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Repo list:

% helm repo list --output json | jq '.[] | select(.name | startswith("rancher-"))'
{
  "name": "rancher-stable",
  "url": "<https://releases.rancher.com/server-charts/stable>"
}
{
  "name": "rancher-charts",
  "url": "<https://charts.rancher.io/>"
}
{
  "name": "rancher-latest",
  "url": "<https://releases.rancher.com/server-charts/latest>"
}

% helm repo update

Latest stable lists v2.8.5:

% helm search repo rancher-stable
NAME                  	CHART VERSION	APP VERSION	DESCRIPTION
rancher-stable/rancher	2.8.5        	v2.8.5     	Install Rancher Server to manage Kubernetes clu...

While the latest repo lists v2.9.0 and v2.8.5. The v2.8.6 is not even showing up.

% helm search repo rancher-latest -l | head -3
NAME                  	CHART VERSION	APP VERSION	DESCRIPTION
rancher-latest/rancher	2.9.0        	v2.9.0     	Install Rancher Server to manage Kubernetes clu...
rancher-latest/rancher	2.8.5        	v2.8.5     	Install Rancher Server to manage Kubernetes clu...

• As 2.8.0 has been released new 2.7 patch releases are Prime only • As 2.9.0 has also now been released new 2.8 patch releases will be Prime only v2.8.6 is a Prime only release Generally the first patch release of a new minor will not move to stable. This gives everyone time to check it out, play around and then normally there may be some tweaks in the next patch version that result in an upgrade to stable

Thanks for the clarification. Not sure what "Prime only" means though, is there some other licensing bound to it. Or perhaps considered "unsupported" unless you have paid support?

+1 on this discussion, I ran into a mystery "Prime only" barrier while trying to install a Rancher app because the documentation doesn't reflect this recent change. I was told a PR would be implemented to fix the docs "tomorrow", but this was 1.5 months ago now and the incorrect documentation is still there confusing people https://github.com/rancher/elemental-docs/issues/348

Rancher Prime is described over at https://www.rancher.com/products/rancher-platform and is the enterprise support package for Rancher. There are also additional benefits like SLSA certification, UI extensions for Rancher projects (like elemental) and importantly security updates to previous versions of rancher (as of now 2.7 and 2.8).

Thanks again for the clarification, now all makes sense - it is reasonable that you have added values for paying customers. I am glad that you did not enter the dual licensing rabbit hole as Redis and Terraform entered. The Nginx Plus approach does also have its flaws.

Perfect, thanks for the update!