⚠️ AutoRest Deprecation – Effective July 1, 2026 | Migration to TypeSpec

# ⚠️ AutoRest Deprecation — Effective July 1, 2026

🚨 **AutoRest is deprecated effective July 1, 2026.**

AutoRest has historically been used as a framework for API code generation, including built‑in and community generators for **C#**, **Java**, **JavaScript / TypeScript**, **Python**, **Go**, and custom plugins.

As of **July 1, 2026**:
- ❌ AutoRest is **no longer under active development**
- ❌ No new features, language generators, or plugins will be added
- ⚠️ Critical fixes may be considered at maintainer discretion

The project remains available to support existing users during migration.

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## ✅ Recommended Replacement: TypeSpec

➡️ **[TypeSpec](https://typespec.io/)** is the recommended successor to AutoRest.

TypeSpec is a modern API description language and code generation platform, and represents the **long‑term direction for API modeling and SDK generation**.

🔗 **Learn more**
- 🌐 Website: [https://typespec.io/](https://typespec.io/)
- 💻 GitHub: https://github.com/microsoft/typespec

✨ Key benefits:
- Expressive, reusable, and maintainable API modeling
- Actively developed with long‑term investment
- First‑class, maintained code generators
- Can emit **OpenAPI v2** and **OpenAPI v3**, allowing existing OpenAPI‑based workflows to continue after migration

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## 📘 Learning & Tooling

To get started with TypeSpec:

- 📖 Documentation & guides: [https://typespec.io/docs](https://typespec.io/)
- 🧪 Playground: [https://typespec.io/playground](https://typespec.io/playground/)
- 🧩 **VS Code extension**:
https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=typespec.typespec-vscode

The VS Code extension provides syntax highlighting, validation, navigation, and an improved authoring experience for TypeSpec.

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## 🔁 Migration Considerations

⚠️ Migrating from AutoRest requires **rewriting API definitions from OpenAPI v2.0 into TypeSpec syntax**.

This is a **non‑trivial investment**, but one we believe is worthwhile due to:
- ✅ Improved maintainability and clarity of API definitions
- ✅ Active development and long‑term support
- ✅ Alignment with the future direction of API description and code generation tooling

After migration, TypeSpec can still generate **OpenAPI v2 or v3** documents as needed.

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## 👥 Who Is Affected?

This deprecation affects:
- Direct users of the **AutoRest CLI**
- Built‑in AutoRest language generators (**C#**, **Java**, **JS/TS**, **Python**, **Go**)
- Custom AutoRest plugins
- CI/CD pipelines relying on AutoRest

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## 🆘 Support & Questions

### 🔒 Microsoft internal teams
- 📧 Email: **autorest-deprecation@microsoft.com**
- 🤖 Transition help agent: **https://aka.ms/azsdk/agent**

### 🌍 Everyone
- TypeSpec migration questions:
👉 Open an issue at **https://github.com/microsoft/typespec**

This issue is the **single source of truth** for AutoRest deprecation updates and guidance.

This is an informational deprecation notice and does not identify a repository file, test, or implementation entry point to change. Start by reviewing the issue body and its TypeSpec documentation links; there is no contributor-sized definition of done beyond maintaining the guidance, and migration work is explicitly described as non-trivial.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.