[GH-ISSUE #4159] Updating Netbird CLI destroys and rebuilds the Wireguard tunnels #8160

New Issue

saavagebueno · 2026-08-05T01:16:17-04:00

saavagebueno commented

2026-08-05 01:16:17 -04:00

Originally created by @san983 on GitHub (Jul 16, 2025).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/netbirdio/netbird/issues/4159

Describe the problem

As installing/updating to a new version of Netbird CLI causes the service to restart, which currently destroys and rebuilds the tunnels, is there currently a way of doing a disconnect-less upgrade?

To Reproduce

Simply upgrade / reinstall the Netbird CLI

i.e.

$ sudo apt install netbird
... 
The following packages will be upgraded:
  netbird
1 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 184 not upgraded.
Need to get 12.0 MB of archives.
After this operation, 213 kB of additional disk space will be used.
Get:1 https://pkgs.netbird.io/debian stable/main amd64 netbird amd64 0.51.1 [12.0 MB]
Fetched 12.0 MB in 0s (33.6 MB/s)
(Reading database ... 136157 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to unpack .../netbird_0.51.1_amd64.deb ...
Unpacking netbird (0.51.1) over (0.43.2) ...
Setting up netbird (0.51.1) ...
 Post Install of an upgrade
 Stopping the service
Netbird service has been uninstalled
Netbird service has been installed
Netbird service has been started
...

Expected behavior

Update Netbird CLI is installed without restarting/rebuilding the tunnels

Are you using NetBird Cloud?

No

NetBird version

Currently v0.51.1 (but applies to all)

Is any other VPN software installed?

No

Additional context

Add any other context about the problem here.

Have you tried these troubleshooting steps?

Reviewed client troubleshooting (if applicable)
Checked for newer NetBird versions
Searched for similar issues on GitHub (including closed ones)
Restarted the NetBird client
Disabled other VPN software
Checked firewall settings

Originally created by @san983 on GitHub (Jul 16, 2025). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/netbirdio/netbird/issues/4159 **Describe the problem** As installing/updating to a new version of Netbird CLI causes the service to restart, which currently destroys and rebuilds the tunnels, is there currently a way of doing a disconnect-less upgrade? **To Reproduce** Simply upgrade / reinstall the Netbird CLI i.e. ```shell $ sudo apt install netbird ... The following packages will be upgraded: netbird 1 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 184 not upgraded. Need to get 12.0 MB of archives. After this operation, 213 kB of additional disk space will be used. Get:1 https://pkgs.netbird.io/debian stable/main amd64 netbird amd64 0.51.1 [12.0 MB] Fetched 12.0 MB in 0s (33.6 MB/s) (Reading database ... 136157 files and directories currently installed.) Preparing to unpack .../netbird_0.51.1_amd64.deb ... Unpacking netbird (0.51.1) over (0.43.2) ... Setting up netbird (0.51.1) ... Post Install of an upgrade Stopping the service Netbird service has been uninstalled Netbird service has been installed Netbird service has been started ... ``` **Expected behavior** Update Netbird CLI is installed without restarting/rebuilding the tunnels **Are you using NetBird Cloud?** No **NetBird version** Currently v0.51.1 (but applies to all) **Is any other VPN software installed?** No **Additional context** Add any other context about the problem here. **Have you tried these troubleshooting steps?** - [x] Reviewed [client troubleshooting](https://docs.netbird.io/how-to/troubleshooting-client) (if applicable) - [x] Checked for newer NetBird versions - [x] Searched for similar issues on GitHub (including closed ones) - [x] Restarted the NetBird client - [x] Disabled other VPN software - [x] Checked firewall settings

saavagebueno added the feature-request client triage-needed labels 2026-08-05 01:16:17 -04:00

saavagebueno commented

2026-08-05 01:16:19 -04:00

@itsfolf commented on GitHub (May 14, 2026):

What's the status on this? It seems like the new default is to upgrade the CLI while keeping the existing daemon version afloat, but upgrading the daemon still requires a full restart which temporarily destroys the underlying wireguard tunnel even if no topology changes have been made.

@itsfolf commented on GitHub (May 14, 2026): What's the status on this? It seems like the new default is to upgrade the CLI while keeping the existing daemon version afloat, but upgrading the daemon still requires a full restart which temporarily destroys the underlying wireguard tunnel even if no topology changes have been made.

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Reference: DYNR/netbird#8160