Amazon Aurora versioning

Amazon Aurora versions are different from the upstream community databases that they’re compatible with. To help you maintain application compatibility and leverage the latest DB engine features, the following sections explain Aurora versioning conventions and how Aurora versions map to their respective community databases.

For a list of the relational databases that are available on Amazon Aurora, see Supported database engines for Amazon Aurora database clusters.

Differences in version numbers between community databases and Aurora

Each Amazon Aurora version is compatible with a specific version of its corresponding community database. You can find the community version of your database with the version function, and the Aurora version with the aurora_version function.

The following examples show how to find the community version of your database for Aurora MySQL and Aurora PostgreSQL.

Aurora MySQL

The version function returns the community version of your database for Aurora MySQL.

mysql> select version();

Output example:

+------------------+
|   version()      |
+------------------+
|  8.0.32          | 
+------------------+

And the aurora_version function returns the Aurora version:

mysql> select aurora_version(), @@aurora_version;

Output example:

+------------------+------------------+
| aurora_version() | @@aurora_version |
+------------------+------------------+
| 3.05.2           | 3.05.2           |
+------------------+------------------+

Aurora PostgreSQL

The version function returns the community version of your database for Aurora PostgreSQL.

postgres=> select version();

Output example:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
PostgreSQL 11.7 on x86_64-pc-linux-gnu, compiled by gcc (GCC) 4.9.3, 64-bit
(1 row)

And the aurora_version function returns the Aurora version:

postgres=> select aurora_version();

Output example:

aurora_version
----------------
3.2.2

For more information, see Checking Aurora MySQL versions using SQL and Identifying versions of Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL.

Default Amazon Aurora versions

The default version is the version that Aurora chooses automatically for database creation or upgrade when you don't manually specify a target engine version. For example, the following command shows the default engine version for Aurora PostgreSQL (sample output included).

aws rds describe-db-engine-versions \
    --engine aurora-postgresql \
    --default-only \
    --query 'DBEngineVersions[0].EngineVersion' \
    --output text

16.4

Every major version has a corresponding default minor version. Thus, the default minor version is 16.n for Aurora PostgreSQL 16, with version number n changing when Aurora releases new default minor versions. Typically, Aurora releases two default minor versions for every major version per year. The following bash shell script shows the default minor versions for a set of Aurora PostgreSQL major versions (sample output included).

for major in 16 15 14 13 12 11; do   
  echo -n "Default for Aurora PostgreSQL major version $major: "
  aws rds describe-db-engine-versions \
    --engine aurora-postgresql \                 
    --engine-version "$major" \
    --default-only \
    --query 'DBEngineVersions[0].EngineVersion' \
    --output text
done

Default for Aurora PostgreSQL major version 16: 16.4
Default for Aurora PostgreSQL major version 15: 15.8
Default for Aurora PostgreSQL major version 14: 14.13
Default for Aurora PostgreSQL major version 13: 13.16
Default for Aurora PostgreSQL major version 12: 12.20
Default for Aurora PostgreSQL major version 11: 11.21

If you enable automatic minor version upgrades for your Aurora DB cluster, Aurora uses either the default minor version or a newer minor version for a given major version. For example, if the default minor version for Aurora PostgreSQL 15 is 15.8, and newer version 15.10 is also available, Aurora can automatically upgrade to either 15.8 or 15.10.

Amazon Aurora major versions

Aurora versions use the major.minor.patch scheme. An Aurora major version refers to the MySQL or PostgreSQL community major version that Aurora is compatible with. Aurora MySQL and Aurora PostgreSQL major versions are available under standard support at least until community end of life for the corresponding community version. You can continue to run a major version past its Aurora end of standard support date for a fee. For more information, see Amazon RDS Extended Support with Amazon Aurora and Amazon Aurora pricing.

For more information on major versions and the release calendar for Aurora MySQL and Aurora PostgreSQL, see the following pages in the respective Release Notes:

How long Amazon Aurora major versions remain available

Amazon Aurora major versions remain available at least until community end of life for the corresponding community version. You can use Aurora end of standard support dates to plan your testing and upgrade cycles. These dates represent the earliest date that an upgrade to a newer version might be required. For more information on the dates, see Amazon Aurora major versions.

Before Aurora asks you to upgrade to a newer major version and to help you plan, you receive a reminder at least 12 months in advance. The reminders communicate the following about the upgrade process.

We recommend that you thoroughly test your applications with new database versions before upgrading your cluster to a new major version.

After the major version reaches the Aurora end of standard support, any DB cluster still running the earlier version is automatically upgraded to an Extended Support version during a scheduled maintenance window. Extended Support charges may apply. For more information on Amazon RDS Extended Support, see Using Amazon RDS Extended support.

Amazon Aurora minor versions

Aurora versions use the major.minor.patch scheme. An Aurora minor version provides incremental community and Aurora-specific improvements to the service, for example new features and fixes.

For more information on minor versions and the release calendar for Aurora MySQL and Aurora PostgreSQL, see the following pages in the respective Release Notes:

The following sections describe details about the cadence and lifetime that you can expect for Aurora minor versions.

How often Amazon Aurora minor versions are released

In general, Amazon Aurora minor versions are released quarterly. The release schedule might vary to pick up additional features or fixes.

How long Amazon Aurora minor versions remain available

Typically, Amazon Aurora makes every minor version of a particular major version available for at least 12 months. At the end of this period, Aurora might automatically upgrade your database to the default minor version or to a later version. Aurora begins the upgrade during the scheduled maintenance window for any DB cluster that is running the earlier minor version.

In some cases, Aurora might replace a minor version of a particular major version sooner than the usual 12-month period. Reasons can include critical security issues or the end-of-support date for a major version.

Before beginning automatic upgrades of minor versions that are approaching end of life, Aurora typically provides a reminder three months in advance. Aurora details the following about the upgrade process.

Notifications with less than three months notice describe critical matters, such as security issues, that require quicker action.

If the Auto minor version upgrade setting is enabled, you get a reminder but no RDS event notification. Aurora upgrades your database within a maintenance window after the mandatory upgrade deadline has passed.

If the Auto minor version upgrade setting isn't enabled, you get a reminder and an Amazon RDS DB cluster event with a category of maintenance and ID of RDS-EVENT-0156. Aurora upgrades your database within the next maintenance window.

Note that after a minor version reaches the Aurora end of standard support, no further patch versions will be released for that minor version. To receive critical bug fixes or CVEs, you must upgrade to a minor version with standard support.

For more information about automatic minor version upgrades, see Automatic minor version upgrades for Aurora DB clusters.

Amazon Aurora patch versions

Aurora versions use the major.minor.patch scheme. An Aurora patch version includes important fixes added to a minor version after its initial release (for example, Aurora MySQL 3.04.0, 3.04.1, ..., 3.04.3). While each new minor version provides new Aurora features, new patch versions within a specific minor version are primarily used to resolve important issues.

For more information on patching, see Maintaining an Amazon Aurora DB cluster.