September 26, 2024: PostgreSQL 17 Released!

Versioning Policy

The PostgreSQL Global Development Group releases a new major version containing new features about once a year. Each major version receives bug fixes and, if need be, security fixes that are released at least once every three months in what we call a "minor release." For more information on the minor release schedule, you can view the minor release roadmap.

If the release team determines that a critical bug or security fix is too important to wait until the regularly scheduled minor release, it may make a release available outside of the minor release roadmap.

The PostgreSQL Global Development Group supports a major version for 5 years after its initial release. After this, a final minor version will be released and the software will then be unsupported (end-of-life).

Version Numbering

Starting with PostgreSQL 10, a major version is indicated by increasing the first part of the version, e.g. 10 to 11. Before PostgreSQL 10, a major version was indicated by increasing either the first or second part of the version number, e.g. 9.5 to 9.6.

Minor releases are numbered by increasing the last part of the version number. Beginning with PostgreSQL 10, this is the second part of the version number, e.g. 10.0 to 10.1; for older versions this is the third part of the version number, e.g. 9.5.3 to 9.5.4.

Upgrading

Major versions make complex changes, so the contents of the data directory cannot be maintained in a backward compatible way. A dump/reload of the database or use of the pg_upgrade application is required for major upgrades. We also recommend reading the upgrading section of the major version you are planning to upgrade to. You can upgrade from one major version to another without upgrading to intervening versions, but we recommend reading the release notes of all intervening major versions prior to doing so.

Minor release upgrades do not require a dump and restore; you simply stop the database server, install the updated binaries, and restart the server. Such upgrades might require additional steps so always read the release notes first.

Minor releases only contain fixes for frequently-encountered bugs, low-risk fixes, security issues, and data corruption problems. The community considers performing minor upgrades to be less risky than continuing to run an old minor version.

We recommend that users always run the current minor release associated with their major version.

Releases

Version Current minor Supported First Release Final Release
17 17.0 Yes September 26, 2024 November 8, 2029
16 16.4 Yes September 14, 2023 November 9, 2028
15 15.8 Yes October 13, 2022 November 11, 2027
14 14.13 Yes September 30, 2021 November 12, 2026
13 13.16 Yes September 24, 2020 November 13, 2025
12 12.20 Yes October 3, 2019 November 14, 2024
11 11.22 No October 18, 2018 November 9, 2023
10 10.23 No October 5, 2017 November 10, 2022
9.6 9.6.24 No September 29, 2016 November 11, 2021
9.5 9.5.25 No January 7, 2016 February 11, 2021
9.4 9.4.26 No December 18, 2014 February 13, 2020
9.3 9.3.25 No September 9, 2013 November 8, 2018
9.2 9.2.24 No September 10, 2012 November 9, 2017
9.1 9.1.24 No September 12, 2011 October 27, 2016
9.0 9.0.23 No September 20, 2010 October 8, 2015
8.4 8.4.22 No July 1, 2009 July 24, 2014
8.3 8.3.23 No February 4, 2008 February 7, 2013
8.2 8.2.23 No December 5, 2006 December 5, 2011
8.1 8.1.23 No November 8, 2005 November 8, 2010
8.0 8.0.26 No January 19, 2005 October 1, 2010
7.4 7.4.30 No November 17, 2003 October 1, 2010
7.3 7.3.21 No November 27, 2002 November 27, 2007
7.2 7.2.8 No February 4, 2002 February 4, 2007
7.1 7.1.3 No April 13, 2001 April 13, 2006
7.0 7.0.3 No May 8, 2000 May 8, 2005
6.5 6.5.3 No June 9, 1999 June 9, 2004
6.4 6.4.2 No October 30, 1998 October 30, 2003
6.3 6.3.2 No March 1, 1998 March 1, 2003