Update Brand Navigation

If you installed Brand Navigation from GitHub, use Discourse’s normal component updater. A downloaded ZIP or local copy is not connected to the repository and will not receive the same Git update checks.

Check for an update

1. Read What’s new and export a settings backup.
2. Open Brand Navigation under Admin → Appearance → Themes & components.
3. Select Check for updates. If a newer revision is available, Discourse offers Update to latest.
4. Try the update on a staging site or a separate test copy attached only to a preview theme. Updating a component also updates its code for every theme using that same component. Check links, menus, signed-in/signed-out visibility, mobile layout and both color schemes.
5. Update the visitor-facing component when the test is satisfactory, then repeat those checks.

Discourse normally keeps your settings when updating the component’s code. Keep the backup anyway, especially when an update changes the available settings. Automatic updates depend on your Discourse installation’s update options.

Which version should I use?

For the normal GitHub installation, leave Git Branch at its default and use Discourse’s updater. Discourse selects a compatible branch when one is available for your version. You do not normally need to choose a branch yourself.

An explicit main selection forces that branch instead of automatic compatibility selection. A sandbox may deliberately follow the head of main, independently of release tags. A release tag identifies a fixed revision; it does not redefine main or the updater’s latest revision.

If you need a specific version for testing or recovery, use the version notes in GitHub Releases. A downloaded ZIP is a fixed copy; reinstall or replace it to change versions.

Compatibility

Brand Navigation has recorded manual, automated, and native-update evidence across Discourse 2026.7 ESR, 2026.8, and 2026.9 installations. These records are evidence points—not a declared minimum version and not a claim that every feature was tested on every site.

See Tested versions and known limitations for the Discourse builds tested, what was checked and any checks still outstanding.

If something goes wrong

To remove Brand Navigation from one theme, detach it from that theme and restore the theme’s previous setup. Turn off the component’s Enabled? control only to stop it rendering on every attached theme; this does not delete its settings. Keep your backup and report the component revision, Discourse version and problem. Do not patch a Git-installed remote component locally.

To restore a previous navigation component, follow Replace another component.

To return Brand Navigation to an earlier release, follow the detailed recovery instructions. Switching to an earlier release and then updating again has not yet been fully verified. Back up your settings and test on a separate component copy or staging site first; older code may not accept your current settings. Keep the working component and settings backup until recovery is confirmed.