Teleport Updates its Release Process

What are we changing?

We are reducing the number of supported major versions of Teleport from three to two. We are extending the support for each major version to 24 months. New major versions will come out once per year in August.

The most recent major version of Teleport, referred to as the Current Version, is the only major version of Teleport that will receive new features. The previous major version, referred to as the Stable Version, will only receive bug fixes and security patches.

Why are we making changes?

We understand that you want reliable releases and major versions that are supported longer. We do too! We want to reduce the upgrade burden of cluster administrators and provide a stable release track that is void of new features and new bugs.

What aren't we changing?

There are no changes to upgrade procedures. Skipping major releases when upgrading is still not supported.

There are no changes to component compatibility guarantees. Teleport agents, bots, tctl, tsh and other client tools using a newer release version cannot connect to a control plane that is running an older major release version.

What does this mean for existing Teleport releases?

Teleport 16 has reached end of life and is no longer supported.

Teleport 17 is now the Stable Version and will only receive bug fixes and security patches.

Teleport 18 is now the Current Version and will receive new features, bug fixes and security patches.

In August 2026 we will publish Teleport 19. At which time Teleport 19 will become the Current Version, Teleport 18 will transition to the Stable Version and Teleport 17 will no longer be supported.

FAQ

• When is this change going to be implemented?
  • It is effective immediately starting Nov 6th 2025.
• What version of Teleport should I use if I favor stability over new features?
  • The previous major version, AKA the Stable Version.
• What version of Teleport should I use if I want access to the latest features as soon as they are available?
  • The latest major version, AKA the Current Version.
• Do I still have to upgrade my cluster one major version at a time?
  • Yes. There are no changes to our upgrade procedures.
• If I am a Teleport Cloud customer, can I choose either the Stable or Current Version?
  • Yes. By default, all Cloud tenants are set to the Current Version. However, you can reach out to your account manager and request to use the Stable Version instead.
• If I am a Teleport Self-Hosted customer, how can I choose which version my clusters and agents are on?
  • Consult the Supported Releases documentation to identify which Teleport release is right for you.
• Can my agents, client tools, etc use the Current Version and my control plane use the Stable Version?
  • No, the component compatibility guarantees and upgrade sequence remains the same. You can have clients and agents on the Stable Version and the control plane on the Current Version, but not the opposite.
• Can my control plane be upgraded to the Current Version while the rest of my agents and client tools are running the Stable Version?
  • Yes, the component compatibility guarantees and upgrade sequence the same. You cannot however have agents and clients on the Current Version, and the control plane on the Stable Version.
• Is there any way to get a feature backported to the Stable Version?
  • No. The Stable Version is more stable than the Current Version because it does not receive new features or other disruptive changes.
• How do I know which version is the Current Version and which one is the Stable Version?
  • See the Supported Releases documentation.
• If I am a Teleport Cloud customer, what do I need to do when the Stable and Current Versions transition?
  • You will be notified of the upgrade via the existing notification mechanism. If enrolled in Managed Upgrades, there is no additional action. If not enrolled in Managed Upgrades, you will be required to upgrade your agents and clients after your tenant has been updated during the version transition.
• If I am a Teleport Self-Hosted Customer, what do I need to do when the Stable and Current Versions transition?
  • You will need to follow the same upgrade sequence that you do today to upgrade your cluster to the latest Stable or Current version. This transition happens once per year in August, so you have one month each year that requires updating to a new major version of Teleport.

Have questions? Join us in our Community Slack.