Hello everyone
I have been a part of multiple discussions to change the ACS versioning
through the years. I'll restate what I have always said: changing the
version name just for the name's sake is pointless.
The problem of the current versioning is not in its name, but in the
lack of processes to manage certain aspects of the project, like
breaking changes. We should strive to properly redefine those if we want
the project to keep prospering.
My last proposal regarding versioning can be found in
https://lists.apache.org/thread/j69ly666jqtzt972bvsngwj1msfmj14t. Since
it was somewhat discussed, I think a few points could be made better,
but I am looking for something like this, real change.
I believe that only changing the version name has no real benefits to
the project, thus I'm voting -1.
Best regards,
João
On 8/14/26 04:07, Wido den Hollander via dev wrote:
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
