8 specific syntax yet, but it will in future versions. If you can't yet upgrade to MySQL 8.0, there is the MySQL 5.7 Backport module that you can use temporarily. On Acquia Cloud, some customers initially needed to use the MySQL 5.7 Backport module. Today, customers can run their site on [Acquia Cloud Next](https://www.acquia.com/blog/introducing-acquia-cloud-next-kubernetes-native-drupal-hosting-platform), which fuly supports MySQL 8.0. **MariaDB** – The MariaDB database driver requires MariaDB 10.6. If you can't yet upgrade to MariaDB 10.6, there is the MariaDB 10.3 Backport module that you can use temporarily. **PostgreSQL** – The PostgreSQL database driver requires PostgreSQL 16. **SQLite** – The SQLite database driver requires SQLite 3.45 with the json1 extension. ### **Web Server Requirements** Apache is the most commonly used web server for Drupal. Drupal requires Apache 2.4.7 or greater. Drupal 11 does not provide a web.config file; support for IIS is removed, so sites using IIS are encouraged to change to a supported web server. ### **Core Dependencies** Drupal 11 updates several core dependencies: - Symfony 7 - jQuery 4 - PHPUnit 10 - Composer 2.7.7 More information about platform requirements is available on drupal.org. ## **Upgrade to the Latest Drupal 10** Upgrade to Drupal 10.3 if you have not already. Drupal sites running 10.2.x or earlier versions must first update to 10.3.0 or later because all core updates added prior to 10.3.0 have been removed. In general, sites should update to the most recent release of their current major branch before updating to the next major release. This step is critical; skipping intermediate versions can cause compatibility issues and make troubleshooting more difficult. ## **Run a Deprecation Scan** Like previous modern Drupal major version upgrades, the main difference between Drupal 10.3 and Drupal 11.0 is the removal of all the deprecated code. What that means is that if you have functionality in your site that relies on removed PHP code, you'll run into errors. So we want to avoid that up front. There are a number of tools you can use on your site that will tell you if you are compatible with Drupal 11 or not. ### **Analyze with Upgrade Status** One highly recommended solution is the Upgrade Status module. Install Upgrade Status on your development site as you would any other Drupal module. Upgrade Status helps "gamify" the process to a certain degree; giving you a checklist of the next steps you might need to perform. Use the **Administer >> Reports >> Upgrade Status** page to check if there are contributed modules you can update to get compatible. The module will also help you learn about the deprecated API uses you can fix in your custom code. Use the latest Drupal 10.3 release to check to make sure all deprecated APIs are detectable. ### **Leverage Drupal Rector** Drupal Rector is available as well to help automatically fix code issues. You should use drupal-rector to review and update any issues in your custom code. Upgrade Status will help you identify where to take what actions, as warranted. Drupal Rector will also take the steps of leaving "To Do" comments in your code to direct humans on what needs to be done. The Drupal community – including contributors like [Gábor Hojtsy](https://www.acquia.com/about-us/team/gabor-hojtsy) – has invested significant effort in making these tools robust and reliable for the Drupal 11 migration process. ### **Check Project Update Bot** Right now contributed projects on drupal.org are receiving help from the Project Update Bot to be Drupal 11 ready. The bot runs on every project on drupal.org and opens issues with compatibility that need to be addressed. ## **Remediate Deprecated Contributed Code** Now let's update all of those contrib modules to be Drupal 11 compatible. This is best accomplished with Composer. As mentioned, Upgrade Status will help you understand which modules have compatible versions and which don't. Thankfully, many modules are D11 compatible right now. Keep in mind that there may still be modules that are not D11 compatible today. This could block you from updating unless you can help get those projects ready (or you remove them from your project). If you need a contributed project that is not yet ready, Upgrade Status will help find the existing issue or issues where discussion about required fixes is happening. You can composer require an incompatible project with `mglaman/composer-drupal-lenient` and/or apply needed patches with `cweagans/composer-patches`. Make sure to provide feedback to project maintainers about patches in the issues. ## **Remediate Deprecated Custom Code** Much like correcting any contributed code, after receiving your Upgrade Status report, you will need to check your custom code and custom modules. You might be fortunate to have only a few modifications to make, but the truth is that any sort of trial run or actual transition to Drupal 11 can't proceed until all Drupal application code has been corrected. Often, you'll find that the deprecations necessitate only slight modifications (such as swapping out one function or method for another). Nonetheless, it's important not to underestimate these adjustments. Substitutions as simple as a single word could potentially disrupt your site if they aren't managed and verified with care. ## **Update Third-Party Tools