Standalone mode

Mender Orchestrator supports standalone mode, where updates are triggered locally on the System device instead of being deployed from the Mender Server. This is useful for Systems without network connectivity, or Systems updated through external storage like a USB stick.

In standalone mode, you provide a Manifest YAML file directly to Mender Orchestrator, and reference the Artifacts for each Component type with the artifact_path field.

Install a Manifest

Create a Manifest which references the local Artifacts with artifact_path:

api_version: "mender/v1"
kind: "manifest"
name: "electric-vehicle-software-v3.2.1"
system_types_compatible: ["electric-vehicle-2026"]

component_types:
  telematics_control_unit:
    artifact_path: tcu-firmware-v2.4.1.mender
    update_strategy:
      order: 30

  ecu_brake_controller:
    artifact_path: brake-ecu-firmware-v1.8.3.mender
    update_strategy:
      order: 10

artifact_path can be an absolute path, or a path relative to the location of the Manifest file. Relative paths are resolved throughout the installation, so if the Manifest resides on external storage, the mount point must stay the same across reboots for resume to find the Artifacts.

Install the Manifest by running the following command on the System device:

mender-orchestrator install /path/to/manifest.yaml

Mender Orchestrator updates the Components as described in the update process, and commits the update automatically once all Components are updated successfully. If any Component fails, the whole System is rolled back.

Reboots

If a Component update requires rebooting the System device, Mender Orchestrator reboots it as part of the installation. After the System device has booted, continue the installation by running:

mender-orchestrator resume

Verify the update before committing

By default, the installation runs to completion and commits automatically. To inspect the System before making the update permanent, stop the installation before the commit:

mender-orchestrator install /path/to/manifest.yaml --stop-before ArtifactCommit

After verifying the update, commit it by resuming the installation:

mender-orchestrator resume

If you are not happy with the update, roll back the System instead:

mender-orchestrator rollback

--stop-before accepts the states ArtifactCommit, ArtifactRollback and Cleanup, and can also be given to the resume and rollback commands.

Ongoing deployments

Standalone and managed updates share the same installation state. If a deployment is already in progress, install refuses to start a new one until the ongoing installation is resumed or rolled back.