Please Explain Nextcloud Version Nomenclature

🏷️ General
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I have no support/technical question and have seen the support category. (Be aware that direct support questions will be deleted.)

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Which general topic do you have

Would someone kindly explain the Nextcloud version nomenclature?

There are several channels, stable, beta, enterprise.

Then there are hubs: Hub 26 Spring, Hub 26 Winter, etc..

And then there are actual version numbers: 34.0.2, 33.0.7, etc.

How do they play with each other?

I’m accustomed to version numbers: major, minor, and patch. I understand beta vs. stable. Unless Nextcloud uses those term in an unorthodox manner. Hub? Winter? Summer? What are those? And is it version 26 or version 34? And does the “26” have anything to do with the current year, 2026?

Some (but not all!) outfits use odd and even major version numbers to designate stable or beta quality versions. Does Nextcloud do this?

Looking at my administration overview page, I am on “Nextcloud Hub 26 Winter (33.0.7)” (whatever that means) and I am offered “Nextcloud 34.0.2”. If I accept and upgrade, am I going from the stable channel to the beta channel?

I thought Microsoft took the cake on idiotic versioning nomanclature with Windows 95, then Windows 98, then Windows 2000. Please do not try to complete with Microsoft on folly.

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eg
NC v33.0.1 = majorversion 33, minorversion 1 (first (bugfix-)update after release)

Nextcloud Hub 26 Winter = marketingname for NC majorversion v33.x
“Hub” = indicates “collection of important tools making you happy” (my own “translation”)
“26” should indeed cover the release year (though “winter 26” was released in late “25” but reaches into “26” as well.
As a matter of fact you need to read
Hub 26 Winter = NC33.x
Hub 26 Spring = NC34.x
Hub 26 Autumn = NC 35.x (not yet released, not even officially betatesting)
Hub 27 Winter = NC 36.x (the future)
… etc …

I, personally, don’t take much care about the marketing names for several reasons. I only refer to the common major/minorversions.

as long as you don’t activly change release-channel(s) you won’t need to bother with going from stable to beta. You’ll stay on the channel you chose. stable remains stable.

3

Ah. I would read that as major version 33, minor version 0, and patch 1. Bug fixes are usually patches, as I understand things.

I concur. The “hub” stuff seems to be more confusing than useful.

OK, thanks. I had mentioned that some projects consider odd and even major version numbers to be stable vs. experimental/bleeding edge. I had thought that Nextcloud held to that, but apparently not.

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And it is also the reference, e.g. for upgrades being only possible between major versions (NC33 → NC 34), not the Hub-numbers. Good reference for

And with the desktop client, they recently changed to sync the numbers with the Nextcloud version (e.g. now it is desktop client 34 being released recently). But it should be compatible with a number of Nextcloud server versions.

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ok… it’s the patch version. idc. usually every month there’s a new one. And majorversions will usually face their EOL after roundabout 1 year.

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For Nextcloud:

MAJOR.MINOR.PATCH (PATCH AKA “MAINTENANCE”)

  • Latest major release = leading edge (with a stable API surface)
  • Oldest supported major release = most mature and stable

Lifecycle:

  • Majors: Released every 4 months (subject to some discretion); supported for 12 months (Outside of enterprise support arrangements with Nextcloud GmbH)
  • Patches: Released monthly (subject to some discretion); content limited to targeted or backported critical changes - i.e. critical bug and security fixes)