In this article, we’ll show you how to move from Rocky Linux 9 to Rocky Linux 10.1, covering everything from backing up your current system to restoring your services on the fresh install.
Rocky Linux does not support direct in-place upgrades between major versions, and that decision is intentional. The official Rocky Linux documentation recommends doing a fresh installation when moving from Rocky Linux 9 to Rocky Linux 10.1, then restoring your data and applications from backup afterward.
You may still find older guides online that suggest using tools like Leapp or ELevate to force an in-place upgrade. However, the Rocky Linux team never officially supported that method, and ELevate dropped Rocky Linux support in November 2025. In practice, that upgrade path is no longer reliable or recommended.
A clean installation takes a little more preparation, but it avoids many of the problems that often appear after forced upgrades, such as leftover EL9 packages, broken dependencies, service failures, or unstable system behavior later on.