Stack deprecation and removal policy
On Bitrise, Android stacks are supported for around two years; Xcode stacks are deprecated gradually as new Xcode versions are released.
We don't keep all stacks around forever: our aim is to provide you with the latest tools to help you build the best app you can. However, we don't expect you to rework your build configuration every time a stack update comes out: you can keep using your reliable older stacks for a long time.
Some older stacks are frozen when a new major version of Xcode is released. When a stack is frozen, you can still keep using it, but the stack will no longer get any updates, and at that point, we strongly recommend switching to a newer, active stack.
After stacks have been frozen for a year, they are removed when the next major version of Xcode is released.
Maintaining Xcode stacks
We offer a wide variety of Xcode stacks in order to make sure you do not need to immediately switch when a new version comes out. Our policy is as follows:
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Keep the three most recent major versions of Xcode.
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Keep the two most recent minor versions for each major version of Xcode.
We base our policy on Apple's current release cadence: first beta in June, general availability in September.
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The life cycle of a major Xcode version on our stacks is 36 months.
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For 24 months, the stack is active and maintained according to our stack update policy.
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After 24 months, the stack becomes frozen for 12 months and it will no longer receive updates. At this point, we strongly recommend migrating to an active stack.
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After the end of the 36th month, the stacks of the major Xcode version are removed.
When Xcode version 15.2.x is released, we will keep:
All the latest patch releases for the two most recent minor versions of Xcode 15:
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15.2
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15.1
Xcode 15.0 will be removed.
The two latest versions from the previous two Xcode major versions:
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Xcode 14.3
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Xcode 14.2
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Xcode 13.4 (frozen)
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Xcode 13.3 (frozen)
In all cases, there will be a minimum of four weeks' notice provided for the removal of these stacks. You can see all upcoming stack deprecations on this page. We also recommend subscribing to RSS updates of important announcements about stacks.
Deprecating Linux stacks
A Linux stack is supported for about two years, roughly in sync with Ubuntu LTS (long term support) releases.
When a previous Linux stack reaches end of maintenance, we deprecate the stack and earmark it for removal. At that point you can no longer select the stack for your apps. But the apps that are already using those stacks can keep using them until removal.
In all cases, there will be a minimum of four weeks' notice provided for the removal of these stacks. You can see all upcoming stack deprecations on this page. We also recommend subscribing to RSS updates of important announcements about stacks.