If the new versioning system follows the server versions and are now named 33.x, why are there newer 4.x releases? There has been a recent 4.0.9 and 4.0.10 release AFTER 33.0.2
WTF is happening? Which is the “current” version?
Hello @gpngts,
welcome to the Nextcloud community! 
In any major software project, multiple versions are maintained.
The 33er series.
Please pay attention to the sound.
To enable older hardware to run Nextcloud …
I do not like “WTF”
Just to chime in: the as inappropriate perceived tone does not take away from the fact that there are two releases: the 4.0.x series and the 30+.x series.
Somehow, I ended up installing the Desktop Client of a 4.0.x release, and I was ever since wondering about the 30+.x release versions.
If, the 4.0.x release stream is dedicated to older devices; that should be note somewhere.
Until this Forum post, I had no idea why there are two release streams.
I can understand the frustration of the original post, since it is annoying when information is missing. In many/most cases with IT issues, it’s a user issue, so if this information is available somewhere (version 4.0.x vs. version 30+.x): please post links to it here, for future reference.
@nameOfTheUser welcome as well to the beautiful world of nextcloud and the community forum for it.
I don’t see the problem at all.
it was been already explained that
like there are at least 2 nextcloudserver-versions maintained at the same time (sometimes even 3). and there will be separate updates for every supported version, if neccessary. which means if an older version needs fixing the fix will be released even after the “official” release of a minor update of the newer version. it’s the same for the client. apparently client 4.x needed fixes so if you’re running nc-client 4.x those new updates are meant for you. if you run nc-client v33 they aren’t meant for you. logically and easy, eh?
plus: i think nc-client-version 4.x would run with nc-server v33.x as well.
this earns you an official warning. Watch your tone. This is not the place to misbehave or to let go of every manners.
Is there any official information about the 4.x versions, because in the support documents, I can find none. Again, this could very well be a user error.
For Nextcloud server, there is nice Wiki entry discussing which versions are maintained for how long:
https://github.com/nextcloud/server/wiki/Maintenance-and-Release-Schedule
For the Desktop Client, there is only this:
If I blindly go to the releases page on GitHub, it is a matter of which release stream has the latest update. At the time of writing, 4.0.10 is the latest one. This also is labelled “stable”.
So why wouldn’t I install this one?
It would help, if there was a page in the official documentation explaining the rationale behind the 4.0.x releases and the 30+.x releases.
And how did you somehow end up installing that version? If you had just downloaded it from the Downloads section on nextcloud.com, or grabbed the one labeled “latest” on GitHub, you would automatically have gotten version 33.
I assume the 4.x version is mainly still maintained for enterprise customers who, for whatever reason, want or need to stick with that version, maybe due to OS compatibility or because they’re running older Nextcloud releases.
Just stick with the “latest” label unless you have a specific reason not to.
Oh, and by the way: GitHub is not an app store 
End users can, and probably should, download the client from Download and install Nextcloud, where they’ll always get the latest supported version.
Hey everyone, happy to shed some light on this from the desktop client team! 
Why are both 4.x and 33.x receiving releases?
Like many mature software projects — think Firefox ESR, Windows 10 alongside Windows 11, macOS receiving security updates across multiple generations, or Microsoft Office suites being supported in parallel — we maintain more than one major release at a time. Active bug fixes and security patches are backported to older stable branches as long as they are supported. So seeing a 4.0.10 appear after 33.0.2 is completely expected: it simply means a fix was relevant for users still on the 4.x branch.
Who is 4.x actually for?
A significant part of our user base is in enterprise environments where updates go through the enterprise update channel, which intentionally trails the latest release. This is a deliberate, well-established practice: enterprises need time to validate updates against their infrastructure before rolling them out to potentially thousands of seats. Unplanned breakage at that scale isn’t just inconvenient — IT support is a substantial cost factor, and avoiding regressions through careful, staged rollouts is exactly what the enterprise channel is designed for. For those customers and their admins, receiving a hardened, well-tested 4.0.x update is the right and safe thing - not a mistake.
Why did the version jump from 4 to 33?
This one is purely about clarity. Starting with version 33, the desktop client’s major version number is aligned with the Nextcloud server release. This makes it immediately obvious which client generation pairs with which server generation. From here on, the major version will just increment by one as usual. Major releases bring features while point releases bring fixes.
Important: there neither was nor is a dependency between these client and server releases! Older clients will work with newer servers, too, and vice versa.
Any changes to be aware of in 33.x?
In context of this topic, as one example: Starting with 33.0.0, the minimum supported macOS version has been raised from macOS 12 (Monterey) to macOS 13 (Ventura). So the 4.x branch still provides maintenance releases for people on macOS 12 (Monterey).
About a formal maintenance and release schedule
The Nextcloud server has a well-documented maintenance and release schedule, and we know that kind of transparency is valuable. We don’t have an equivalent schedule for the desktop client yet, but this is a topic internally. We are already in the process of establishing this but not at the point of public commitment yet.
So which version should I use?
If you’re a regular user on macOS 13 or later, Windows, or Linux: grab whatever is offered by default on the Nextcloud download page.
The 4.x releases are for users and enterprises who are intentionally on that branch for the reasons above.
I hope that clears things up! 
@iva.horn
nice AI… btw: we have added an AI-part to our TOS. It tells something like: Using AI is OK but we would like our helpers to be fair and open about it and adding a text like “done with the help of AI” - and ideally enter the prompt you used and the exact AI.
Thanks
I added a disclaimer first and then discarded it again after looking at the terms of service. Just because I used Claude to enhance my writing linguistically and structurally, I reject to put a (plain wrong) “AI Slop” label of shame onto it. Nope. Especially since I am part of the entity which has the authority to confirm the claims in those statements no AI model can know about alone due to their currency. 
To me, improving transparency for the community about the client development itself is my primary interest in this forum (besides learning about people’s desktop client user experiences which are not reported on GitHub). I hope my response answers questions floating around. I am doing this voluntarily because I want to accommodate the community while it is not part of my obligations and I got a lot of actual work to do on the client instead. 
My comment above, just like this one, is not a copied and pasted response based on a prompt but actually took me too much time, nerves and some actual effort. 
If you still take issue with it and cannot see the value of the content for the way it partially was formed, then do whatever you deem appropriate. I do not care at this point. I gave an original answer (in the meaning of source and key facts), people appear to be pleased to learn about it, I am at peace and too tired to run the gauntlet of this kind of argument. 
PS: On a second though, I think I will put this meme under every future contribution of mine in which I used AI even if it is just spell checking. 
If you go to the regular download page: https://nextcloud.com/install/#desktop-files, and hover over the “Windows 10+ (64 bit)” button, you will see that the actual installer is hosted here: GitHub - nextcloud-releases/desktop: 💻 Desktop sync client for Nextcloud · GitHub
Currently, it presents an MSI installer, but I am convinced that yesterday it presented an EXE installer.
Anyway, as far as I can remember now, the download page most probably presented an EXE installer, and I went to the GitHub nextcloud-releases repo to find out whether there are MSI installers available.
I support the IT in a small company, and when you want to deploy software with services like Microsoft Intune, the MSI installer is the better choice.
I also suspect, that back then, one of the 4.0.x series of releases was the most current one on the nextcloud-releases GitHub page.
So, that’s roughly the story of how “I ended up with” the 4.0.x release.
If the 4.0.x series is a fully compatible Client targeted at enterprises, I am very much ok with that. However, I have yet to come across a section in the official documentation stating that much.
Hence, my chiming in into the original discussion.