Release Timeline

Version timeframe, Active , Maintenance

• Zowe is released on regular schedule. A major version is released every two years and minor versions on a schedule published in the Zowe Community GitHub repository.
• The Zowe community provides three types of releases:
  • Maintenance - This release receives only security patches and fixes for the critical bugs. It's suitable for environment that prefers stability to new features.
  • Active - This release receives updates regularly according to the schedule. It is suitable for users who are willing to invest a bit more time into upgrades to get the latest features.
  • Nightly - The Zowe publishes bleeding edge state of the project on the nightly basis. There are no guarantees around the stability of the build.
• Every major version will be in the Active phase for two years and then transition into the Maintenance phase for another two and half year. This brings to you the possibility to use only major versions in the maintenance mode.
• The combination of Active and Maintenance release provides two guarantees:
  • Critical defects will be fixed. The criteria for what constitutes a critical defect is covered in Release Process.
  • Extenders who achieve Zowe conformance for the long-term support version will not need to modify their product for it to remain functional when the Zowe community provides distributions within the release or modification level boundary within the same major version.
• Production applications should only use Active or Maintenance releases due to the contract with extender products remaining functional and the community’s commitment to fix critical defects.