10 Key Highlights of Incus 7.0 LTS: What You Need to Know

The Incus team has unveiled version 7.0 LTS, a major milestone in container and virtual-machine management. This long-term support release brings several enhancements, deprecations, and a commitment to stability through June 2031. Whether you're an existing user or evaluating Incus for the first time, here are ten essential things to understand about this latest release.

1. Overview of Incus 7.0 LTS

Incus 7.0 LTS marks a significant step forward for the open-source container and virtual-machine management platform. Building on the foundation of the 6.0 LTS, this version introduces new capabilities while streamlining older components. The release is designed to provide a stable, production-ready environment for managing both containers and virtual machines under a unified API. With a focus on reliability and long-term support, Incus 7.0 LTS is positioned as the go-to choice for organizations needing predictable updates and extended maintenance. Key improvements include a low-level backup API, integrated S3 operations, and the removal of legacy technologies such as cgroups v1 and xtables. This release underscores Incus's evolution into a modern, self-contained management platform.

2. Introduction of a Low-Level Backup API

One of the standout features in Incus 7.0 LTS is the addition of a low-level backup API. This API provides finer-grained control over backup operations, allowing administrators to create more efficient and targeted backup strategies. Unlike higher-level tools that may duplicate data or lack flexibility, the low-level API enables direct access to backup streams, making it easier to integrate with external backup systems and custom scripts. For organizations that require robust disaster recovery plans, this enhancement reduces overhead and improves restore reliability. The API is designed to work seamlessly with existing Incus workflows, ensuring that backups can be automated without sacrificing performance. This feature is particularly valuable for large-scale deployments where backup windows are tight and data integrity is paramount.

3. Native S3 Operations Replace MinIO

Incus 7.0 LTS incorporates basic S3 operations directly into the platform, effectively replacing the now-unmaintained MinIO project. This change simplifies the storage backend by eliminating an external dependency. Users can now manage S3-compatible object storage natively within Incus, reducing the complexity of setup and maintenance. The integrated S3 support covers essential operations such as bucket creation, object uploads and downloads, and access control. This move aligns with Incus's philosophy of providing an all-in-one management experience. For existing MinIO users, migration paths are available to transition to the native S3 implementation. This consolidation not only streamlines the architecture but also ensures ongoing compatibility and security updates without relying on third-party projects.

4. Removal of cgroups v1 Support

Incus 7.0 LTS drops support for cgroups v1, a legacy control group mechanism that has been superseded by cgroups v2. This removal reflects the broader Linux ecosystem's shift toward v2, which offers better resource management, unified hierarchy, and improved performance. By eliminating cgroups v1, Incus can leverage the full benefits of v2, including more accurate accounting and simplified configuration. Users still running older kernels or distributions that only support cgroups v1 will need to upgrade to compatible systems. This change may require adjustments for custom scripts or integrations that relied on v1 paths, but the long-term benefits in stability and scalability outweigh the migration effort. The removal also reduces maintenance burden on the Incus development team.

5. Dropping xtables (iptables/ip6tables/ebtables)

Another notable deprecation in Incus 7.0 LTS is the removal of support for xtables, including iptables, ip6tables, and ebtables. The project now exclusively uses nftables for firewall and network filtering. This aligns with modern Linux networking standards adopted by most major distributions. The shift to nftables brings a more consistent and efficient rule set, easier debugging, and improved performance for large rule collections. Administrators currently relying on iptables rules for Incus networking will need to migrate their configurations to nftables. To assist with this transition, Incus provides migration tools and documentation. The removal of xtables reduces code complexity and ensures that Incus remains compatible with future kernel versions that may completely phase out the legacy framework.

6. Long-Term Support Timeline

Incus 7.0 is a long-term support (LTS) release, guaranteeing updates and security patches until June 2031. The support lifecycle is divided into two phases: the first two years (until mid-2027) include bug fixes, security patches, and minor usability improvements delivered through point releases (e.g., 7.0.1, 7.0.2). After that initial period, Incus 7.0 LTS enters a security-only maintenance phase for the remaining five years. This means critical vulnerabilities will be addressed, but no new features or non-security bug fixes will be added. This predictable schedule helps organizations plan upgrades and maintain compliance with internal security policies. For those seeking a stable platform without frequent major version changes, the LTS release is ideal.

7. Contributor Statistics and Community Growth

Between the 6.0 LTS and 7.0 LTS releases, a total of 204 individuals contributed to Incus. This diverse group includes developers, testers, documentation writers, and translators from around the world. Specifically, 45 contributors participated between the 6.23 and 7.0 LTS releases, demonstrating ongoing community engagement. The increase in contributions reflects Incus's growing popularity and the health of its open-source ecosystem. Contributions range from code improvements and new features to bug reports and translations. The project's governance remains transparent, with discussions held on public mailing lists and forums. This collaborative spirit ensures that Incus continues to evolve to meet real-world needs while maintaining high quality.

8. Migration Path from Incus 6.0 LTS

Upgrading from Incus 6.0 LTS to 7.0 LTS is designed to be straightforward, but administrators should be aware of the breaking changes. The removal of cgroups v1 and xtables requires pre-upgrade checks to ensure the underlying host system supports cgroups v2 and nftables. Incus provides migration scripts for network rules and backup procedures to minimize downtime. Additionally, the low-level backup API is optional; existing backup configurations will continue to work. The project recommends testing the upgrade in a non-production environment first. Comprehensive release notes and upgrade guides are available on the official Incus website. For clusters running multiple nodes, rolling upgrades are supported but require careful coordination to maintain consistency.

9. Impact on Existing Incus Deployments

Current Incus users will need to assess how the changes in 7.0 LTS affect their environments. The removal of MinIO means users of the deprecated storage backend must migrate to the native S3 support or alternative storage solutions. Similarly, any scripts or integrations that depend on iptables rules must be updated for nftables. On the positive side, the low-level backup API offers new capabilities for advanced data protection. The cgroups v2 transition may improve resource isolation for containers, especially in high-density setups. Overall, while some migration effort is required, the benefits in performance, security, and maintainability are substantial. Incus's commitment to backward compatibility ensures that most configurations will work with minimal changes.

10. Future Directions and Community Engagement

Looking ahead, the Incus team plans to focus on stability and incremental improvements for the 7.0 LTS series. The removal of legacy components paves the way for cleaner architecture and faster development cycles. Community involvement remains vital: users are encouraged to report bugs, suggest features, and contribute code. The project maintains active discussion channels on IRC and Discourse, where roadmap items are debated. Future non-LTS releases will continue to introduce experimental features, while the LTS branch remains a safe haven for production deployments. With a strong foundation and an engaged community, Incus 7.0 LTS is well-positioned to support the next generation of container and virtual-machine workloads.

In conclusion, Incus 7.0 LTS delivers a refined, future-proof platform for managing containers and virtual machines. From the low-level backup API to the removal of outdated dependencies, every change aims to enhance performance, security, and usability. The extended support through 2031 provides peace of mind for long-term projects. Whether you're upgrading or starting fresh, Incus 7.0 LTS represents a solid choice for modern infrastructure management.