Beta and release candidate versions

You can test upcoming authentik versions before they are released as stable. There are two types of pre-release versions available:

• Release Candidates (RC): Near-final versions that are feature-complete and undergoing final testing before a stable release. RCs are more stable than Beta versions and are recommended for testing in staging environments.
• Beta versions: Early builds that include new, or experimental features and may introduce bugs or breaking changes.

It is recommended to upgrade your installation to the latest stable release before switching from stable to an RC or Beta version.

warning

Downgrading from RC or Beta versions is not supported. It is recommended to take a backup before upgrading, or test these versions on a separate installation. Upgrading from RC or Beta versions to the next stable release generally works, but is not officially supported.

Release Candidate (RC) versions

Release candidates are available for testing before major version releases. To use an RC version, you need to specify the exact RC tag (e.g., 2025.10.0-rc3).

Docker Compose

Add the following block to your .env file, replacing 2025.10.0-rc3 with the desired RC version:

AUTHENTIK_TAG=2025.10.0-rc3

Next, pull the image and redeploy:

docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

Kubernetes

Add the following block to your values.yaml file, replacing 2025.10.0-rc3 with the desired RC version:

image:
    tag: 2025.10.0-rc3
    # pullPolicy: Always to ensure you always get the latest version
    pullPolicy: Always

Next, run the upgrade commands:

helm repo update
helm upgrade authentik authentik/authentik -f values.yaml

Beta versions

Beta versions provide early access to major new features that are still in active development.

Docker Compose

Add the following block to your .env file:

AUTHENTIK_IMAGE=ghcr.io/goauthentik/dev-server
AUTHENTIK_TAG=gh-next
AUTHENTIK_OUTPOSTS__CONTAINER_IMAGE_BASE=ghcr.io/goauthentik/dev-%(type)s:gh-%(build_hash)s

Next, run the upgrade commands below.

Kubernetes

Add the following block to your values.yml file:

authentik:
    outposts:
        container_image_base: ghcr.io/goauthentik/dev-%(type)s:gh-%(build_hash)s
image:
    repository: ghcr.io/goauthentik/dev-server
    tag: gh-next
    # pullPolicy: Always to ensure you always get the latest version
    pullPolicy: Always

Next, run the upgrade commands below.

Docker Compose

docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

Kubernetes

helm repo update
helm upgrade authentik authentik/authentik -f values.yaml

info

If you are upgrading from an older Beta release to the most recent Beta release, you might need to run kubectl rollout restart deployment, because Helm needs to recreate the pods in order to pick up the new image (the tag doesn't change).

Verifying the installation

To verify whether the upgrade was successful, go to your Admin panel and navigate to the Overview dashboard. There, you can check the version number to ensure that you are using the RC or Beta version you intended.