39 lines
1.7 KiB
Markdown
39 lines
1.7 KiB
Markdown
---
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stage: none
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group: unassigned
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info: To determine the technical writer assigned to the Stage/Group associated with this page, see https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/engineering/ux/technical-writing/#assignments
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---
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# Deprecation guidelines
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This page includes information about how and when to remove or make [breaking
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changes](../contributing/index.md#breaking-changes) to GitLab features.
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## Terminology
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It's important to understand the difference between **deprecation** and
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**removal**:
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**Deprecation** is the process of flagging/marking/announcing that a feature is no longer fully supported and may be removed in a future version of GitLab.
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**Removal** is the process of actually removing a feature that was previously
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deprecated.
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## When can a feature be deprecated?
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A feature can be deprecated at any time, provided there is a viable alternative.
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Deprecations should be announced on the [Deprecated feature removal schedule](../../update/deprecations.md).
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For steps to create a deprecation entry, see [Deprecations](https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/marketing/blog/release-posts/#deprecations).
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## When can a feature be removed/changed?
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Generally, feature or configuration can be removed/changed only on major release.
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It also should be [deprecated in advance](https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/marketing/blog/release-posts/#deprecations).
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For API removals, see the [GraphQL](../../api/graphql/index.md#deprecation-and-removal-process) and [GitLab API](../../api/index.md#compatibility-guidelines) guidelines.
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For configuration removals, see the [Omnibus deprecation policy](../../administration/package_information/deprecation_policy.md).
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For versioning and upgrade details, see our [Release and Maintenance policy](../../policy/maintenance.md).
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