<commit_before>---
layout: community
---

# Support Policy

We generally avoid making backwards-incompatible changes. At Google, we
run all of the tests in the entire depot before every release and
check that there are no regressions. It is much more difficult to do
that outside of Google, because there is no single source repository
that contains everything.

All undocumented features (attributes, rules, "Make" variables, and flags) are subject to change at
any time without prior notice. Features that are documented but marked *experimental* are also
subject to change at any time without prior notice. The Skylark macro and rules language (anything
you write in a `.bzl` file) is still subject to change.

Bugs can be reported in the
[GitHub bugtracker](https://github.com/google/bazel/issues). We will make an effort to triage all
reported issues within 2 business days.

## Current Status

### Fully Supported
We make no breaking changes to the rules, or provide instructions on how to migrate. We actively fix
issues that are reported, and also keep up with changes in the underlying tools. We ensure that all
the tests pass.

<table class="table table-condensed table-striped table-bordered">
  <colgroup>
    <col width="30%"/>
    <col/>
  </colgroup>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Rules</th>
      <th>Notes</th>
    </tr><commit_msg>Document Bazel releases<commit_after>---
layout: community
---

# Support Policy

We generally avoid making backwards-incompatible changes. At Google, we
run all of the tests in the entire depot before every release and
check that there are no regressions. It is much more difficult to do
that outside of Google, because there is no single source repository
that contains everything.

All undocumented features (attributes, rules, "Make" variables, and flags) are subject to change at
any time without prior notice. Features that are documented but marked *experimental* are also
subject to change at any time without prior notice. The Skylark macro and rules language (anything
you write in a `.bzl` file) is still subject to change.

Bugs can be reported in the
[GitHub bugtracker](https://github.com/google/bazel/issues). We will make an effort to triage all
reported issues within 2 business days.

## Releases

We try to do [monthly binary releases of
Bazel](https://github.com/google/bazel/releases). A released version of Bazel
should be free of regression and extensively tested. The release process is the
following:

  - A baseline is tested extensively inside Google. When considered stable
  inside Google, a Bazel release candidate is announced in
  [bazel-discuss](<EMAIL>) for testing.
  - Subsequent cherry-pick will be done to create new release candidate if
  regression are discovered on the release candidate.
  - After at least one week since the first candidate and two full business days
  since the last candidate, if no regression were found, a release will be
  emitted and announced in [bazel-discuss](<EMAIL>).

Thus, all our releases are tested with the extensive test suite we have inside
Google but also with our public continuous test infrastructure and user tested
both inside and outside Google.

### Release versioning

Version 0.1 is our first release marking the start of our beta phase. Until
version 1.0, each MINOR version increases will be performed when reaching a
[new milestone](http://bazel.io/roadmap.html), otherwise only the PATCH
version will be increased on a new release.

Version 1.0 will be the end of our beta phase and we will label each release
with a version number according to the [semantic version 2.0.0
document](http://semver.org). By the time we reach version 1.0, we will define
clearly what is included in our API.

## Current Status

### Fully Supported
We make no breaking changes to the rules, or provide instructions on how to migrate. We actively fix
issues that are reported, and also keep up with changes in the underlying tools. We ensure that all
the tests pass.

<table class="table table-condensed table-striped table-bordered">
  <colgroup>
    <col width="30%"/>
    <col/>
  </colgroup>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Rules</th>
      <th>Notes</th>
    </tr>
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