Name: Operator Versioning
Author: tigera

operator-versioning

// Map between Calico/enterprise versions and tigera/operator release branches. Use this skill whenever you need to determine which operator branch corresponds to a Calico or enterprise release (e.g., "which operator branch is Calico v3.30?"), or the reverse (e.g., "what Calico version does release-v1.40 ship?"). Also use this skill whenever cherry-picking to operator release branches, creating cherry-pick PRs targeting release branches, or any task that requires knowing the operator↔Calico version relationship. Trigger even if the user doesn't explicitly ask about versioning — if the task involves targeting an operator release branch by Calico version, use this skill to find the right branch.

name

operator-versioning

description

Map between Calico/enterprise versions and tigera/operator release branches. Use this skill whenever you need to determine which operator branch corresponds to a Calico or enterprise release (e.g., "which operator branch is Calico v3.30?"), or the reverse (e.g., "what Calico version does release-v1.40 ship?"). Also use this skill whenever cherry-picking to operator release branches, creating cherry-pick PRs targeting release branches, or any task that requires knowing the operator↔Calico version relationship. Trigger even if the user doesn't explicitly ask about versioning — if the task involves targeting an operator release branch by Calico version, use this skill to find the right branch.

Operator Version Mapping

The tigera/operator repo uses its own versioning (release-v1.X) that does NOT have a simple 1:1 offset with Calico versions. Some operator branches correspond to Calico OSS releases, others to Calico Enterprise releases, and the mapping changes over time. Never guess the mapping — always look it up.

Calico version → operator branch

The authoritative source is the OPERATOR_BRANCH variable in metadata.mk:

Calico OSS (projectcalico/calico): check metadata.mk on the release-vX.Y branch.
```
git show origin/release-vX.Y:metadata.mk | grep OPERATOR_BRANCH
```
Calico Enterprise (tigera/calico-private): check metadata.mk on the appropriate release-calient-* branch. The branch naming convention is release-calient-vX.Y-Z where -Z is the EP (engineering preview) number (e.g., release-calient-v3.23-1 = v3.23 EP1). List matching branches to find the right one:
```
git branch -r | grep "release-calient-vX.Y"
git show origin/release-calient-vX.Y-Z:metadata.mk | grep OPERATOR_BRANCH
```
Confirm by checking config/calico_versions.yml or config/enterprise_versions.yml on the operator branch (in tigera/operator) — the title field shows the Calico/enterprise version that branch ships:
```
git show origin/release-v1.XX:config/calico_versions.yml | head -3
git show origin/release-v1.XX:config/enterprise_versions.yml | head -3
```

If you don't have the calico or calico-private repo locally, you can work backwards from the operator side: check config/calico_versions.yml on several candidate operator branches until you find the one whose title matches the target Calico version.

Operator branch → Calico version

Check the version files on the operator branch directly:

git show origin/release-v1.XX:config/calico_versions.yml | head -3
git show origin/release-v1.XX:config/enterprise_versions.yml | head -3

The title field in each file gives the Calico OSS and enterprise versions respectively.

Important notes

Multiple operator branches can ship the same Calico OSS version (e.g., one paired with an OSS release, another with an enterprise release). The metadata.mk approach is definitive for a given Calico/enterprise release stream.
The GitHub releases page for tigera/operator can also help — it shows which operator versions were released from which branches and what Calico versions they include.

Operator Version Mapping

Calico version → operator branch

The authoritative source is the OPERATOR_BRANCH variable in metadata.mk:

Calico OSS (projectcalico/calico): check metadata.mk on the release-vX.Y branch.

git show origin/release-vX.Y:metadata.mk | grep OPERATOR_BRANCH

Calico Enterprise (tigera/calico-private): check metadata.mk on the appropriate release-calient-* branch. The branch naming convention is release-calient-vX.Y-Z where -Z is the EP (engineering preview) number (e.g., release-calient-v3.23-1 = v3.23 EP1). List matching branches to find the right one:

git branch -r | grep "release-calient-vX.Y"
git show origin/release-calient-vX.Y-Z:metadata.mk | grep OPERATOR_BRANCH

Confirm by checking config/calico_versions.yml or config/enterprise_versions.yml on the operator branch (in tigera/operator) — the title field shows the Calico/enterprise version that branch ships:

git show origin/release-v1.XX:config/calico_versions.yml | head -3
git show origin/release-v1.XX:config/enterprise_versions.yml | head -3

Operator branch → Calico version

Check the version files on the operator branch directly:

git show origin/release-v1.XX:config/calico_versions.yml | head -3 git show origin/release-v1.XX:config/enterprise_versions.yml | head -3

The title field in each file gives the Calico OSS and enterprise versions respectively.

Important notes

Multiple operator branches can ship the same Calico OSS version (e.g., one paired with an OSS release, another with an enterprise release). The metadata.mk approach is definitive for a given Calico/enterprise release stream.

The GitHub releases page for tigera/operator can also help — it shows which operator versions were released from which branches and what Calico versions they include.