Long-Term Supported (LTS) Releases

Last Updated: Aug 17, 2023
documentation for the dotCMS Content Management System

dotCMS will periodically specify specific product releases as Long-Term Supported (LTS) releases, which will be maintained for a longer period than other dotCMS releases, and which will provide a number of advantages for customers that choose to install them.

  • All releases of dotCMS will still be fully supported for the duration of their designated support period.
    • So, customers that desire or have a need to be on the newest releases will still receive full normal support.
  • The advantage of LTS releases is that customers who choose to run an LTS release will receive active patch updates to fix bugs and backport features — and a longer overall support window.
  • Starting with LTS release 22.03, dotCMS also provides an approved PostgreSQL image, to ensure full compatibility.

Latest LTS Releases

VersionPatch Release DateEnd of Life DatePostgreSQL Tag
dotCMS 23.10.24v6 Mar 18, 2024 May 19, 2025 dotcms/postgres:15
dotCMS 23.01.13 Mar 4, 2024 Sep 22, 2024 dotcms/postgres:15

To download LTS releases, please see Current Releases.

Advantages of LTS Releases

LTS releases provide advantages to both Cloud and self-hosted customers.

  • dotCMS will periodically deliver LTS patch releases, which will backport fixes made in newer dotCMS versions to the LTS release.
    • LTS Patch Releases are, by design, maintenance releases — addressing bugs, security issues, and other minor problems, but seldom if ever adding new features.
  • Cloud customers on LTS releases will automatically be scheduled for upgrades to new LTS patch releases, to proactively prevent customers from experiencing issues addressed in the patch release.
  • Upgrades to LTS patch releases will, by design, be quick and low-risk.
    • LTS patch releases can be installed with no need for data migration, and minimal downtime (or no downtime on clustered instances running version 5.3.8 or higher).
  • Because LTS releases will receive regular patches, customers on LTS releases may not need to undergo full upgrades (including data migration and testing) as frequently as customers on non-LTS releases.
  • When customers upgrade from an older LTS release to a newer LTS release, they'll have a lower risk of encountering version incompatibilities.
  • LTS releases will be supported for a minimum of 18 months after it was originally designated as an LTS release.
    • For example, on November 17, 2023, version 23.10.24 was designated as an LTS release.
    • This means the 23.10.24.x series will be supported until at earliest May 19, 2025.

Limitations of LTS Releases

It's important to note that LTS patch releases will include fixes for known issues only.

  • New features will not be backported to LTS releases.
  • So, customers with a desire or need for the newest features and enhancements will need to install newer (non-LTS) releases to have access to the newest features.

What Version to Use?

We recommend the latest release version for customers who want to take advantage of the newest features or for customers who are in an implementation phase and plan to launch some time in the future — after launch, they might want to switch to an LTS version.

We recommend the LTS version if your company has policies that don’t allow for frequent upgrades or restrict using non-LTS software. Additionally, you might want to use an LTS version if you are using dotCMS in secondary products that either don’t require newer dotCMS features or if you don’t have enough resources to keep dotCMS updated.

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