The rancher/shell image is used:
- When you install a chart in Rancher (Helm Chart or Rancher Chart)
- When you use
Kubectl Shellwhen managing a cluster in Rancher
This is the current branch strategy for rancher/shell, it may change in the future.
| Branch | Tag | Rancher |
|---|---|---|
main |
head |
main branch (head) |
release/v2.14 |
v0.7.x |
v2.14.x |
release/v2.13 |
v0.6.x |
v2.13.x |
release/v2.12 |
v0.5.x |
v2.12.x |
release/v2.11 |
v0.4.x |
v2.11.x |
release/v2.10 |
v0.3.x |
v2.10.x |
Each shell branch must constrain itself to use versions compatible with the respective Rancher releases. Specifically to ensure maximum possible compatibility with the k8s versions that the Rancher release it targets supports.
Always refer to the Support Compatability Matrix (or internal docs for future releases) as an official to ensure compatability. That said, here is a quick visual reference (April 2026):
| Rancher Version | k8s min | k8s max |
|---|---|---|
| 2.15.x | 1.34 | 1.36 |
| 2.14.x | 1.33 | 1.35 |
| 2.13.x | 1.32 | 1.34 |
| 2.12.x | 1.31 | 1.33 |
| 2.11.x | 1.30 | 1.32 |
| 2.10.x | 1.28 | 1.31 |