.. _version-guarantees:

==========
Versioning
==========

Red is versioned as ``major.minor.micro``

While this is very similar to SemVer, we have our own set of guarantees.

Major versions are for project wide rewrites and are not expected in the foreseeable future.

.. _end-user-guarantees:

===================
End-user Guarantees
===================

Red `provides support for wide variety of operating systems <install_guides/index>`.

Support for an entire operating system (including support for any single architecture on that system)
may only be dropped in a minor or major version bump.

Red will continue to, at the very least, support current latest stable version of
each operating system + architecture that were supported by previous micro versions.

In addition to that, we strive (but do not guarantee) to provide support for all versions that
are currently supported by operating system's developers per the table below.
We generally drop support for no longer supported OS versions as soon as they reached
their end-of-life date.

.. note::

    We recommend to always use the latest OS version supported by Red.

.. tip::

    The meaning of architecture names:

    - **x86-64** (also known as amd64) refers to computers running a 64-bit version of the operating system
      on standard Intel and AMD 64-bit processors.
    - **aarch64** (also known as arm64) refers to computers running an ARM 64-bit version of the operating system
      on 64-bit ARM processors (ARMv8-A and ARMv9-A) such as Apple M1 devices or Raspberry Pi computers
      (Raspberry Pi 3B and above, excluding Pi Zero (W/WH) model).
    - **armv7l** (also known as armhf) refers to computers running an ARMv7 version of the operating system
      on 32-bit or 64-bit ARM processors (ARMv7-A, ARMv8-A, ARMv9-A) such as Raspberry Pi computers
      (2B and above, excluding Pi Zero (W/WH) model).

================================   =======================   ============================================================
Operating system version           Supported architectures   Ideally supported until
================================   =======================   ============================================================
Windows 10                         x86-64                    `End/Retirement Date <https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/products/windows-10-home-and-pro>`__
Windows 11                         x86-64                    `Retirement Date <https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/products/windows-11-home-and-pro-version-21h2>`__
macOS 11 (Big Sur)                 x86-64, aarch64           ~2023-10
macOS 12 (Monterey)                x86-64, aarch64           ~2024-10
macOS 13 (Ventura)                 x86-64, aarch64           ~2025-10
Alma Linux 8                       x86-64, aarch64           2029-05-31 (`How long will CloudLinux support AlmaLinux? <https://wiki.almalinux.org/FAQ.html#how-long-will-cloudlinux-support-almalinux>`__)
Alma Linux 9                       x86-64, aarch64           2032-05-31
Arch Linux                         x86-64                    forever (support is only provided for an up-to-date system)
CentOS 7                           x86-64, aarch64           2024-06-30 (`end of Maintenance Updates <https://wiki.centos.org/About/Product>`__)
CentOS Stream 8                    x86-64, aarch64           2024-05-31 (`end of Maintenance Updates <https://wiki.centos.org/About/Product>`__)
CentOS Stream 9                    x86-64, aarch64           2027-05-31 (`expected EOL <https://centos.org/stream9/#timeline>`__)
Debian 10 Buster                   x86-64, aarch64, armv7l   2022-08-14 (`End of life <https://wiki.debian.org/DebianReleases#Production_Releases>`__)
Debian 11 Bullseye                 x86-64, aarch64, armv7l   ~2024-09 (`End of life <https://wiki.debian.org/DebianReleases#Production_Releases>`__)
Fedora Linux 36                    x86-64, aarch64           2023-05-16 (`End of Life <https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/releases/lifecycle/#_maintenance_schedule>`__)
Fedora Linux 37                    x86-64, aarch64           2023-11-14 (`End of Life <https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/releases/lifecycle/#_maintenance_schedule>`__)
openSUSE Leap 15.4                 x86-64, aarch64           2023-11-30 (`end of maintenance life cycle <https://en.opensuse.org/Lifetime#openSUSE_Leap>`__)
openSUSE Tumbleweed                x86-64, aarch64           forever (support is only provided for an up-to-date system)
Oracle Linux 8                     x86-64, aarch64           2029-07-31 (`End of Premier Support <https://www.oracle.com/us/support/library/elsp-lifetime-069338.pdf>`__)
Oracle Linux 9                     x86-64, aarch64           2032-06-31 (`End of Premier Support <https://www.oracle.com/us/support/library/elsp-lifetime-069338.pdf>`__)
Raspberry Pi OS (Legacy) 10        armv7l                    2022-08-14 (`End of life for Debian 10 <https://wiki.debian.org/DebianReleases#Production_Releases>`__)
Raspberry Pi OS 11                 aarch64, armv7l           ~2023-12 (approximate date of release of Raspberry Pi OS 12)
RHEL 8 (latest)                    x86-64, aarch64           2029-05-31 (`End of Maintenance Support <https://access.redhat.com/support/policy/updates/errata#Life_Cycle_Dates>`__)
RHEL 8.4                           x86-64, aarch64           2023-05-31 (`End of Extended Update Support <https://access.redhat.com/support/policy/updates/errata#Extended_Update_Support>`__)
RHEL 8.6                           x86-64, aarch64           2024-05-31 (`End of Extended Update Support <https://access.redhat.com/support/policy/updates/errata#Extended_Update_Support>`__)
RHEL 9 (latest)                    x86-64, aarch64           2032-05-31 (`End of Maintenance Support <https://access.redhat.com/support/policy/updates/errata#Life_Cycle_Dates>`__)
RHEL 9.0                           x86-64, aarch64           2024-05-31 (`End of Extended Update Support <https://access.redhat.com/support/policy/updates/errata#Extended_Update_Support>`__)
Rocky Linux 8                      x86-64, aarch64           2029-05-31 (`end-of-life <https://rockylinux.org/download/>`__)
Rocky Linux 9                      x86-64, aarch64           2032-05-31 (`end-of-life <https://rockylinux.org/download/>`__)
Ubuntu 18.04 LTS                   x86-64, aarch64           2023-04-30 (`End of Standard Support <https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Releases#Current>`__)
Ubuntu 20.04 LTS                   x86-64, aarch64           2025-04-30 (`End of Standard Support <https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Releases#Current>`__)
Ubuntu 22.04 LTS                   x86-64, aarch64           2027-04-30 (`End of Standard Support <https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Releases#Current>`__)
Ubuntu 22.10                       x86-64, aarch64           2023-07-31 (`End of Standard Support <https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Releases#Current>`__)
================================   =======================   ============================================================

====================
Developer Guarantees
====================

Anything in the ``redbot.core`` module or any of its submodules 
which is not private (even if not documented) should not break without notice.

Anything in the ``redbot.cogs`` and ``redbot.vendored`` modules or any of their submodules is specifically
excluded from being guaranteed.

Method names and names of attributes of classes, functions, extensions, and modules
provided by or provided to the bot should not begin with 
``red_`` or be of the form ``__red_*__`` except as documented.
This allows us to add certain optional features non-breakingly without a name conflict.

Any RPC method exposed by Red may break without notice.

If you would like something in here to be guaranteed,
open an issue making a case for it to be moved.

=======================
Breaking Change Notices
=======================

Breaking changes in Red will be noted in the changelog with a special section.

Breaking changes may only occur on a minor or major version bump.

A change not covered by our guarantees may not be considered breaking for these purposes, 
while still being documented as a breaking change in internal documentation
for the purposes of other internal APIs.
