Rocky Releases
You have reached the releases section of the documentation. This page provides details on the releases. The release notes deal with changes and features in the major and minor releases. You can find other release-related information here as well.
Current supported releases¶
Here are the current releases:
| Release | Codename | Release Date | Active Support Ends | End of Life | Latest/Current Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rocky Linux 8 | Green Obsidian | 2021-05-01 | 2024-05-31 | 2029-05-31 | 8.10 (2024-05-31) |
| Rocky Linux 9 | Blue Onyx | 2022-07-14 | 2027-05-31 | 2032-05-31 | 9.8 (2026-05-28) |
| Rocky Linux 10 | Red Quartz | 2025-06-11 | 2030-05-31 | 2035-05-31 | 10.2 (2026-05-29) |
Only the latest minor release of each major version is supported.
The release date, active support ends date, and the end of life date, refer to the major version. In order to remain in a supported state, you need to update your operating system to the latest minor release. No minor release is supported past the release of the next minor release. For instance, 8.9 is unsupported, whereas 8.10 is supported. You should always perform a sudo dnf upgrade when the next minor release is available. For more information, see the section on Timeline and terminology.
Rocky 10¶
Rocky 10 (Code Name "Red Quartz") has general support until 31 May 2030 and security support through 31 May 2035. The supported architectures are x86_64_v3, riscv64, aarch64, ppc64le, and s390x.
| Release Number | General Availability Date | Kernel Version |
|---|---|---|
| 10.0 | 2025-06-11 | 6.12.0-55.14.1 |
| 10.1 | 2025-11-25 | 6.12.0-124.8.1 |
| 10.2 | 2026-05-29 | 6.12.0-211.16.1 |
Rocky 9¶
Rocky 9 (Code Name "Blue Onyx") has general support until 31 May 2027 and security support through 31 May 2032. The supported architectures are x86_64-v2, aarch64, ppc64le, and s390x.
| Release Number | General Availability Date | Kernel Version |
|---|---|---|
| 9.0 | 2022-07-14 | 5.14.0-70.13.1 |
| 9.1 | 2022-11-26 | 5.14.0-162.6.1 |
| 9.2 | 2023-05-16 | 5.14.0-284.11.1 |
| 9.3 | 2023-11-20 | 5.14.0-362.8.1 |
| 9.4 | 2024-05-09 | 5.14.0-427.13.1 |
| 9.5 | 2024-11-19 | 5.14.0-503.14.1 |
| 9.6 | 2025-06-04 | 5.14.0-570.18.1 |
| 9.7 | 2025-12-01 | 5.14.0-611.5.1 |
| 9.8 | 2026-05-28 | 5.14.0-687.10.1 |
Rocky 8¶
Rocky 8 (Code Name "Green Obsidian") has general support until 1 May 2024 and security support through 01 May 2029. The supported architectures are x86_64 and aarch64.
| Release Number | General Availability Date | Kernel Version |
|---|---|---|
| 8.3 | 2021-05-01 | 4.18.0-240 |
| 8.4 | 2021-06-21 | 4.18.0-305 |
| 8.5 | 2021-11-15 | 4.18.0-348 |
| 8.6 | 2022-05-16 | 4.18.0-372.9.1 |
| 8.7 | 2022-11-14 | 4.18.0-425.3.1 |
| 8.8 | 2023-05-19 | 4.18.0-477.10.1 |
| 8.9 | 2023-11-22 | 4.18.0-513.5.1 |
| 8.10 | 2024-05-31 | 4.18.0-553 |
Timeline and terminology¶
Terminology¶
Throughout this page, you will see terms such as "major version" or "minor version", among others. You will see these terms used throughout many discussions online forums, mail lists, or even our Mattermost.
| Term | Definitions |
|---|---|
| Major Version | A whole number in the leftmost position of the version, denotes a major version, such as "Rocky Linux 9". For example, in the version 9.1, the "9" is the major version. Major version releases come with significant changes to its preceding major version. |
| Minor Version | The number in the rightmost position of a version denotes the minor version. For example in the version "Rocky Linux 9.3", the "3" is the minor version. These updates come with version upgrades, rebases, new software and features. |
| Release | Release typically refers to a major version release, such as "Rocky Linux 9". It is typically assumed it is referring to the latest/current version of that release. |
| Minor Release | Used as "Minor Version" in most cases. |
| Active Support | Active support, also known as "full support" is the period of time where minor releases come out every six (6) months. These provide new software, rebases, or other new features. When Active Support ends, a release receives maintenance-only updates. |
Timeline¶
Rocky Linux attempts to follow CentOS Stream development and Red Hat Enterprise Linux releases as close as possible. With this model, Rocky Linux releases should follow these upstream platforms closely.
