generated: '2026-09-05'
method: searched
source: >-
  https://github.com/buildpacks/spec (README.md, RELEASE.md, buildpack.md#deprecations,
  platform.md#deprecations, distribution.md), https://github.com/buildpacks/spec/releases,
  https://buildpacks.io/docs/reference/spec/, https://buildpacks.io/history
provider: Cloud Native Buildpacks
providerId: buildpacks
description: >-
  Versioning, deprecation and release governance for the Cloud Native Buildpacks specifications and
  their reference implementations. CNB versions THREE independent API contracts on separate tracks,
  each with its own release milestones and its own Deprecations section in the spec text.
versioning:
  scheme: major.minor
  in: contract-declared API version (not a URL path or header)
  rule: >-
    "API versions MUST be in form <major>.<minor> or <major>, where <major> is equivalent to
    <major>.0. When <major> is greater than 0 increments to <minor> SHALL exclusively indicate
    additive changes." — https://github.com/buildpacks/spec/blob/main/distribution.md
  note: >-
    All three APIs remain on major version 0, so minor increments are NOT guaranteed additive today;
    that guarantee attaches at 1.0.
  current:
  - api: Buildpack API
    version: '0.12'
    released: '2025-12-11'
    release: https://github.com/buildpacks/spec/releases/tag/buildpack%2F0.12
  - api: Platform API
    version: '0.15'
    released: '2025-12-11'
    release: https://github.com/buildpacks/spec/releases/tag/platform%2F0.15
  - api: Distribution API
    version: '0.3'
    released: null
    note: Declared in distribution.md; not cut as a standalone GitHub release.
  - api: kpack CRD API
    version: v1alpha1
    note: >-
      Kubernetes alpha API version. Per Kubernetes convention an alpha group/version may change
      incompatibly and may be dropped; kpack has nonetheless served v1alpha1 since its first release.
release_process:
  documented: true
  url: https://github.com/buildpacks/spec/blob/main/RELEASE.md
  summary: >-
    A maintainer opens a milestone, cuts a `<spec>/<version>` release branch, and spec changes must
    be approved by a super-majority of the core team before the release PR merges. Release planning
    is reviewed at the weekly core team sync.
  governance: https://github.com/buildpacks/community#core-team
deprecation_policy:
  documented: true
  mechanism: >-
    Each specification carries a normative "Deprecations" section naming every deprecated feature and
    the exact API version in which it was deprecated, with a migration path. There is no HTTP
    Sunset/Deprecation header surface, because these are file-format and process contracts rather
    than a hosted HTTP API.
  urls:
  - https://github.com/buildpacks/spec/blob/main/buildpack.md#deprecations
  - https://github.com/buildpacks/spec/blob/main/platform.md#deprecations
  examples:
  - feature: buildpack.toml `stacks` array
    deprecated_in: Buildpack API 0.10
  - feature: positional arguments to the `detect` and `build` executables
    deprecated_in: Buildpack API 0.8
  - feature: buildpack.toml `bom` array
    deprecated_in: Buildpack API 0.7
  - feature: the `stack` key / stack concept
    deprecated_in: Platform API 0.12
  - feature: '`-image` flag on the lifecycle rebase phase'
    deprecated_in: Platform API (marked Deprecated in platform.md)
migration_guides:
  published: true
  index: https://buildpacks.io/docs/reference/spec/
  supported:
  - Platform API 0.7 -> 0.8
  - Platform API 0.8 -> 0.9
  - Platform API 0.9 -> 0.10
  - Platform API 0.10 -> 0.11
  - Platform API 0.11 -> 0.12
  - Buildpack API 0.7 -> 0.8
  - Buildpack API 0.8 -> 0.9
  - Buildpack API 0.9 -> 0.10
  deprecated_unsupported:
  - Buildpack API 0.4 -> 0.5
  - Buildpack API 0.5 -> 0.6
  - Buildpack API 0.6 -> 0.7
  note: >-
    The docs sidebar separates guides for supported APIs from a "Deprecated (unsupported) APIs"
    group — an explicit, published end-of-support boundary.
support_policy:
  security_fixes: >-
    "Security fixes are applied to the latest release of each Cloud Native Buildpacks project. Users
    are encouraged to stay on the most recent release to receive security updates."
  url: https://github.com/buildpacks/.github/blob/main/SECURITY.md
status_page:
  published: false
  probed:
  - url: https://status.buildpacks.io/
    status: 000
    note: DNS does not resolve (NXDOMAIN), probed 2026-09-05.
  note: >-
    No status page exists and arguably none should — buildpacks.io is a static site and the only
    hosted service is the read-only Buildpack Registry API. No StatusPage pointer is emitted.
maturity:
  foundation: Cloud Native Computing Foundation
  status: Graduated
  graduated: '2026-08-11'
  sandbox_accepted: '2018-10'
  originated: '2018-01'
  evidence: https://buildpacks.io/history#graduation
  devstats: https://buildpacks.devstats.cncf.io/
implementation_releases:
- project: pack CLI
  version: v0.40.9
  released: '2026-08-09'
  url: https://github.com/buildpacks/pack/releases
- project: lifecycle
  version: v0.21.18
  released: '2026-08-21'
  url: https://github.com/buildpacks/lifecycle/releases
- project: kpack
  version: v0.18.0
  released: '2026-07-02'
  url: https://github.com/buildpacks-community/kpack/releases