How to Apply Patches in Adobe Commerce (Magento 2 Cloud)

Keeping your Adobe Commerce (Magento 2) store secure and updated is vital for smooth operations. One of the key ways to do this is by applying patches properly. Whether you’re working with Adobe Commerce on Cloud infrastructure or managing an on-premise environment, understanding how patching works is essential for every developer.

In this blog post, I will guide you—step-by-step—on how to apply patches in Adobe Commerce , especially in Cloud environments, using best practices as a Magento 2 developer.

What Are Patches in Adobe Commerce?

Patches are code-level changes that fix bugs, improve features, or close security vulnerabilities. Adobe offers three types of patches:

1. Cloud Patches for Adobe Commerce

These are required patches automatically delivered via the magento/magento-cloud-patches package. They are applied during deployment using ece-tools.

2. Quality Patches

These are optional patches provided through the Quality Patches Tool (QPT). You can apply specific patches based on your store’s needs without affecting backward compatibility.

3. Custom Patches

These are project-specific fixes added manually by developers to the /m2-hotfixes/ directory in the project root.

Prerequisites Before You Start

Before applying any patches:

• Always create a dedicated branch from the Integration environment to avoid conflicts.
• Ensure you’re using ece-tools version 2002.1.2 or above.
• Install the latest version of the Quality Patches Tool via Composer if needed.

How to View Available Patches

To see the list of available and applied patches:

php ./vendor/bin/ece-patches status

This command shows:

• Patch ID
• Title
• Type (Required / Optional / Deprecated / Custom)
• Status (Applied / Not Applied / N/A)
• Affected components

This helps you determine which patches are missing or require reapplication after an upgrade.

How to Apply Patches in Local Development

Follow these steps to apply patches in your local environment:

Step 1: Add Patch IDs to .magento.env.yaml

stage:
  build:
    QUALITY_PATCHES:
      - MCTEST-1111
      - MCTEST-2222

Step 2: Run Patch Apply Command

php ./vendor/bin/ece-patches apply

This command applies patches in the following order:

1. Required Cloud patches
2. Selected optional patches
3. Custom patches from /m2-hotfixes

Step 3: Clear Cache

php bin/magento cache:clean

Step 4: Test the Results

Ensure all patches work as expected. Adjust custom patches if required.

This is recommended to run all deployment commands if patch has major changes.

How to Apply Patches in Cloud Environments

To apply patches on a Cloud instance:

Step 1: Add Patch IDs in .magento.env.yaml

stage:
  build:
    QUALITY_PATCHES:
      - MCTEST-1111
      - MCTEST-2222

Step 2: Commit and Push Changes

git add .magento.env.yaml
git commit -m "Apply quality patches"
git push origin <branch-name>

Tip: After each Adobe Commerce upgrade, check whether the patches are still required and reapply them if necessary.

How to Apply Custom Patches

Follow these steps to apply custom patches:

Step 1: Create Patch Directory (if it doesn’t exist)

mkdir m2-hotfixes

Step 2: Add Your .patch Files

Place your patch files inside /m2-hotfixes/.

Step 3: Commit and Push

git add m2-hotfixes/
git commit -m "Apply custom patch"
git push origin <branch-name>

Make sure to test these patches thoroughly in staging or integration environments.

How to Revert a Custom Patch

To uninstall or roll back a custom patch:

Step 1: Delete the Patch File

Remove the file from /m2-hotfixes/.

Step 2: Commit and Push Changes

git add m2-hotfixes/
git commit -m "Revert patch"
git push origin <branch-name>

Revert All Patches in Local

To revert all applied patches (custom, optional, required) locally:

php ./vendor/bin/ece-patches revert

Patch Logs

Patch operations are logged in:

<your_project_root>/var/log/patch.log

You can use this log to audit applied or reverted patches for troubleshooting.

Summary and Best Practices

• Always create a separate branch for patching.
• Apply patches in the correct order: Required → Optional → Custom.
• Reapply custom patches after upgrades.
• Test all patches in integration or staging environments.
• Log and document every applied patch.

If you’re a developer reading this, I highly encourage you to bookmark this guide and follow it during every patching cycle. Your future self (and your team) will thank you! 😜

You may also like this,

Magento 2: How to Apply Patch?

Adobe Commerce Cloud Project Structure

Official Resources

• Apply Patches Documentation (Adobe)
• Magento Quality Patches Tool
• Cloud Patches for Commerce