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release_and_support_schedule.md

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Chef Infra Release and Support Schedule

Versioning Scheme

Chef Infra releases follow a MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH versioning scheme based on Semantic Versioning.

Given a version number MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH:

  • MAJOR version releases (e.g. 15.x -> 16.x) will include breaking or backwards-incompatible changes.
    • Example: When changing the load order of any cookbook segments
  • MINOR version releases (e.g. 15.1 -> 15.2) will include new features, bug fixes, and will be backwards-compatible to the best of the maintainers' abilities.
    • Example: When adding support to the mount provider for special filesystem types that were previously unsupported.
    • Example: Major version bump of a software dependency.
  • PATCH version releases (e.g. 15.1.1 -> 15.1.2) will include backwards-compatible bug fixes.
    • Example: Minor version bump of a software dependency.

When incrementing a version, the following conditions will apply:

  • When MAJOR increases, MINOR and PATCH will be reset to zero (e.g. 11.X.X -> 12.0.0)
    • Note: New features that did not exist in version 1.1.0 may be released in 2.0.0 without any intermediary releases.
  • When MINOR increases, PATCH will be reset to zero (e.g. 11.3.x -> 11.4.0)

Auto-bumping PATCH versions

Chef projects are managed by our Expeditor release tooling application. This application is executed each time a GitHub Pull Request is merged and increments the patch version of the software before running the change through our internal CI/CD pipeline. As not all builds will make it successfully through the CI/CD pipeline, the versions available for public consumption might have gaps (e.g. 1.2.1, 1.2.10, 1.2.11, 1.2.12, 1.2.20), but all versions have been built and tested.

Support Schedule

Chef currently supports the current major version release as well as the previous major version release. These releases each fall into one of three distinct lifecycle stages:

  • Generally Available (GA)
  • Deprecated
  • End of Life (EOL)

Generally Available (GA)

This stage indicates that the release version is in active development.

  • Releases occur per our regular release schedule
  • New features as well as bug fixes ship in each new release
  • When a new major version release of Chef Infra ships it becomes the new GA release and the previous release moves to the Deprecated stage

Deprecated

This stage indicates that a release version is no longer in active development and will eventually move to end of life status.

  • Releases do not follow our regular release schedule, but instead only occur as necessary for critical bugs or security vulnerabilities.
  • After a year releases transition from Deprecated to End of Life status when a new major release is made.

End of Life (EOL)

This stage indicates a previously deprecated release version, which is no longer supported

  • No additional releases will be made
  • Documentation will be archived
  • Cookbooks and other community tooling may no longer function using this version of Chef Infra

Release Schedule

Generally Available Release Schedule

  • Minor releases: 2nd week of each month
  • Major releases: Once a year in April

Deprecated Release Schedule

  • Adhoc released for critical bugs and security vulnerabilities only

Release Announcements

Each release will be announced to the "chef-release" Chef Mailing List category, notifying users of the new stable release.

Example Release / Support Cycle

April 2019: Chef 15.0 released as GA April 2020: Chef 15 becomes Deprecated when Chef 16 ships April 2021: Chef 15 becomes End of Life when Chef 17 ships