Hi all,
Following the discussion in the proposal thread [1], I would like to
call a vote on changing the version naming of Apache CloudStack.
What is being proposed:
- 4.23 is released as planned, using the current naming scheme.
- The release that would have been 4.24 is instead released as 24, i.e.
24.0.0
- From there we continue releasing exactly as we do today, only without
the "4." prefix. Subsequent feature releases become 25, 26, etc., and
maintenance releases on the 24 branch become 24.1.0, 24.2.0, and so on.
This is a change to the version naming only. It does **not** change our
release cadence, our LTS policy, our branching and release process, or
our backwards-compatibility guarantees. Dropping the "4." is not a
signal that 24 will break APIs or introduce disruptive changes.
The leading "4." has not carried any meaning for many years. We have
never incremented it, and we do not expect to, so in practice the number
that identifies a release is the second component. Dropping the prefix
makes the version we all actually use in conversation, docs, packages
and branch names the version we publish, and it removes the recurring
confusion about what a major version bump would mean for us.
If we decide this in the coming weeks, we can announce and explain the
change at the CloudStack Collaboration Conference in November 2026. That
gives us a single moment where we can lay out to the whole community, in
person, what changes and, more importantly, what does not change. A
version naming change is exactly the kind of thing that generates
uncertainty among operators and users if it only appears in a release
note, and CCC gives us the opportunity to get ahead of that and answer
questions directly. Deciding now also means 24 can be prepared and
communicated as such from the start of its development cycle, rather
than being renamed halfway through.
Please vote:
[ ] +1 Drop the "4" prefix, starting with release 24
[ ] +0 No opinion
[ ] -1 Do not adopt (please state your reasoning)
Looking forward to the votes!
The vote is open for 7 days and will close on Friday 21 August 2026 at
12:00 UTC. Votes from PMC members are binding, but everybody in the
community is welcome and encouraged to vote and to share their view.
Wido
[1] https://lists.apache.org/thread/j2ofomb32kms1jh6772p7qobrt68rygc
