[tor-relays] tor version 0.4.8.x end of life date?

[nusenu via tor-relays <tor-relays@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

(resending this email in a modified version because the first attempt from about a week ago got filtered by the spam filter
because the email contained a list of affected operator contact strings)

> Hi,
>
> according to tor's support policy [1] tor version 0.4.8.x reaches and of life 3 months after 0.4.9.x became stable.
>
> The first tor 0.4.9.x stable release got published on 2026-02-12.
>
> Would be great if someone with the necessary permissions could update the Tor Releases page,
> is has not seen any updates for a while:
> https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/core/team/-/wikis/NetworkTeam/CoreTorReleases
>
> and maybe:
> * make a pre-announcement of the 0.4.8.x eol date on this mailing list / blog?
> * stop recommending versions one month before they become EoL [2] so people get some log entries in advance even if they don't read this mailing list / blog
>
> The TROVE page could also be updated with regards to tor release 0.4.9.6 ("fixed in" column for lines TROVE-2026-003 and TROVE-2026-004)
> https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/core/team/-/wikis/NetworkTeam/TROVE
>
> Below is a list of ~170 operators running >1 relays on tor version 0.4.8.x.
> If you are still running relays on tor version 0.4.8 consider upgrading before it reaches end of life.
>
> If you are still using tor version 0.4.8.x clients consider upgrading today because tor 0.4.8.x does not support Happy Family
> and MyFamily does not allow large operators to declare all their relays in a single family. That means you run into the risk of using multiple relays
> from a single operator in a single circuit. By moving to tor 0.4.9.x clients you also help relay operators and the entire tor network because that helps us with deprecating MyFamily.
>
> kind regards,
> nusenu
>
> [1] https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/core/team/-/wikis/NetworkTeam/SupportPolicy#types-of-releases
> [2] https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/network-health/team/-/issues/443#note_3391392
>
> related gitlab issues:
> Stop recommending tor client versions that do not support Happy Families:
> https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/network-health/team/-/issues/447
>
> https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/core/tor/-/issues/41234


tor network stats for relays running tor version 0.4.8.x as of 2026-04-13:

relays count: 2249
exit probability:  11%
guard probability: 29%

kind regards,
nusenu

--
https://nusenu.github.io

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