--- title: Kubernetes Release Cycle | daily.dev description: An in-depth exploration of Kubernetes' quarterly release cadence, tracing its history since 1.0 in 2015, the SIG-driven governance model, API versioning and... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/kubernetes-release-cycle-1wmu9ygfs twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Kubernetes Release Cycle | daily.dev og:description: An in-depth exploration of Kubernetes' quarterly release cadence, tracing its history since 1.0 in 2015, the SIG-driven governance model, API versioning and... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/kubernetes-release-cycle-1wmu9ygfs og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/1WMu9YGfS.png og:image:alt: Kubernetes Release Cycle og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Kubernetes Release Cycle **[Teleport](https://daily.dev/sources/teleport)** · 16 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary An in-depth exploration of Kubernetes' quarterly release cadence, tracing its history since 1.0 in 2015, the SIG-driven governance model, API versioning and deprecation policies, and the community's three-minor-version support window. Compares Kubernetes' lack of an LTS release to Ubuntu and RHEL's long-term support models, discusses strategies for upgrading live clusters (in-place vs. headswap migrations), and surveys managed alternatives like GKE and Kubernetes distributions. Closes with a pitch for Gravity, an open-source project that packages applications and Kubernetes together into a deployable tarball to sidestep version management burdens. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### How often does Kubernetes release new minor versions? Kubernetes ships a new minor version roughly every three to four months, historically averaging about one hundred days between releases. Since the 1.0 release in July 2015, releases have ranged from 67 to 128 days apart, with X in the 1.X.Y version incrementing roughly quarterly while Y ticks along based on patch needs. _Developers planning cluster upgrades can track release cadence patterns like this on daily.dev._ ### How many old Kubernetes versions are officially supported at once? The upstream Kubernetes community supports only the three most recent minor versions at any given time. This means a version can fall out of support in roughly nine months; for example, Kubernetes 1.6 lost support once 1.9 shipped, so clusters running older releases without backported security fixes are considered unsupported in production. _Teams managing cluster lifecycles rely on daily.dev to stay ahead of Kubernetes version support windows._ ### Does Kubernetes have a long-term support (LTS) release like Ubuntu or RHEL? No, Kubernetes has no LTS release; it only maintains the three most recent quarterly minor versions, unlike RHEL's ten-year support guarantee or Ubuntu's five-year LTS cycle. Instead, Kubernetes relies on stable APIs that rarely change once out of beta, and users are expected to stay reasonably current with new releases rather than pin to a long-term version. _Engineers weighing Kubernetes against traditional OS support models can compare approaches on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Canonical Extends Kubernetes Long-Term Support to 15 Years](https://daily.dev/posts/canonical-extends-kubernetes-long-term-support-to-15-years-8kdefvhjw) · The New Stack · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Why Longer Kubernetes Release Cycles Are Critical for Private Cloud Adoption](https://daily.dev/posts/why-longer-kubernetes-release-cycles-are-critical-for-private-cloud-adoption-hmzcb51ew) · Cloud Native Now · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [k0s in 2025: A year of community growth, governance, and Kubernetes innovation](https://daily.dev/posts/k0s-in-2025-a-year-of-community-growth-governance-and-kubernetes-innovation-3eyzw3pbd) · CNCF · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [Kubernetes gets minor version rollback](https://daily.dev/posts/kubernetes-gets-minor-version-rollback-qfydcuwrs) · Google Cloud · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Kubernetes Release Cycles and Vendor Support Harbor Freedoms–and Sacrifices](https://daily.dev/posts/kubernetes-release-cycles-and-vendor-support-harbor-freedoms-and-sacrifices-8pyolqz3w) · Cloud Native Now · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#open-source](https://daily.dev/tags/open-source), [#devops](https://daily.dev/tags/devops), [#kubernetes](https://daily.dev/tags/kubernetes), [#cloud-native](https://daily.dev/tags/cloud-native), [#gke](https://daily.dev/tags/gke) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/kubernetes-release-cycle-1wmu9ygfs) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Kubernetes Release Cycle","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/kubernetes-release-cycle-1wmu9ygfs","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/kubernetes-release-cycle-1wmu9ygfs"},"datePublished":"2026-08-23T12:19:35.656Z","dateModified":"2026-08-23T12:38:16.317Z","description":"An in-depth exploration of Kubernetes' quarterly release cadence, tracing its history since 1.0 in 2015, the SIG-driven governance model, API versioning and...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--58gMhC4P--/f_auto/v1722860399/public/Placeholder%2012","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--58gMhC4P--/f_auto/v1722860399/public/Placeholder%2012","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"Teleport","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Teleport","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--Dw-Bbw6O--/c_limit,w_256/f_auto,q_auto/v1787487494/logos/teleport?_a=BAMAMicg0","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/teleport"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/kubernetes-release-cycle-1wmu9ygfs","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"open-source,devops,kubernetes,cloud-native,gke","timeRequired":"PT16M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Teleport","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/teleport"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Kubernetes Release Cycle"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/kubernetes-release-cycle-1wmu9ygfs#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"How often does Kubernetes release new minor versions?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Kubernetes ships a new minor version roughly every three to four months, historically averaging about one hundred days between releases. Since the 1.0 release in July 2015, releases have ranged from 67 to 128 days apart, with X in the 1.X.Y version incrementing roughly quarterly while Y ticks along based on patch needs. Developers planning cluster upgrades can track release cadence patterns like this on daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"How many old Kubernetes versions are officially supported at once?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"The upstream Kubernetes community supports only the three most recent minor versions at any given time. This means a version can fall out of support in roughly nine months; for example, Kubernetes 1.6 lost support once 1.9 shipped, so clusters running older releases without backported security fixes are considered unsupported in production. Teams managing cluster lifecycles rely on daily.dev to stay ahead of Kubernetes version support windows."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Does Kubernetes have a long-term support (LTS) release like Ubuntu or RHEL?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"No, Kubernetes has no LTS release; it only maintains the three most recent quarterly minor versions, unlike RHEL's ten-year support guarantee or Ubuntu's five-year LTS cycle. Instead, Kubernetes relies on stable APIs that rarely change once out of beta, and users are expected to stay reasonably current with new releases rather than pin to a long-term version. Engineers weighing Kubernetes against traditional OS support models can compare approaches on daily.dev."}}]} ```