Beginning with the Mule Runtime 4.5.0 release in 2023, MuleSoft modified the cadence of Runtime updates to offer our customers flexibility in how they wish to handle updating their Mule runtime instances.
We transitioned from an ad-hoc release cycle, which historically had been every one to two years, to a regular release cadence of three times each year (Winter, Spring, Summer) that aligns with the Salesforce release cycle.
We introduced two new release channels, Long-Term Support (LTS) and Edge.
These channels provide customers with flexibility and choice. Customers can use Edge to adopt features earlier with a shorter application lifecycle management timeframe, versus using LTS to leverage new capabilities annually with a longer application lifecycle management timeframe.
Since then, we’ve listened to customer feedback and have made the decision to slightly modify the support window structure for these two release models:
- Edge: Previously offered a window of four months standard, four months extended support. That’s now changing to five months standard and three months extended support.
- Long-Term Support (LTS): Previously offered a support period of 12 months standard, 12 months extended. That’s now being modified to 18 months standard and six months extended support.
This change was made in order to better reflect the realities of necessary support windows when it comes to business critical application integrations. We foresee these changes better suiting our customers’ needs and we welcome a continued dialogue about the on-going updates to the Mule Runtime.
Generally, MuleSoft would advise most customers to adopt the Long-Term Support (LTS) model for business critical applications. Ultimately, the choice is yours if you’d rather receive more regular innovation updates.
What follows is a refresher explanation of both the Edge and LTS release models you can adopt for your MuleSoft applications.
Edge release channel
Edge versions are released every four months, on a schedule of February, June, and October continuously. This release channel is focused on enabling faster innovation, and once released, will also receive regular patches for security vulnerabilities and critical issues.
Edge versions will have a shorter support period and will require more frequent upgrades compared to LTS versions. We recommend this release channel for organizations or applications that require the latest features and advancements, and have the resources to manage more frequent upgrades.
These updates occur in regular intervals to enable customers to stay on top of changes and take advantage of new capabilities earlier.
The new Mule Runtime release cadence aligns with the Salesforce release cycle (February, June, and October release windows), enabling joint customers to plan and manage their upgrades more efficiently across both platforms.
Long-Term Support (LTS) release channel
LTS versions are released annually every February and incorporate new capabilities introduced in the prior Edge releases. These LTS versions are focused on providing longer application maintenance periods, and once released, these versions will receive regular patches for security vulnerabilities and critical issues. We recommend this channel for mission-critical applications and on-premises runtime deployments.
The table below represents the Mule runtime version releases along with the new support windows:
| Mule Runtime Versions | Channel Type | Release Timeline | Standard Support Window | Extended Support Window |
| 4.5 | Edge | October 2023 | 4 months | 4 months |
| 4.6 | Edge | Feb 2024 | 4 months | 4 months |
| 4.6 | LTS | Feb 2024 | 18 months | 6 months |
| 4.7 | Edge | June 2024 | 4 months | 4 months |
| 4.8 | Edge | Oct 2024 | 5 months | 3 months |
| 4.9 | Edge | Feb 2025 | 5 months | 3 months |
| 4.9 | LTS | Feb 2025 | 18 months | 6 months |
Monthly patching and version schema
Mule Runtimes continue to receive monthly updates across deployment models (CloudHub 1.0, CloudHub 2.0, and Runtime Fabric), but these updates will follow the new versioning scheme mentioned below, rather than the current, date-based versioning.
The Hybrid Standalone deployment model will move from date-based versioning to semantic versioning, represented as Major.Minor.Patch. This change aligns with industry standards and simplifies version
Auto-upgrading
MuleSoft will auto-upgrade apps across minor releases in CloudHub, which will allow applications to always be on the latest and standard supported version of Mule Runtime, keeping you at the forefront of innovation and security.
Upgrades will always be in the same release channel which means apps on a minor LTS version will be auto-upgraded to the latest minor LTS version, and apps on a minor Edge version will be auto-upgraded to the latest minor Edge version.
Self-upgrade periods for CloudHub 1.0 and 2.0
CloudHub customers are able to leverage the self-upgrade period to test their apps on the next patch or minor release and self-upgrade their apps before MuleSoft auto-upgrades the apps. This enables CloudHub customers to control their app testing and upgrading process based on their business planning windows.
- Edge: One month before the app is auto upgraded across minor releases
- LTS: Six months before the app is auto upgraded across minor releases
On-premises deployments
RTF (Runtime Fabric) and Hybrid On-Prem apps will not be subject to this automatic upgrade across minor releases.
Conclusion
We hope that these changes will give MuleSoft developers greater flexibility and choice, as well as more convenient timeframes for those who work with both MuleSoft and Salesforce platforms.
