|
1 | | -# Zcashd version lifecycle: the Zcash ecosystem metronome. |
2 | | - |
3 | | -Every 16 weeks a Zcashd version *dies* and a new one *is born*. This happens |
4 | | -whether Zcashd code is being substantially changed or not. Once a version is |
5 | | -released, *it can’t be stopped*. Nobody can tell you which version of Zcashd to |
6 | | -run. Zcashd is designed to stop running at a given blockheight and operators have |
7 | | -to update their version to keep validating (or mining) blocks. This means that |
8 | | -if you need to release a new version of Zcashd, for the case it requires the |
9 | | -current supported version to stop working, you need to wait until the |
10 | | -End-of-Support (EOS) of the current version. |
11 | | - |
12 | | -This means that the feature that you finish developing today in Zcashd, will |
13 | | -only see the light of day on mainnet after the EOS date of the current version, |
14 | | -when the version that includes that feature becomes the current version (provided |
15 | | -that it doesn’t need a transition cycle). Sometimes that could mean a day, others |
16 | | -it can mean 16 weeks. That’s how this metronome keeps a decentralized, |
17 | | -permissionless and censorship-resistant protocol keeps everyone coordinated in |
18 | | -terms of software releases. |
19 | | - |
20 | | -The timeline below shows the current Zcash version and the milestones where the |
21 | | -support of the next three versions end. |
22 | | - |
23 | | - |
24 | | - |
25 | | -The next Zcashd EOS is January 21st 2026\. This entails that whenever the Zcash |
26 | | -development teams have consensus that Zcashd deprecation development is complete, |
27 | | -then the ecosystem will need a whole EOS cycle to occur in order to deploy the |
28 | | -proper versions that will stop the current supported Zcashd version and allow |
29 | | -the Zcash maintainers to create and deploy the **End-of-Life** version of Zcashd. |
30 | | - |
31 | | -The Z3 development cross-team group gathered and estimated that it is acceptable |
32 | | -to assess that Zcashd deprecation development completion window could span between |
33 | | -now and May 2026 (Zcashd 6.10.1 EOS). This leaves the 16 weeks between 6.10.1 and |
34 | | -6.10.2 to be the cycle buffer where the Z3 infrastructure could co-exist in |
35 | | -production with Zcashd for the case NU7 is set to activate in September 2026 |
36 | | - |
37 | | -This means that NU7 could be targeted for activation after September 2026 indicated |
38 | | -by Zcashd 6.10.2 EOS Milestone provided that it is feature complete and the NU |
39 | | -process can be carried out by then, with the good practices that the Zcash core |
40 | | -developers have been doing all of these years. |
41 | | - |
42 | | -## Towards a friction-less Network Upgrade process |
43 | | - |
44 | | -Zcash core developers are researching ways to reduce the impact of Network |
45 | | -Upgrades that include transaction changes. This means less hassle for wallet and |
46 | | -infrastructure providers and a higher pace for smaller updates even if they do |
47 | | -include transaction format changes. Core developers are committed to improve UX |
48 | | -for all ecosystem actors including the most tech savvy ones. |
| 1 | +# Zcashd End-of-Life |
| 2 | + |
| 3 | +> ## ⚠️ `zcashd` is reaching its End of Life |
| 4 | +> |
| 5 | +> `zcashd` is **deprecated** and will **not** support NU6.3. |
| 6 | +> **If you do not need the `zcashd` wallet, migrate to [Zebra](https://github.com/ZcashFoundation/zebra) now.** |
| 7 | +> If you depend on the `zcashd` wallet, start testing [Zallet](https://zcash.github.io/zallet/) |
| 8 | +> migrating your `wallet.dat` as soon as possible. The binary's **End-of-Support halt** is |
| 9 | +> estimated for **July 18th 2026** at block height 3417100, after which every `zcashd` node |
| 10 | +> automatically shuts down. |
| 11 | +
|
| 12 | +See [Zcash'd book chapter](https://zcash.github.io/zcash/user/end-of-life.html) on Zcashd EOL. |
0 commit comments