Update Versionless FAQ (#6400)

## What are you changing in this pull request and why?

- Clarify language around Versionless dbt and migration of
Developer/Team accouunts
- Initialize list of known edge cases while upgrading from much-older
unsupported dbt Core versions. (We will add more as we monitor /
investigate other edge cases.)
- Add CTA for customers to contact dbt Cloud support to request an
extension if they need to make changes before upgrading

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🚀 Deployment available! Here are the direct links to the updated files:


-
https://docs-getdbt-com-git-jerco-update-versionless-faq-dbt-labs.vercel.app/docs/dbt-versions/versionless-cloud

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Co-authored-by: Leona B. Campbell <[email protected]>
Co-authored-by: Joel Labes <[email protected]>

website/docs/docs/dbt-versions/versionless-cloud.md

@@ -4,15 +4,15 @@ sidebar_label: "Upgrade to \"Versionless\" "
 description: "Learn how to go versionless in dbt Cloud. You never have to perform an upgrade again. Plus, you'll be able to access new features and enhancements as soon as they become available. "
 ---
 
-dbt Cloud is going versionless. Soon, your environments and jobs will always run the latest features and functionality.
+Since May 2024, new capabilities in dbt are delivered continuously to dbt Cloud. We call this "versionless dbt," because your projects and environments are upgraded automatically.
 
 This will require you to make one final update to your current jobs and environments. When that's done, you'll never have to think about managing, coordinating, or upgrading dbt versions again.
 
-Move your environments and jobs to "Versionless" to get all the functionality in the latest features before they're in dbt Core — and more! — along with access to the new features and fixes as soon as they’re released.
+By moving your environments and jobs to "Versionless," you can get all the functionality in the latest features before they're in dbt Core — and more! — along with access to the new features and fixes as soon as they’re released.
 
 ## Tips for upgrading {#upgrade-tips}
 
-If you regularly develop your dbt project in dbt Cloud and this is your first time trying “Versionless,” dbt Labs recommends that you start in development because it will be the fastest for investigation and iteration. [Override your dbt version in development](/docs/dbt-versions/upgrade-dbt-version-in-cloud#override-dbt-version). Then, launch the IDE or Cloud CLI and do your development work as usual. Everything should work as you expect.
+If you regularly develop your dbt project in dbt Cloud and this is your first time trying “Versionless,” dbt Labs recommends that you try upgrading your project in a development environment. [Override your dbt version in development](/docs/dbt-versions/upgrade-dbt-version-in-cloud#override-dbt-version). Then, launch the IDE or Cloud CLI and do your development work as usual. Everything should work as you expect.
 
 If you do see something unexpected or surprising, revert back to the previous version and record the differences you observed. [Contact dbt Cloud support](/docs/dbt-support#dbt-cloud-support) with your findings for a more detailed investigation.
 
@@ -22,13 +22,23 @@ If your organization has multiple dbt projects, we recommend starting your upgra
 
 ## Considerations
 
-The following is our guidance on some important considerations regarding dbt projects as part of the upgrade. 
+The following is our guidance on some important considerations regarding dbt projects as part of the upgrade.
 
 To learn more about how dbt Labs deploys stable dbt upgrades in a safe manner to dbt Cloud, we recommend that you read our blog post [How we're making sure you can confidently go "Versionless" in dbt Cloud](https://docs.getdbt.com/blog/latest-dbt-stability) for details.
 
-<Expandable alt_header="I'm using an old version of dbt. What should I do?" >
+If you're running dbt version 1.6 or older, please know that your version of dbt Core has reached [end-of-life (EOL)](/docs/dbt-versions/core#eol-version-support) and is no longer supported. We strongly recommend that you update to a newer version as soon as reasonably possible.
 
