Image Deprecation Policy
DigitalOcean Droplets are Linux-based virtual machines (VMs) that run on top of virtualized hardware. Each Droplet you create is a new server you can use, either standalone or as part of a larger, cloud-based infrastructure.
This page outlines our policies for when new images become available or deprecated. You can find image availability and deprecation announcements in our release notes.
Image Availability
For the distributions we support, we provide images of the latest stable release of the distributions’ currently supported major versions.
We support the following Linux distributions:
| Ubuntu | Debian | CentOS | AlmaLinux | Rocky Linux | Fedora |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23.10 x64 22.04 (LTS) x64 20.04 (LTS) x64 |
12.0 x64 11.0 x64 10.3 x64 |
9 Stream x64 8 Stream x64 7.6 Linux x64 |
8.6 9 |
8 x64 9 x64 |
39 x64 38 x64 |
We update the default version for distribution images when the first stable release of a new major version is available. For example, the default Ubuntu version is Ubuntu 18.04.x until Ubuntu 20.04.1 is released.
Note
Distributions are operating systems based on the Linux kernel, like Ubuntu and CentOS. A release is a published version of a distribution.
A distribution’s latest stable release typically means the latest point release of a major LTS version. However, some distributions have different ways of versioning their releases.
One-click images follow the same policy; they track the latest Ubuntu LTS version until the first point release of the next LTS version. One-click slugs denote the LTS version of the underlying distribution.
When creating Droplets programmatically via the API, image slugs are named after major distribution versions and correspond to the latest stable release of that version. For example, debian-9-x64 currently points to Debian 9.5 x64.
View List of Available Image Slugs
You can retrieve a list of images slugs by running the following command:
doctl auth init; doctl compute image list-distribution --public
Enter your API token when prompted. The terminal automatically returns a complete list of available image slugs using doctl compute image list-distribution --public.
Image Deprecation
We aim for a 30-day deprecation window. When we deprecate an image, we remove it from the control panel, but keep the image slug available via the API for 30 days. We may remove an image without notice in extenuating circumstances. For example, we would remove an image if we became aware of an inherent defect or security vulnerability that puts users or data at risk.
We deprecate major versions when they reach their announced end-of-life date. For distributions like Ubuntu, we follow the maintenance update window, not the extended security maintenance window. We deprecate earlier minor versions when we support the latest minor version. For example, we removed Ubuntu 18.04.1 when Ubuntu 18.04.2 became available.
Because distributions continually release updates, we can’t guarantee that automated tooling continues to work with each release. If you rely on a specific version of a distribution, you can use custom images or snapshots to create Droplets instead of the provided distribution images.
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