name: pgvector Lifecycle
description: >-
  Versioning, upgrade, platform-support and deprecation posture for the pgvector
  PostgreSQL extension, read from the project's own README, CHANGELOG and
  vector.control.
generated: '2026-08-27'
method: searched
source: https://github.com/pgvector/pgvector
docs:
- https://github.com/pgvector/pgvector#upgrading
- https://github.com/pgvector/pgvector/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md
- https://github.com/pgvector/pgvector/releases
versioning:
  scheme: semver
  current: 0.8.6
  released: '2026-07-29'
  declared_in: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/pgvector/pgvector/master/vector.control
  declared_as: default_version = '0.8.6'
  note: >-
    The extension version is a first-class runtime value, not just a release tag:
    it is declared in vector.control and readable in any database with
    `SELECT extversion FROM pg_extension WHERE extname = 'vector'`.
  pre_1_0: true
  pre_1_0_note: >-
    Still 0.x after five years, so minor bumps carry the breaking changes a 1.x
    project would reserve for a major.
upgrade:
  mechanism: ALTER EXTENSION vector UPDATE
  docs: https://github.com/pgvector/pgvector#upgrading
  migration_scripts: true
  migration_scripts_note: >-
    Every release ships a sql/vector--<from>--<to>.sql upgrade script in the
    repository, so Postgres can move an installed extension forward in place. The
    upgrade path is declared, versioned and machine-executable - the strongest
    lifecycle signal this project publishes.
  in_place: true
  restart_required: false
platform_support:
  postgres_minimum: '13'
  postgres_maximum_tested: '18'
  source: https://github.com/pgvector/pgvector#installation
  statement: 'Compile and install the extension (supports Postgres 13+)'
  distribution_matrix:
    kind: docker-tags
    url: https://github.com/pgvector/pgvector#docker
    versions: ['13', '14', '15', '16', '17', '18']
    bases: [bookworm, trixie]
    note: >-
      Images are published per Postgres major and per Debian base, tagged both
      floating (pg18) and pinned (0.8.6-pg18), so a consumer can pin the extension
      version and the server version independently.
deprecation:
  policy_published: false
  policy_note: >-
    There is no standalone deprecation or support-window policy document. Support
    drops are announced in the release note of the minor that performs them, and the
    only class of breaking change observed in the history is a Postgres major-version
    support drop.
  observed_removals:
  - what: Postgres 11 support
    version: 0.6.0
    date: '2024-01-29'
  - what: Postgres 12 support
    version: 0.8.0
    date: '2024-10-30'
  sunset_headers: na
  sunset_headers_note: >-
    RFC 8594 Sunset/Deprecation headers are an HTTP mechanism. pgvector exposes no
    HTTP surface, so there is nothing to signal them on.
  deprecated_operations: []
  deprecated_operations_note: >-
    No SQL function, operator or type declared by sql/vector.sql is marked deprecated
    as of 0.8.6.
sla:
  published: false
  note: >-
    Open-source extension with no hosted service and no operator, so there is no
    availability commitment to publish. Availability belongs to whoever runs the
    Postgres server - self-managed or a hosted provider that bundles the extension.
status_page:
  published: false
  note: >-
    No status page exists and none could exist: pgvector is software a consumer
    installs, not a service the project operates.
support:
  channel: github-issues
  url: https://github.com/pgvector/pgvector/issues
  discussions_enabled: false
maintainership:
  model: single-maintainer
  maintainer: Andrew Kane
  organization: https://github.com/pgvector
  organization_created: '2022-01-24'
  repository_created: '2021-04-20'
  risk_note: >-
    Every first-party repository in the organization - the extension and all 37
    language libraries and example sets - is authored by one person. That is a
    concentration signal a consumer should weigh, recorded as a fact about the
    project's structure and not as a judgement about it.