Manage Skaffold versions

Cloud Deploy uses Skaffold, through Cloud Build, to deploy your application by rendering and deploying manifests.

The page describes how Cloud Deploy selects what version of Skaffold to use. This page also includes information about the following:

• How often the Skaffold version changes
• How to find out the current version
• How long each version is supported

What version of Skaffold does Cloud Deploy use?

Cloud Deploy performs its operations using a custom image, which includes a Skaffold LTS version. Each supported version of Skaffold is listed in the table in this document, linked to the repository of all Cloud Deploy images. The version number of each Cloud Deploy image corresponds to the Skaffold version number.

Note: the Skaffold version associated with a release is used for the entire lifecycle of that release, and cannot be changed during that lifetime. The release lifecycle consists of all render, deploy, and other jobs on that release. This includes up to deployment into the final target in the progression, and beyond (rollbacks or redeployments).

Supported versions

Skaffold version	Max schema version	As-of date	Default?
2.16.x (release notes)	v4beta13	May 16, 2025	✓
2.14.x (release notes)	v4beta12	February 17, 2025
2.13.x (release notes)	v4beta11	August 1, 2024

Each version in this table links to a repository in Artifact Registry. In that repository, look for the most recent date for the latest version or for the version you want. The repository linked is in the us-central1 region, but these images are available in each region where Cloud Deploy is available. The image that gets used is in the region where the delivery pipeline was created.

Cloud Deploy uses the latest patch release for each supported Skaffold version. We announce support for new versions, including specific Skaffold version patches, in the release notes.

Preview version

You can use the Cloud Deploy Preview image, which includes preview features.

The Skaffold version in the preview image can be updated at any time, and doesn't follow a regular release schedule. We recommend you not use the preview version for production workloads.

The preview version is in the same repository as the supported versions. Look for images with a tag that begins with skaffold_preview.

Some preview features require the Cloud Deploy preview image. For these features, Cloud Deploy uses that preview version without you having to do anything. If you try to select a different Skaffold version when you create a release using a preview feature, the command fails.

Find out the Skaffold version associated with a release

You can find the version Cloud Deploy is using at any given time by running the following command:

gcloud deploy releases describe RELEASE \
       --delivery-pipeline=DELIVERY_PIPELINE \
       --region=REGION

The version is shown in the skaffoldVersion attribute in the output.

Choose what version of Skaffold to use

You can use any supported version of Skaffold. To select the version that you want to use, include the --skaffold-version flag on the gcloud deploy releases create command:

gcloud deploy releases create RELEASE_NAME \
       --delivery-pipeline=PIPELINE_NAME \
       --skaffold-version=SKAFFOLD_VERSION \
       --region=REGION

Where 'SKAFFOLD_VERSION' is the (supported) version of Skaffold to use for this release. The version should be in the form of n.nn for a numbered version, or skaffold_preview to use the preview version.

For example, the following command selects Skaffold version 2.8:

gcloud deploy releases create release-001 \
                              --delivery-pipeline=my-pipeline \
                              --skaffold-version=2.8 \
                              --region=us-central1

And this command selects the Skaffold preview version:

gcloud deploy releases create release-001 \
                       --delivery-pipeline=my-pipeline \
                       --skaffold-version=skaffold_preview \
                       --region=us-central1

How Cloud Deploy selects new versions

A new version of Skaffold is selected every 90 days. At the end of that 90-day cycle, Google Cloud adds support for a new Skaffold version. You can now use that version with Cloud Deploy. It becomes the default version used to create and manage all releases for the next 90-day cycle.

Cloud Deploy release notes are updated to announce each newly supported release.

Skaffold version deprecation and maintenance policy

Skaffold versions are supported for 12 months, with a 60-day maintenance period. This maintenance period means that releases tied to a version are still supported for 60 days after support for that version has expired. You can still create rollouts from those releases, but you can't create releases using a Skaffold version that's in the maintenance period.

After the 60-day maintenance period, the Skaffold version is no longer supported. You can no longer create rollouts from a release that uses the unsupported version. However, all data associated with the release remains.

Skaffold version	As-of date	Maintenance start	Expiration
2.16.x (release notes)	May 12, 2025	May 14, 2026	July 13, 2026
2.14.x (release notes)	February 17, 2025	February 25, 2026	April 26, 2026
2.13.x (release notes)	August 1, 2024	August 14, 2025	October 13, 2025

What's next

• Read more about integrating Cloud Deploy with other systems.

• Find out more about how Skaffold works with Cloud Deploy and how to make it work well for you.

• The document Managing manifests in Cloud Deploy describes more about how you can use Skaffold, including with other, third-party manifest-management tools.