Ruby on Rails Version History

3 active, 8 end-of-life. 11 versions tracked.

Ruby on Rails releases new major and minor versions without a strict schedule, but roughly annually for major versions. The framework ships significant features in minor versions too, so even a bump from 7.1 to 7.2 can include meaningful changes.

Recommendation

For new projects, use Rails 8.0 or later. It includes Solid Cable, Solid Cache, and Solid Queue, reducing the need for Redis in many applications.

Version Released End of Life Latest Patch Status
Ruby on Rails 8.1 October 22, 2025 October 10, 2027 8.1.2 Active
Ruby on Rails 8.0 November 7, 2024 November 7, 2026 8.0.4 Active
Ruby on Rails 7.2 August 9, 2024 August 9, 2026 7.2.3 Security Only
Ruby on Rails 7.1 October 5, 2023 October 1, 2025 7.1.6 End of Life
Ruby on Rails 7.0 December 15, 2021 April 1, 2025 7.0.10 End of Life
Ruby on Rails 6.1 December 9, 2020 October 1, 2024 6.1.7.10 End of Life
Ruby on Rails 6.0 August 16, 2019 June 1, 2023 6.0.6.1 End of Life
Ruby on Rails 5.2 April 9, 2018 June 1, 2022 5.2.8.1 End of Life
Ruby on Rails 5.1 April 27, 2017 August 25, 2019 5.1.7 End of Life
Ruby on Rails 5.0 June 30, 2016 April 9, 2018 5.0.7.2 End of Life
Ruby on Rails 4.2 December 19, 2014 April 27, 2017 4.2.11.3 End of Life
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Ruby on Rails Support Policy

Rails maintains security patches for the current and previous minor release series. Older releases are generally unsupported. The Rails core team doesn't publish formal support timelines, but critical CVE patches are typically backported to the previous major version for a few months after a new major release.

What You Need to Know

Rails 6.1 and older are effectively unmaintained. Upgrade to 7.x or 8.x for security patches.

Rails 8.0 introduced the Solid trifecta: Solid Cable, Solid Cache, and Solid Queue, replacing Redis for many use cases.

Rails 7.1 added Dockerfile generation, async queries, and built-in authentication generators.

Rails 8.0 requires Ruby 3.2+. Check your Ruby version before upgrading.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often does Ruby on Rails release new versions?
Rails ships major versions roughly every 1-2 years and minor versions several times a year. There's no fixed schedule. Patch releases for security issues come out as needed.
Should I upgrade from Rails 7 to Rails 8?
Yes, for new projects use Rails 8. For existing projects, the upgrade is worthwhile but test thoroughly. The biggest changes are around the Solid libraries (replacing Redis dependencies) and the new default authentication system.
Which Rails versions are currently supported?
Only the current major/minor series and the immediately previous one receive security patches. In practice, stay on Rails 7.2+ or 8.0+ to be within the supported window.

Related Tools

Vulnerability Scanner
EOL Timeline Visualizer
Stack Health Check

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