With the new LXD versions fresh off the press, now is a good time to evaluate if you are on the right snap channel for your needs!
In a distant past, the default snap channel was latest/stable which meant that snap install lxd would get you on to the latest feature releases channel.
We have since updated the default channel to be that of the latest LTS (5.21/stable at the time of writing) which should provide a smoother experience for everyone.
The LXD 6.2 release introduced a new 6/stable channel as a preferred alternative to the latest/stable channel. This allows for getting access to the newest features sooner, but unlike latest/stable it will not roll indefinitely. Instead it will continue to follow the LXD 6.x series as it progresses from a feature release series into an LTS release in 2026.
Since latest/stable was the default channel for a long time, it is likely that many unsuspecting users are tracking the feature releases but would be better served by a LTS one.
You can verify which channel you are tracking by checking the tracking: field in the output of snap info lxd.
Example:
snap info lxd | grep tracking:
tracking: 5.21/stable
If you find yourself wanting to switch from latest/stable to the 5.21/stable LTS channel (recommended), now is a good time, as for a limited period of time, downgrades are still possible because no database schema changes were introduced between 5.21.x and 6.2.
Please review the backup documentation before switching channels.
To switch to the 5.21/stable current LTS channel (recommended):
sudo snap refresh lxd --channel 5.21/stable
If living on the edge is more your thing and want to get access to the newest features sooner then switch to the 6/stable feature release channel:
sudo snap refresh lxd --channel 6/stable
Note that all your instances will remain running during and after the refresh 