-If you're running dbt version 1.5 or older, please know that your version of dbt Core has reached [end-of-life (EOL)](/docs/dbt-versions/core#eol-version-support) and is no longer supported. We strongly recommend that you update to a newer version as soon as reasonably possible. In the coming months, we're planning to automatically migrate jobs and environments on these older, unsupported versions.
+dbt Labs has extended the critical support period of dbt Core v1.7 for dbt Cloud Enterprise customers.
+
+<Expandable alt_header="I'm using an older version of dbt in dbt Cloud. What should I do? What happens if I do nothing?" >
+
+If you're running dbt version v1.6 or older, please know that your version of dbt Core has reached [end-of-life (EOL)](/docs/dbt-versions/core#eol-version-support) and is no longer supported. We strongly recommend that you update to a newer version as soon as reasonably possible.
+
+dbt Labs has extended the "Critical Support" period of dbt Core v1.7 for dbt Cloud Enterprise customers while we work through the migration with those customers to automatic upgrades. In the meantime, this means that v1.7 will continue to be accessible in dbt Cloud for Enteprise customers, jobs and environments on v1.7 for those customers will not be automatically migrated to "Versionless," and dbt Labs will continue to fix critical bugs and security issues.
+
+dbt Cloud accounts on the Developer and Team plans will be migrated to "Versionless" dbt after November 1, 2024. If you know that your project will not be compatible with the upgrade, for one of the reasons described here, or a different reason in your own testing, you should [contact dbt Cloud support](https://docs.getdbt.com/docs/dbt-support#dbt-cloud-support) to request an extension.
+
+If your account has been migrated to "Versionless," and you are seeing net-new failures in your scheduled dbt jobs, you should also [contact dbt Cloud support](https://docs.getdbt.com/docs/dbt-support#dbt-cloud-support) to request an extension.
 
 </Expandable>
 
@@ -38,6 +48,26 @@ The legacy dbt Semantic Layer was deprecated in the second half of 2023. We reco
 
 </Expandable>
 
+<Expandable alt_header="What are other known issues when upgrading from older dbt Core versions?" >
+
+If you are upgrading from a very old unsupported version of dbt Core, you may run into one of these edge cases after the upgrade to a newer version:
+- [v1.3] Customers with non-dbt `.py` files defined within their project directories, such as `models/`. Since v1.3, dbt expects these files be valid [Python models](/docs/build/python-models). The customer needs to move these files out of their `models/` directory, or ignore them via `.dbtignore`
+- [v1.5] Customers who have `--m` in their job definitions, instead of `-m` or `--models`. This autocompletion (`--m[odels]` for `--models`) has never been officially documented or supported. It was an implicit behavior of argparse (CLI library used in dbt-core v1.0-1.4) that is not supported by `click` (the CLI library used in dbt-core since v1.5+).
+- [v1.5] Empty invalid `tests` config start raising a validation error](https://docs.getdbt.com/docs/dbt-versions/core-upgrade/upgrading-to-v1.5). Replace empty `tests` config with `tests: []` or remove it altogether.
+- [v1.6] Performance optimization to `load_result` means you cannot call it on the same query result multiple times (https://github.com/dbt-labs/dbt-core/pull/7371)
+
+You should [contact dbt Cloud support](https://docs.getdbt.com/docs/dbt-support#dbt-cloud-support) to request an extension, during which you will need to make those updates.
+
+</Expandable>
+
+<Expandable alt_header="I see that my account was migrated to Versionless. What should I do?" >
+
+For the vast majority of customers, there is no further action needed.
+
+If you see new failures in your scheduled jobs now that they are running on a newer version of dbt, you may need to update your project code to account for one of the edge cases described on this page. You should [contact dbt Cloud support](https://docs.getdbt.com/docs/dbt-support#dbt-cloud-support) to request an extension, during which you will need to make those updates.
+
+</Expandable>
+
 <Expandable alt_header="What about breaking changes to packages (maintained by dbt Labs or by others)?" >
 
 When we talk about _latest version_, we’re referring to the underlying runtime for dbt, not the versions of packages you’re installing. Our continuous release for dbt includes testing against several popular dbt packages. This ensures that updates we make to dbt-core, adapters, or anywhere else are compatible with the code in those packages.
@@ -54,13 +84,15 @@ If the package you’ve installed relies on _undocumented_ functionality of db
 
 <Expandable alt_header="I see that dbt Core version 1.8 was released in April 2024. Will a version 1.8 become available in dbt Cloud?" >
 
-No. Going forward, “Versionless” will be how all customers are going to access new functionality and ongoing support in dbt Cloud. We believe this is the best way for us to offer a reliable, stable, and secure runtime for dbt with continuous and consistent updates.
+No. Going forward, customers will access new functionality and ongoing support in dbt Cloud by receiving automatic updates. We believe this is the best way for us to offer a reliable, stable, and secure runtime for dbt, and for you as dbt users to be able to consistently take advantage of new features.
 