Major version release¶
For a new Rocky Linux release, the following should be true:
- New major version is released with support of ten (10) years, starting at
.0. -
Release will have five (5) years of minor version updates or "active support"
- Each major version will come with two minor version releases a year: Every six (6) months
- Minor version releases will come with new features, software rebases, and sometimes brand new software
- Final minor version will be
.10
Minor version release¶
For a new Rocky Linux minor version release, the following should be true:
- Rocky releases a new minor version with new features and software.
- Rocky moves the previous minor version to the vault and it is no longer supported.
However, when the minor version is .10, this means:
- Rocky Linux (and other Enterprise Linux derivatives) go into security maintenance for the next five (5) years.
- This version of Rocky Linux will likely not receive new features, but new packages might appear occasionally.
Release schedule¶
Rocky releases new major version in the month of May, and bases this on Red Hat's life cycle policy. Every May and November, Rocky releases a new minor version for all supported releases, except those that have reached a minor version of ".10". Rocky Linux attempts to follow this system as closely as possible.
Below is a general guideline (based on Red Hat documentation) for the "full support" cycle for Rocky Linux.
| Version | Month |
|---|---|
| .0 | May |
| .1 | November |
| .2 | May |
| .3 | November |
| .4 | May |
| .5 | November |
| .6 | May |
| .7 | November |
| .8 | May |
| .9 | November |
| .10* | May |
Upon each new minor release, (X.Y+1), the previous version becomes unsupported and the team moves this version to the vault.
X.10, where X represents the major version
X.10 is the final minor release and marks the end of "active support". When it is released, that version of Rocky Linux is now in maintenance mode for the next five (5) years until End of Life, receiving only maintenance related updates. CentOS Stream X will also cease development upstream, marking that upstream's end of life.
Version policy¶
Rocky Linux attempts to follow closely with the updates of our upstreams CentOS Stream and Red Hat Enterprise Linux. This means that the Release Engineering team attempts releases as closely as possible after our upstreams.
Previous versions of packages will coexist in the repositories to allow a user to downgrade in case of a regression or other use cases (such as security only updates).
Note
When a new minor release arrives, all previous updates/versions are not carried over and will be found in the vault.
General update timeline¶
- Updates - assuming no build complications, unforeseen added upstream dependencies, and best effort by the development team, should happen within twenty-four (24) to forty-eight (48) hours following the upstream release.
- Minor releases - The expectation is that Rocky Linux will build and release at least a week (7 days) after the upstream. This assumes that best effort allows the packages to build without any complications, and it passes the Testing Team's OpenQA and general testing. There is never a guaranteed release timetable.
- Major releases - The expectation is that building and releasing these will happen when they are ready. Major releases have no guaranteed ETA.
End of life and unsupported release or version policy¶
A release or version of Rocky Linux becomes unsupported if:
- A new Rocky Linux minor version supersedes an old minor version or
- The Rocky Linux release or major version is End of Life
See below for examples of unsupported releases.
Example: An unsupported version¶
When a new Rocky Linux minor release arrives in May or November, the following is true:
- The previous version is no longer supported by Release Engineering and the community.
- The previous version is no longer updated and moves to the vault.
- The previous version does not receive bug fix nor security updates.
- to maintain the supported status of your system you need to run
sudo dnf upgrade.
Example: An end of life release¶
When a Rocky Linux release has reached its End of Life date typically after ten (10) years, the following is true:
- The major version/release is no longer supported in full by Release Engineering and the community.
- The team moves the final version of that release to the vault.
- This release no longer receives updates and is no longer supported.
- The recommendation is to install a supported Rocky Linux version and migrate your data.
If you cannot install a new system and migrate and you still need support for your system or systems, you might be able to find a support provider.
Warning
Support providers will maintain their own packages and policies outside of the Rocky Linux ecosystem, and thus their policies do not apply here. The release is still considered EOL and unsupported by the Rocky Linux project. You should work with your support provider for any assistance.
Beta to stable policy¶
Rocky Linux might release beta versions when possible. These are typically close to our upstreams where reasonably possible. The team releases these specifically to find bugs or issues in our build process. This also helps correlate issues with our upstreams if they also have bugs. These version provide our Testing Team members and others in the community the ability to download and test.
However, when the stable minor version releases, updating from the beta to the stable version is not recommended nor is it supported, even for experienced users.
The following is unsupported:
- Updating from a stable release to beta release
- Updating from a beta release to stable release
Upgrade policy¶
Upgrades from major version to major version are NOT supported by the Rocky Linux team. If you wish to perform upgrades between major releases, there is a tool called ELevate that might be able to help you. However:
- The Rocky Linux team does not support this method of upgrading.
- The only supported upgrade path is to backup your data, and perform a fresh install of the latest major release.
Note
If you would like to see the project support major version upgrades, we encourage all interested parties to join our mattermost or our forums and open a conversation on the topic.
If you have any questions or comments, please join the discussion here.