Serval Mesh uses a major.minor[.bugfix] version numbering scheme intended for human consumption:

• the major number increases (resetting minor and bugfix to zero) to signal a major technological advance or incompatibility with prior versions;
• the minor number increases (resetting bugfix to zero) to indicate an improvement compatible with recent versions;
• the optional bugfix number increases to indicate a bug fix with no new features, superseding all versions in the same major.minor number. The bugfix number is implicitly zero .0 if absent, and starts at .1 for the first bugfix release.

The version numbers with major number zero 0.x were the prototype phase of the Serval Mesh project:

• protocol compatibility was not preserved between minor versions
• upgrades did not always work — sometimes an un-install, re-boot and manual removal of files and folders was necessary
• the software was clearly marked as EXPERIMENTAL
• the release documentation and procedures were not formalised until the last few minor versions

The Serval Mesh Version 1.0 "Showtime" signalled the start of an upgradeable, protocol-compatible series of 1.x releases.

• Releases is a list of all releases to date and planned for the future.
• Discover the release status has instructions on how to discover the version number of the most recent release using Git.
• Choose a new version number describes when and how version numbers are increased.