<p>Bitcoin Core does not follow semver. BitcoinCore.org <a href="https://bitcoincore.org/en/lifecycle/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">explains</a> its Software Life Cycle as follows:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Bitcoin Core aims to make a major release every 6-7 months.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Minor releases provide maintenance, fix bugs, and might introduce minor features. Proposed changes to consensus rules are always first shipped in minor releases, so that consensus rule changes can be adopted independently from the release of new major features.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Bitcoin Core releases are versioned as <code>0.MAJOR.MINOR</code>, and release candidates are suffixed with <code>rc#</code>. Examples of each version type are:</p>
<ul>
<li>release candidate: <code>0.12.0rc1</code></li>
<li>major version: <code>0.12.0</code></li>
<li>minor version: <code>0.12.1</code></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ol>
<p>Note that Bitcoin Core versions built directly from the master branch instead of a tagged release show up as <code>0.MAJOR.99</code>.</p>
<p><strong>Update in Dec 2020</strong>: The next &quot;major&quot; release after <code>0.21.0</code> will <a href="https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/20223" rel="nofollow noreferrer">drop the leading zero</a> and therefore be called <code>22.0</code>.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2016-06-08T11:23:19.617Z
2020-12-31T19:40:40.033Z
2020-12-31T19:40:40.033Z
Murch
<p>I saw a discussion recently about whether Bitcoin Core was following the <a href="http://semver.org/" rel="noreferrer">Semantic Versioning</a> scheme. I could not find information in the GitHub <a href="https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/blob/master/README.md" rel="noreferrer">ReadMe.md</a> or <a href="https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md" rel="noreferrer">Contributing.md</a>.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/4myuqc/bitcoin_core_compact_blocks_faq/d3zlesz" rel="noreferrer">Luke-Jr stated</a> that neither Bitcoin nor Bitcoin Core follow Semantic Versioning.</p>

<p>What versioning scheme does Bitcoin Core follow?</p>

<bitcoin-core><bitcoin-core-development>
What versioning scheme does Bitcoin Core follow?
Murch
# What versioning scheme does Bitcoin Core follow?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-06-08)

I saw a discussion recently about whether Bitcoin Core was following the [Semantic Versioning](http://semver.org/) scheme. I could not find information in the GitHub [ReadMe.md](https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/blob/master/README.md) or [Contributing.md](https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md).

[Luke-Jr stated](https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/4myuqc/bitcoin_core_compact_blocks_faq/d3zlesz) that neither Bitcoin nor Bitcoin Core follow Semantic Versioning.

What versioning scheme does Bitcoin Core follow?

**Tags:** bitcoin-core, bitcoin-core-development


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_0 on 2016-06-08. Score: 6 | Accepted answer

Bitcoin Core does not follow semver. BitcoinCore.org [explains](https://bitcoincore.org/en/lifecycle/) its Software Life Cycle as follows:

1. Bitcoin Core aims to make a major release every 6-7 months.
2. Minor releases provide maintenance, fix bugs, and might introduce minor features. Proposed changes to consensus rules are always first shipped in minor releases, so that consensus rule changes can be adopted independently from the release of new major features.
3. Bitcoin Core releases are versioned as `0.MAJOR.MINOR`, and release candidates are suffixed with `rc#`. Examples of each version type are:

   * release candidate: `0.12.0rc1`
   * major version: `0.12.0`
   * minor version: `0.12.1`

Note that Bitcoin Core versions built directly from the master branch instead of a tagged release show up as `0.MAJOR.99`.

**Update in Dec 2020**: The next "major" release after `0.21.0` will [drop the leading zero](https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/20223) and therefore be called `22.0`.


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