Also: Productionisation checklist
Software stability badges and their definitions.
Code is a 'work in progress' and is not ready for public use.
[](https://github.com/mkenney/software-guides/blob/master/STABILITY-BADGES.md#work-in-progress)<a href="https://github.com/mkenney/software-guides/blob/master/STABILITY-BADGES.md#work-in-progress"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/stability-wip-lightgrey.svg" alt="WIP"></a>
Code changes are planned. Do not rely on the current functionlity. Use of the feature may cause warnings. Backwards compatibility should not be expected.
[](https://github.com/mkenney/software-guides/blob/master/STABILITY-BADGES.md#deprecated)<a href="https://github.com/mkenney/software-guides/blob/master/STABILITY-BADGES.md#deprecated"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/stability-deprecated-922b21.svg" alt="Deprecated"></a>
Code is new and may change or be removed in future versions. Please try it out and provide feedback. If it addresses a use-case that is important to you please open an issue to discuss it further.
[](https://github.com/mkenney/software-guides/blob/master/STABILITY-BADGES.md#experimental)<a href="https://github.com/mkenney/software-guides/blob/master/STABILITY-BADGES.md#experimental"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/stability-experimental-orange.svg" alt="Experimental"></a>
Code is functional but volatile and prone to breaking changes. Feature development is in progress and solutions are being validated.
[](https://github.com/mkenney/software-guides/blob/master/STABILITY-BADGES.md#alpha)<a href="https://github.com/mkenney/software-guides/blob/master/STABILITY-BADGES.md#alpha"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/stability-alpha-f4d03f.svg" alt="Alpha"></a>
Code is in the process of settling, but has not yet had sufficient real-world testing to be considered mature. Backwards-compatibility will be maintained if reasonable.
See also, the productionisation checklist.
[](https://github.com/mkenney/software-guides/blob/master/STABILITY-BADGES.md#beta)<a href="https://github.com/mkenney/software-guides/blob/master/STABILITY-BADGES.md#beta"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/stability-beta-33bbff.svg" alt="Beta"></a>
Code is fairly settled and is in use in production systems. Backwards-compatibility will be mintained unless serious issues are discovered and consensus on a better solution is reached.
[](https://github.com/mkenney/software-guides/blob/master/STABILITY-BADGES.md#release-candidate)<a href="https://github.com/mkenney/software-guides/blob/master/STABILITY-BADGES.md#release-candidate"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/stability-pre--release-48c9b0.svg" alt="Release Candidate"></a>
Code has proven satisfactory and is ready for production use, cleanup of the underlying code may cause some minor changes. Backwards-compatibility is guaranteed.
[](https://github.com/mkenney/software-guides/blob/master/STABILITY-BADGES.md#mature)<a href="https://github.com/mkenney/software-guides/blob/master/STABILITY-BADGES.md#mature"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/stability-mature-008000.svg" alt="Mature"></a>
Code has been tested extensively in production and is unlikely to ever need to change.
[](https://github.com/mkenney/software-guides/blob/master/STABILITY-BADGES.md#frozen)<a href="https://github.com/mkenney/software-guides/blob/master/STABILITY-BADGES.md#frozen"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/stability-frozen-0000CD.svg" alt="Frozen"></a>
Code is complete. Unless serious bugs are found, this software will not ever change.
[](https://github.com/mkenney/software-guides/blob/master/STABILITY-BADGES.md#locked)<a href="https://github.com/mkenney/software-guides/blob/master/STABILITY-BADGES.md#locked"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/stability-locked-4b0088.svg" alt="Locked"></a>https://github.com/orangemug/stability-badges adapted for my own projects.