Runtime lifecycle
The App Engine standard environmentruntimes use open source componentsthat are maintained by their respective communities. The runtimes areidentified by their language version, for example, Java 17, Python 3.10, and so forth.
Google provides support for a runtime duringGeneral availability (GA). During this support window:
- Runtime components are regularly updated with security and bug fixes.
- To maintain stability, App Engine avoids implementing breaking featuresor changes into the runtime. Breaking changes will be announced in advanceon the runtime-specificrelease notes.
When a language version is no longer actively maintained by the respective community,App Engine will also stop providing maintenance and support for that language runtime.Before a runtime reaches the end of support phase as described in theruntimes support schedule, Google will provide a notification to customers.
Google may make changes to any runtime's support schedule or lifecycle in accordance with the terms of your agreement for the use of Google Cloud platform services.
Runtime lifecycle
| GA-level support | End of Support | Deprecated | Decommissioned | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creation & redeployment | Yes | No1 | No | No |
| Project Configuration Updates | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Running existing workloads | Yes | Yes | Yes | May be disabled |
| UI & CLI Warnings | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Language patches | Automatic | No automatic updates | No automatic updates | No automatic updates |
| Patching APIs & SDKs | Automatic | No automatic updates | No automatic updates | No automatic updates |
| Patching OS | Automatic | No automatic updates | No automatic updates | No automatic updates |
| Customer Support | GA-level support | No runtime support | No runtime support | No runtime support |
Notification period
App Engine will begin issuing in-app notifications 90 days before the applicationreaches end of support. Upon notification, you should prepare to upgrade your application to a newerruntime that is supported in the standard environment.
End of support
Important: Google will no longer apply security updates or patches tocomponents of the runtime environment that have reached end of support. To continue receiving security updates, westrongly encourage you to upgrade your application to a supported runtimeversion as soon as it becomes available.Deployments for legacy runtimes can be re-enabled using anorganization policy.When runtime components reach the end of support date:
- Google will no longer apply security updates or patches to components of the runtime environment.
- Your application will continue to run and receive traffic.
- You will no longer be able to create and/or update the application on the unsupported runtime.
- Issues arising from the use of an unsupported runtime will not be eligible for technical support
We strongly encourage you to upgrade your application to a supported runtime version as soon as it becomes available to continue receiving security updates and being eligible for technical support.
For details, see the migration guides:- Migrate from Python 2.7 to the latest Python runtime
- Migrate from PHP 5 to the latest PHP runtime
- Migrate from Go 1.11 to the latest Go runtime
- Migrate from Java 8 to the latest Java runtime
In certain cases, Google may permit your Organization tore-enable deployments in unsupported runtimes, subject to service specific termsand conditions. Deployments for legacy runtimes can be re-enabled using anorganization policy.
Deprecated
If Google allowed your Organization to re-enable deployments in an unsupported runtime, Google will remove that ability once the runtime is deprecated.
Where practicable, we will make reasonable efforts to notify you in advance of the deprecation by in-app notifications or other means. In certain instances, including in circumstances involving critical security vulnerabilities or similar high severity issues, advance notice may not be practicable.
Decommissioned
Applications that continue to use a decommissioned runtime may be disabled without further notice. You must choose a more up-to-date runtime to deploy your application.
See the runtimessupport schedule for key dates.
In certain cases, Google may permit your organization to re-enable deployments for legacy runtimes using anorganization policy. ↩
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Last updated 2025-12-15 UTC.