and Dependencies** If your project is using other tools that are Composer required into your project, you need to make sure that all of these third-party dependencies are also compatible with PHP 8.3 and/or Drupal 11.x. Otherwise, these tools will block you from doing the update. ### **BLT Considerations** An example here is BLT which isn't compatible with Drupal 11 (and is undergoing an EOL). If your project is using BLT, then you will need to remove it from the codebase prior to upgrading to Drupal 11. If your site is hosted on Acquia Cloud and you are using BLT and you plan to remove BLT from your workflow and codebase, there is [a great tutorial on removing BLT](https://docs.acquia.com/acquia-cloud-platform/help/88481-you-dont-need-blt-acquia-cloud) on docs.acquia.com. ### **Other Common Dependencies** Review any additional tools in your workflow: - Testing frameworks and CI/CD integrations - Code quality tools (PHP\_CodeSniffer, PHPStan) - Custom deployment scripts - Integration connectors and APIs ## **Configuration Management Workflow** For sites using Drupal's configuration management (CMI) system, plan your workflow carefully during the upgrade: **Export configuration before upgrading** – Run `drush config:export` to capture your current configuration state. **Track configuration changes** – The upgrade may introduce new configuration schemas or modify existing ones; be prepared to review and commit these changes. **Test configuration imports** – After upgrading, verify that `drush config:import` runs cleanly without errors. **Handle configuration splits** – If you use Config Split or similar modules, ensure they're compatible and properly configured for Drupal 11. ## **Do a Dry Run** If you've done this type of update in the past, you're probably – like me – assuming it will fail at least the first time. That's OK because you should always be doing this type of work and testing in a safe space like a local sandbox or Cloud IDE where – if and when things go wrong – nothing important will break. Likely, you'll do several dry runs. Research how to utilize: ``` composer update --dry-run ``` Once you get a dry run result with no errors, you are ready to do the core Composer update. If you still can't get `composer update drupal/core --with-all-dependencies` to resolve into Drupal 11.x, you can always run `composer why-not drupal/core 11.0` to get some insight into what in your Composer dependency tree still requires something other than 11.x. ## **Always Backup Everything** Finally, when you're ready to do the deployment into your production environment, make sure you have an up-to-date snapshot of your code and database. Assuming you did dry runs in other environments (and they succeeded), then you should be clear to continue with the update. But it's always best to back things up just in case. ### **Recommended Backup Checklist** - Database snapshot (full export) - Files directory backup - Configuration export - Code repository tagged at pre-upgrade state - Document any manual steps required for rollback ## **Drupal 11 Upgrade Timeline** Planning your upgrade timeline helps ensure a smooth transition: **Now through mid-late 2026** – Begin assessment; run Upgrade Status; identify blockers; update contributed modules as compatible versions become available. **Q3–Q4 2026** – Execute upgrades on development and staging environments; remediate custom code; conduct thorough testing. **Before December 9, 2026** – Complete production upgrades before Drupal 10 EOL. Organizations with complex sites or many custom modules should start earlier; simpler sites may complete the Drupal upgrade in a matter of hours once dependencies are ready. ## **Acquia Cloud Considerations** For sites hosted on Acquia Cloud, keep these specific considerations in mind: - Use the MySQL 5.7 Backport module or [upgrade to Acquia Cloud Next](https://docs.acquia.com/acquia-cloud-platform/upgrading-cloud-next?v=2) - Update PHP version to 8.3 in your environment settings - Remove BLT if present (follow docs.acquia.com tutorial) - Leverage Cloud IDE for safe testing environments - Use Acquia's backup tools before production deployment Acquia's managed platform handles many infrastructure concerns; focus your attention on code compatibility and testing. ## **Additional Resources** - [Drupal.org Drupal 11 documentation](https://www.drupal.org/docs/upgrading-drupal) - [Upgrade Status module](https://www.drupal.org/project/upgrade_status) - [Drupal Rector documentation](https://www.drupal.org/project/rector) - [Project Update Bot information](https://www.drupal.org/project/project_update_bot) - [Removing BLT tutorial on dev.acquia.com](https://dev.acquia.com/) Need help with your Drupal 11 upgrade? [Contact Acquia's Drupal experts](/request-a-demo/acquia-source "Request an Acquia Source Demo") for guidance on planning and executing your migration. Image ![Martin Anderson Clutz](/sites/default/files/styles/post_content_attribution_headshot/public/media/image/2026-07/acquia_250429_128_sm.jpg?h=8ca46522&itok=UXkRuSK3) [Martin Anderson-Clutz](/people/acquians/martin-anderson-clutz) Senior Product Marketing Manager, Drupal Acquia [Share this blog post on LinkedIn ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https://www.acquia.com/blog/upgrade-to-drupal-11) [Share this blog post on Twitter ]() [Share this blog post via Email ]()