blog: the next release is 24 (#453)

Author: wido

blog/2026-09-02-next-release-is-24/index.md

@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+---
+layout: post
+title: "The next CloudStack release is 24"
+tags: [announcement]
+authors: [wido]
+slug: next-release-is-24
+---
+
+The Apache CloudStack project is changing how it numbers releases. The release
+that would have been 4.24 will be released as 24. The "4." prefix is gone.
+
+<!-- truncate -->
+
+## What changes
+
+· The next feature release is 24, with the full version 24.0.0
+
+· Maintenance releases on that branch become 24.1.0, 24.2.0, and so on
+
+· Feature releases after that become 25, 26, 27
+
+· The branch is called 24, packages and tarballs will say 24.0.0
+
+## What does not change
+
+· 4.23 is not affected. It was released as planned under the old scheme
+
+· The release cadence stays the same
+
+· The LTS policy stays the same
+
+· The branching and release process stays the same
+
+· The backwards compatibility guarantees stay the same
+
+Dropping the "4." is not a signal that 24 breaks APIs or brings disruptive
+changes. It is a naming change and nothing else.
+
+## Why
+
+The leading "4." has not meant anything for years. We have not had a 5.0, and
+there was never a plan for one. In practice everybody already talks about "4.20"
+as twenty, and about "4.22" as twenty two. The docs, the branch names, the
+release notes and the mailing list all work that way.
+
+So the version we publish now matches the version people actually use. It also
+removes a question that kept coming back, which is what a major version bump
+would even mean for CloudStack.
+
+## What you may need to check
+
+· If you have tooling, scripts or monitoring that parses the CloudStack version
+  and assumes it starts with "4.", update it. A version can now be three
+  numbers, such as 24.0.0
+
+· Repository paths and package names will use 24.x once 24.0.0 is out
+
+· The upgrade path itself is unchanged. Upgrading from 4.23 to 24 works the same
+  way any other upgrade does
+
+## How this was decided
+
+This was a vote on the dev@cloudstack.apache.org mailing list. It opened on 14
+August 2026, closed on 21 August 2026, and passed by lazy majority with four
+binding votes in favour, one non binding vote in favour, one abstention and one
+against.
+
+You can read the full thread here:
+[VOTE Version naming: drop the "4." prefix starting with release 24](http://www.mail-archive.com/dev@cloudstack.apache.org/msg107393.html)
+
+The version change has been made on the main branch. We will also talk about it
+at the CloudStack Collaboration Conference in November, so there is a chance to
+ask questions in person.
+
+If anything is unclear, ask on the users or dev mailing list. We would rather
+answer it now than have people confused about which release they are running.

blog/authors.yml

@@ -105,3 +105,9 @@ vishesh:
   title: PMC Member
   url: https://github.com/vishesh92
   image_url: /img/authors/vishesh.png
+
+wido:
+  name: Wido den Hollander
+  title: PMC Member
+  url: https://github.com/wido
+  image_url: /img/authors/wido.png