Go Version Support Policy (2026)

Go follows a consistent 6-month release cycle with new versions shipping every February and August. Under the Go security policy, only the latest two major releases receive security fixes — when Go 1.25 ships, Go 1.23 stops receiving patches. Combined with Go’s strong compatibility promise (code written for Go 1.x will continue to compile on future Go 1.y versions), this means upgrading is both low-risk and necessary for keeping your builds secure. Go does not have LTS releases; the two-release support window applies uniformly to every version.

Go Version Support Table

Go Support Policy

The Go release cycle is managed by the Go team at Google:

• Release cadence: Two releases per year — February and August.
• Security support: The latest two major releases receive security fixes. For example, when Go 1.25 ships in August 2025, Go 1.23 loses security support, leaving Go 1.24 and 1.25 as the supported pair.
• Minor releases (patch versions): Released as needed for bug and security fixes. Only the latest patch of each supported major release is maintained.
• Go 1.x compatibility promise: Go guarantees that code written for an older Go 1.x version will continue to compile with newer Go 1.y versions. This makes upgrading essentially frictionless — in most cases, you just bump the version in your go.mod and rebuild.

There are no LTS releases or extended support windows. If you need a version beyond the 2-release window, you must self-support or use a third-party distribution (e.g., a Linux distro’s backported patches).

How to Check Your Go Version

go version
# go version go1.24.2 linux/amd64

To check the version in your go.mod:

head -1 go.mod
# module example.com/myapp
# go 1.24

Upgrade Path

FAQ

Related Schedules

• Python Version EOL Schedule
• Node.js Release Schedule
• Java / JDK LTS Schedule
• Rust Edition & Version Schedule