Salt version support lifecycle#

Together with the Salt supported operating systems guidelines, this document is intended to clearly define how long a particular version of Salt will receive official packages, testing, and technical support.

Version support lifecycle#

Salt version Release date Active support ends CVE and critical support ends
3006 LTS April 18, 2023 April 18, 2024 April 18, 2025

See Older version support lifecycle for versions of Salt older than 3006.

LTS/STS release and support policy#

Beginning with the 3006 release of Salt, the Salt Project will follow an LTS/STS release strategy. Under this strategy, the Salt Project will release one LTS (long-term support) release of Salt per year and one STS (short-term support) release each year. The LTS release will receive bug fix releases for a longer period of time than STS releases.

The purpose of the LTS release is to provide users with a stable version of Salt for a longer period (2 years). The purpose of the STS release is to provide a feature release to users who need or prefer access to the latest features in between LTS releases.

  LTS release STS release
Release schedule
  • Released once a year, usually in the first 4 months of the calendar year
  • 1-2 release candidates in the months leading up to the release
  • Point releases every 3 months after the GA release
  • Released once a year around the midpoint the year
Support schedule
  • Active support for 1 full year, including rolling updates of bug fixes every quarter
  • CVE and critical fixes support for an additional year
  • Active support for 3 months
  • CVE and critical fixes support for an additional 3 months
Development schedule Features developed in the 6 months prior to release Features developed in the 6 months prior to release
Use case

Best for users who:

  • Need or prefer a stable, thoroughly tested and well-supported release
  • Prefer stable releases over access to the latest features
  • Require longer time periods to plan and implement Salt infrastructure upgrades

Best for users who:

  • Need or prefer access to new features in between LTS releases
  • Are comfortable assuming a small amount of risk as a trade-off for access to the latest features

The following graphic shows an example of the LTS/STS release strategy timeline for two years of the development and release cycle:

Graphic showing an LTS release that occurs between January and March that is actively supported for a full year and then has CVE and Critical support for an additional year. The graphic also shows an STS release that occurs between July and September that is actively supported for 3 months and then has CVE/Critical support for 3 additional months.

Support level definitions#

Active support#

Active support is defined as:

  • The Salt Project will issue regular point releases with critical bug fixes.
  • Improved software functionality may be provided at the discretion of the project.
  • Point releases will include the content of previously released updates.
  • The focus of point releases will be high and critical bugs.

Support for new operating system versions

Sometimes a new version of a supported operating system, is released during the active support window for a specific version of Salt, such as a new release of RedHat or Debian. Salt Project support for new versions of operating systems will vary for LTS vs. STS releases:

  • LTS releases - Support for new operating systems will not be added in future point releases. Instead, the new operating system will be supported in the next major LTS release.
  • STS releases - Support for new operating systems will be added for point releases if possible.

CVE and critical support#

CVE and critical support is defined as:

  • The Salt Project may release point releases with fixes for selected CVEs.
  • Fixes in newer branches will not be back ported.
  • The focus of point releases will be critical CVEs and breaking fixes that are caused by CVE fixes.

Older version support lifecycle#

The following table lists the support lifecycle for versions of Salt prior to the 3006 version:

Salt version Phase 1 support ends Phase 2 support ends Phase 3 support ends Extended life support ends
3005 Feb 25, 2023 Aug 25, 2023 Feb 25, 2024 Feb 25, 2025
3004 Apr 18, 2022 Oct 18, 2022 Apr 18, 2023 Apr 18, 2024
3003 Sep 30, 2021 Mar 31, 2022 Sep 30, 2022 Sep 30, 2023
3002 Apr 21, 2021 Oct 21, 2021 Apr 21, 2022 Apr 21, 2023
3001 Dec 31, 2020 Jun 30, 2021 Dec 31, 2021 Dec 31, 2022
3000 Aug 31, 2020 Feb 28, 2021 Aug 31, 2021 Aug 31, 2022
2019.2 Sep 30, 2019 Mar 31, 2020 Sep 30, 2020 Sep 30, 2021
2018.3 Oct 31, 2018 Apr 30, 2019 Oct 31, 2019 Oct 31, 2020
2017.7 Jan 31, 2018 Jun 30, 2018 Aug 30, 2019 Dec 31, 2019
2016.3 Nov 30, 2016 May 31, 2017 Nov 30, 2017 Nov 30, 2018
2015.8 Mar 31, 2016 Sep 30, 2016 Mar 31, 2017 Mar 31, 2018
2015.5 Nov 31, 2015 May 31, 2016 Nov 30, 2016 Nov 30, 2017
2014.7 May 31, 2015 Nov 30, 2015 May 31, 2016 May 31, 2017

Older version support level definitions#

Phase 1 support#

Regular point release support

During phase 1:

  • The Salt Project will issue regular point releases with critical bug fixes.
  • Improved software functionality may be provided at the discretion of the project.
  • Point releases will include the content of previously released updates.
  • The focus of phase 1 releases will be high and critical bugs.

Phase 2 support#

On-demand support

During phase 2:

  • The Salt Project may release point releases with bug fixes as requested by VMware customers.
  • Point releases will include the content of previously released updates.
  • The focus of phase 2 releases will be high or critical bugs.

Phase 3 support#

CVE support

During phase 3:

  • The Salt Project will release point releases with fixes for selected, critical CVEs.
  • Fixes in newer branches will not be back ported.

Extended life support#

During extended life support:

  • The Salt Project will not release any point releases.
  • Users will still have access to archived documentation.
  • The Salt Project will provide ongoing best-effort technical support for customers on existing installations.
  • No bug fixes, security fixes, improved functionality, or root-cause analysis will be provided.

Phase details#

  Phase 1 support (6 months) Phase 2 support (6 months) Phase 3 support (6 months) Extended life support (12 months)
Access to documentation Yes Yes Yes Yes
Technical support [1] Yes Yes Yes Yes (best effort)
Access to customer portal [2] Yes Yes Yes  
CVE fixes Yes Yes Yes  
Point release with bug fixes Yes Yes    
Software enhancements Yes      
[1]For VMware customers only.
[2]For VMware customers only.