 In 2023 (and earlier), customers were expected to manage their own upgrades by selecting dbt Core versions, up to and including dbt Core v1.7, which was released in October 2023. (Way back in 2021, dbt Cloud customers would pick specific _patch releases_ of dbt Core, such as upgrading from `v0.21.0` to `v0.21.1`. We’ve come a long way since then!)
 
-In 2024, we've changed the way that new dbt functionality is made available for dbt Cloud customers: continuously. Behavior or breaking changes are gated behind opt-in flags. Users don't need to spend valuable time managing their own upgrades. This is called "Versionless" dbt Cloud and it's required for accessing any new functionality that we've put out in 2024+.
+In 2024, we've changed the way that new dbt functionality is made available for dbt Cloud customers. Behavior or breaking changes are gated behind opt-in flags. Users don't need to spend valuable time managing their own upgrades. Currently, it is possible to receive continuous (daily) updates. We are adding other release cadence options for managed customers of dbt Cloud by the end of the year.
+
+Opting into a release cadence with automated upgrades is required for accessing any new functionality that we've released in 2024, and going forward.
 
-We will absolutely continue to release new minor versions of dbt Core (OSS), including v1.9 which will be available later this year. When we do, it will be a subset of the functionality that's already available to dbt Cloud customers and always after the functionality has been available in dbt Cloud.
+We continue to release new minor versions of dbt Core (OSS), including v1.9 which will be available later this year. When we do, it will be a subset of the functionality that's already available to dbt Cloud customers, and always after the functionality has been available in dbt Cloud.
 
 </Expandable>
 

website/snippets/core-versions-table.md

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 |                      dbt Core                                 | Initial release |      Support level and end date      |
 |:-------------------------------------------------------------:|:---------------:|:-------------------------------------:|
 | [**v1.8**](/docs/dbt-versions/core-upgrade/upgrading-to-v1.8) | May 9 2024    | <b>Active Support &mdash; May 8, 2025</b>                    |
-| [**v1.7**](/docs/dbt-versions/core-upgrade/upgrading-to-v1.7) | Nov 2, 2023   | <div align="left">**dbt Core and dbt Cloud Developer & Team customers:** Critical Support until Nov 1, 2024 <br /> **dbt Cloud Enterprise customers:** Critical Support until further notice <sup>1</sup></div> | 
+| [**v1.7**](/docs/dbt-versions/core-upgrade/upgrading-to-v1.7) | Nov 2, 2023   | <div align="left">**dbt Core and dbt Cloud Developer & Team customers:** End of Life <br /> **dbt Cloud Enterprise customers:** Critical Support until further notice <sup>1</sup></div> | 
 | [**v1.6**](/docs/dbt-versions/core-upgrade/upgrading-to-v1.6) | Jul 31, 2023  | End of Life ⚠️ |  
 | [**v1.5**](/docs/dbt-versions/core-upgrade/upgrading-to-v1.5) | Apr 27, 2023  | End of Life ⚠️ |
 | [**v1.4**](/docs/dbt-versions/core-upgrade/Older%20versions/upgrading-to-v1.4) | Jan 25, 2023  | End of Life ⚠️ | 
@@ -15,6 +15,6 @@
 
 All functionality in dbt Core since the v1.7 release is available in dbt Cloud, early and continuously, by selecting ["Versionless"](https://docs.getdbt.com/docs/dbt-versions/versionless-cloud).
 
-<sup>1</sup> Starting in November 2024, "Versionless" will be required for the Developer and Teams plans on dbt Cloud. After that point, accounts on older versions will be migrated to "Versionless."
+<sup>1</sup> "Versionless" is now required for the Developer and Teams plans on dbt Cloud. Accounts using older dbt versions will be migrated to "Versionless."
 
 For customers of dbt Cloud Enterprise, dbt v1.7 will continue to be available as an option while dbt Labs rolls out a mechanism for "extended" upgrades. In the meantime, dbt Labs strongly recommends migrating any environments that are still running on older unsupported versions to "Versionless" dbt or dbt v1.7.