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Sep 8, 2025
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Add Independent Agent Release doc #2824

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c04b213
Add Independent Agent Release doc
jillguyonnet Sep 5, 2025
5e4911f
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jillguyonnet Sep 5, 2025
7e17047
Remove use of acronym
jillguyonnet Sep 8, 2025
52e6518
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jillguyonnet Sep 8, 2025
801de1e
Fix missing substitution
jillguyonnet Sep 8, 2025
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Merge branch 'main' into add-elastic-agent-iar-doc
jillguyonnet Sep 8, 2025
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18 changes: 18 additions & 0 deletions reference/fleet/fleet-agent-release.md
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---
navigation_title: "{{agent}} release"
mapped_pages:
- https://www.elastic.co/guide/en/fleet/current/fleet-agent-release.html
applies_to:
stack: ga
products:
- id: fleet
- id: elastic-agent
---

# {{agent}} release process [fleet-agent-release]

{{agent}} follows a release process aligned with the broader Elastic Stack release schedule. Changes and fixes are documented in the [release notes](../../release-notes/fleet-elastic-agent/index.md).

## Independent Agent Release
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Can we use sentence case here? (For reference, see our Capitalization and Capitalization of abbreviations guidelines.)

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## Independent Agent Release
## Independent agent release

Also a thought: I feel this term IAR may be accepted and widely used internally, but wouldn’t it be more clearer and more unambiguous for users if this were called independent Elastic Agent release? But I see that then the acronym would need to change, and maybe we’ve already communicated this to users… in which case maybe that won’t work. But if we’re just starting to use IAR, maybe we can replace it with IEAR?:)

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Changed the capitalization 👍

I haven't found any other external documentation mentioning IAR, but as you said this acronym is already established internally. cc @karenzone @cmacknz

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Yes technically it should be independent Elastic Agent Release and we could just not use the IAR acronym in public docs.


Independent Agent Release (IAR) is a fast-track release process for {{agent}} and Endpoint, designed to deliver critical fixes and updates independently of the full stack release. The IAR version format appends a build identifier `+build{yyyymmddhhmm}` to the semantic version it is based on, where `{yyyymmddhhmm}` is the release timestamp of the build.
1 change: 1 addition & 0 deletions reference/fleet/toc.yml
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Expand Up @@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ toc:
- file: fleet-server-monitoring.md
- file: install-elastic-agents.md
children:
- file: fleet-agent-release.md
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@vishaangelova vishaangelova Sep 5, 2025 •
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I’m a bit unsure about where to place this doc:

  • Leave it in its current place under Install Elastic Agents

  • Move it one level up under the Fleet and Elastic Agent, e.g.:

     toc:
   - file: index.md
   - file: fleet-agent-serverless-restrictions.md
   - file: beats-agent-comparison.md
+  - file: fleet-agent-release.md

  • Or maybe just add its content as part of the reference/fleet/index.md.

I’d like to ask for help... @karenzone what do you think?

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@karenzone karenzone Sep 5, 2025 •
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Wow, this is a nice feature and nice new docs content.

Best practice is to lead with most common workflows and then work down to less common ones. I like the addition of the Elastic Agent release process page to add context to the new Elastic Agent release process, but the "normal" release process (first paragraph) is easily overlooked. with the eye jumping to the next heading.

A fix could be as simple as adding a heading before the first paragraph to make it more obvious, and offer contrast to the independent process. I'm not proposing this exact wording, but something like "Regular" or " Scheduled" stack releases.

- file: install-fleet-managed-elastic-agent.md
- file: install-standalone-elastic-agent.md
children:
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4 changes: 3 additions & 1 deletion reference/fleet/upgrade-elastic-agent.md
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Expand Up @@ -80,7 +80,9 @@ With the right [subscription level](https://www.elastic.co/subscriptions), you c

3. In the Upgrade agent window, select or specify an upgrade version and click **Upgrade agent**.

In certain cases the latest available {{agent}} version may not be recognized by {{kib}}. For instance, this occurs when the {{kib}} version is lower than the {{agent}} version. You can specify a custom version for {{agent}} to upgrade to by entering the version into the **Upgrade version** text field.
{{kib}} provides a list of available {{agent}} versions for upgrade. A version number ending with a build identifier `+build{yyyymmddhhmm}` indicates an [Independent Agent Release version](./fleet-agent-release.md#independent-agent-release).

In certain cases, the latest available {{agent}} version may not be recognized by {{kib}}. For instance, this occurs when the {{kib}} version is lower than the {{agent}} version. You can specify a custom version for {{agent}} to upgrade to by entering the version into the **Upgrade version** text field.

:::{image} images/upgrade-agent-custom.png
:alt: Menu for upgrading a single {{agent}}
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