> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.fly.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Sprite Maintenance

Sprites are persistent. Everything you leave is there when you come back, including the software. Long-living Sprites still need regular updates. This guide walks through some of the common tasks for maintaining the software environment in your Sprite.

***

## OS Upgrades

New Sprites run on a fresh install of Ubuntu 25.10. Older Sprites created with Ubuntu 25.04 must upgrade to continue receiving security and feature updates.

<Info>
  If you don't know what version of Ubuntu your Sprite currently runs, check with:

  ```bash theme={null}
  cat /etc/*release
  ```
</Info>

Fortunately, Sprites are disposable. If your workload doesn't require the Sprite to live long-term, upgrading is easy: destroy the Sprite and create a new one! If you need to copy files over, try [mounting the filesystem locally](/sprites/working-with-sprites/#mounting-filesystem-locally).

If creating a new Sprite is impractical, you can also upgrade Ubuntu in-place. Keep in mind that bundled software (such as agents and language toolchains) must be upgraded separately. Install the Ubuntu upgrader with:

```bash theme={null}
sudo apt update
sudo apt install ubuntu-release-upgrader-core
```

With the upgrader installed, follow the [official instructions](https://ubuntu.com/server/docs/how-to/software/upgrade-your-release/) from Ubuntu. In short:

```bash theme={null}
# upgrade to the latest packages for the current release
sudo apt upgrade

# checkpoint the filesystem
sprite-env checkpoints create --comment "Before Ubuntu upgrade"

# switch to the new release
sudo do-release-upgrade

# upgrade installed packages to the new release
sudo apt full-upgrade
```