Progress Chef 360 represents the future of the Chef platform and the next evolution of infrastructure automation. As customers plan lifecycle changes, they should view upgrades and migrations as more than a required transition. This is an opportunity to modernize a unified platform designed to preserve existing Chef value while unlocking new capabilities across automation, compliance, visibility and intelligent operations. By planning early, organizations can reduce risk today and position themselves for a future where Chef 360 becomes the control plane for autonomous, adaptive and AI-assisted infrastructure management.
The Chef team is announcing lifecycle updates for a few existing Chef products and product versions. These updates include new deprecation and end-of-life dates, as well as status changes for products that have reached the end of their supported lifecycle.
This blog intends to provide advance notice so organizations can review the available replacements and plan their next steps.
Understanding the Product Lifecycle
A product or version marked as deprecated is no longer under active development and will eventually move to end-of-life status. Support continues during this period according to the applicable service-level agreements, but scheduled releases will be less frequent limited to critical fixes at the discretion of Progress.
An end-of-life, or EOL, date identifies when a product or version will no longer be supported or recommended for use. Organizations using an affected product should review the dates below and plan an upgrade or transition before the applicable EOL date.
Product Lifecycle Updates
The following table summarizes the planned lifecycle updates:
Product | Version | Current status as per docs | Deprecation | EOL Date | Replacement |
Supermarket | 5.x | GA | 01-Aug-26 | 31-May-27 | Chef 360 Platform |
Chef Backend | 3.x | Deprecated |
| 31-Jul-26 | Chef 360 Platform |
Chef Infra Client | 18.x | Deprecated |
| 31-Aug-27 | Chef Infra Client 19.x |
Chef Infra Server | 15.x | Deprecated |
| 30-Nov-26 | Chef 360 Platform |
Chef InSpec | 4.x | Deprecated |
| 31-Jul-26 | Chef InSpec 7.x |
Chef Workstation | 24.x | Deprecated |
| 30-Apr-26 | Workstation 26.x |
Chef Automate | Latest | GA | 01-Nov-26 | 30-Nov-27 | Chef 360 Platform |
Chef Habitat | < 2.0 | GA | 20-Aug-26 | 31-Aug-27 | Chef Habitat 2.x |
Chef InSpec | 5, 6 | GA | 20-Aug-26 | 31-Aug-27 | InSpec 7.x |
Chef Workstation | 25.x | GA | 20-Aug-26 | 31-Aug-27 | Workstation 26.x |
Moving to Current Product Versions
For Chef Infra Client, Chef InSpec, Chef Workstation and Chef Habitat, these lifecycle updates reflect the availability of newer supported versions. Moving to the replacement versions listed above allows organizations to remain aligned with actively maintained product capabilities, dependencies and supported platforms.
Where available, organizations should consider moving to Long-Term Support (LTS) versions. LTS versions provide a more stable foundation for production environments by helping organizations remain aligned with supported capabilities, dependencies and platforms while reducing the frequency of major version upgrades. Organizations should review the applicable product documentation and lifecycle information when selecting the appropriate target version.
The Direction for Chef Infra Server
Chef Infra Server 15.x is scheduled to reach EOL on November 30, 2026. Chef 360 is the replacement for the configuration management capabilities currently provided by Chef Infra Server and represents the future direction for infrastructure management within the Chef 360 Platform.
The Future of Chef Supermarket
Chef Marketplace is planned as the successor to Chef Supermarket and is intended to provide a more secure and modern content experience within the Chef 360 ecosystem.
Chef Marketplace is envisioned as a one-stop destination within the Chef 360 ecosystem where infrastructure, DevOps and security teams can discover and access reusable automation content. By bringing content into a centralized experience, Chef Marketplace will help teams reduce duplicated effort, accelerate automation initiatives and apply more consistent practices across their environments.
Chef Marketplace will succeed Chef Supermarket, with an initial focus on the discovery and consumption of public cookbooks. The broader vision could include Chef InSpec profiles, Chef Habitat packages, premium gems, Chef 360 Kubernetes plugin resources, WhatsUp Gold 360 content, LoadMaster 360 content and other content types over time. These additional content types represent the longer-term vision and are not part of the confirmed initial release scope.
Modernizing Beyond Chef Automate
Chef Automate has served users well for many years. As infrastructure environments evolve, modernizing the underlying architecture through Chef 360 offers greater long-term value than continuing to extend the original design. This transition reflects a strategic investment in the next generation of the Chef platform.
The Chef 360 platform is designed for today’s cloud-native, Kubernetes, hybrid, SaaS, edge and AI-driven environments. Its modern architecture provides a stronger foundation for security and CVE remediation, reduces technical debt and dependency-management complexity and supports greater scale and future platform growth. Chef 360 also brings automation, compliance, operations, licensing, identity and shared platform services into a more unified experience.
Future innovation and strategic investment will focus on further developing Chef 360 capabilities. This gives organizations a modern infrastructure platform that is easier to operate, more secure, more scalable and positioned to support current and future operational needs.
Planning the Next Steps
Organizations using affected products or versions should:
- Identify the installations and versions affected by these changes
- Review the applicable deprecation and EOL dates
- Evaluate the replacement identified in the table
- Consider dependencies and integrations that may be affected
- Begin upgrade or transition planning before the applicable EOL date
The Chef team will be communicating relevant lifecycle and transition information through official product communications and documentation. Refer to the Chef supported versions documentation for the latest published lifecycle information.
For additional guidance, contact your Progress representative or the Progress Chef support team.