AI Gateway version support policy

This page describes the AI Gateway version support policy, including versioning, bug fix, and deprecation guidelines.

This policy only applies to Kong AI Gateway. See the Kong Gateway support policy and the Konnect support policy for information specific to those products.

Kong adopts a structured approach to versioning its products. Products follow a pattern of {MAJOR}.{MINOR}.{PATCH}.

For the purposes of this support document:

Versioning:

• Major Version means a version identified by the number to the left of the leftmost decimal point (X.y.z). For example, 2.1.3 indicates Major Version 2 and 1.3.0 indicates Major Version 1.

• Minor Version means a version identified by a change in the number in between the two leftmost decimal points (x.Y.z). For example, 2.1.3 indicates Minor Version 1 and 1.3.0 indicates Minor Version 3.

• Patch Version means a version identified by a change in the number to the right of the rightmost decimal (x.y.Z). For example, 2.1.3 indicates patch version 3.

Major version release

Kong introduces major functionality and breaking changes by releasing a new major version. Major releases happen rarely and are usually prompted by one or more of:

• Major industry shifts
• Significant architectural changes
• Internal product innovation

There is no regular cadence of major versions.

Minor version release

Kong aims to release a new minor version approximately every 4 weeks.

Minor versions contain features and bug fixes and are usually backwards compatible within their major version sequence.

We support the two most recent minor versions of Kong AI Gateway.

Patch release

Patches are cumulative (“rolled-up”), meaning that a release such as 2.1.3 includes fixes from 2.1.2, 2.1.1, and 2.1.0.

Due to the frequent iteration of the Kong AI Gateway and the fast pace of the AI ecosystem generally, Kong does not provide a long-term support (LTS) version of the Kong AI Gateway.

Kong follows a structured process for addressing bugs:

• Security vulnerabilities:

  Treated with highest priority. See the security vulnerability policy for reporting and resolution procedures.

• Critical bugs:

  Fixed with high-priority patches to the latest major/minor release of all currently supported versions. This includes things such as production outages or catastrophic degradation.

• Other bugs and feature requests:

  Assessed for severity and impact. Fixes are generally applied only to the latest minor version of the latest major release.

Customers with Enterprise Platinum or higher subscriptions may request special-case fixes outside this process; such requests are evaluated at Kong’s discretion.

From time to time, as part of the evolution of our products, we deprecate (in other words, remove or discontinue) product features or functionality.

We aim to provide customers with at least 6 months notice of the removal or phasing out of a significant feature or functionality. We may provide less or no notice if the change is necessary for security or legal reasons, though such situations should be rare. We may provide notice in our documentation, product update emails, or in-product notifications if applicable.

Once we have announced that we will deprecate a significant feature or functionality, in general, we won’t extend or enhance the feature or functionality.

This policy is a summary and is qualified by the broader Kong Support and Maintenance Policy.

The following Kong AI Gateway versions are currently supported by Kong: