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.
Before August 30, 2022, Cloud Deploy used the LTS version of the most recent publicly available Skaffold images.
Supported versions
| Skaffold version | Max schema version | As-of date | Default? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.13.x (release notes) | v4beta11 | August 1, 2024 | ✓ |
| 2.11.x (release notes) | v4beta10 | May 6, 2024 | |
| 2.10.x (release notes) | v4beta9 | February 2, 2024 | |
| 2.8.x (release notes) | v4beta7 | October 27, 2023 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.13.x (release notes) | August 1, 2024 | August 14, 2025 | October 13, 2025 |
| 2.11.x (release notes) | May 6, 2024 | May 6, 2025 | July 5, 2025 |
| 2.10.x (release notes) | February 2, 2024 | February 2, 2025 | April 3, 2025 |
| 2.8.x (release notes) | October 26, 2023 | October 26, 2024 | December 25, 2024 |
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.