vLLM v0.29.0 makes Model Runner V2 the default and adds Mamba prefix caching

vLLM

Tools official 1 src. ~1 min

vLLM v0.29.0 (Sept 9, 594 commits from 277 contributors) makes Model Runner V2 the default for all models, adds new model support (Qwen3.8-Flash-Next, Kimi K3 NVFP4, NemotronH_Omni_Reasoning_V3, GraniteSWA), and upgrades speculative decoding with per-request acceptance stats and adaptive logprob verification. Mamba prefix caching lands with a 9-25% TTFT improvement. Breaking: ten deprecated architectures removed, PyAV decoder removed, and 'vllm serve' replaces python -m vllm.entrypoints.openai.api_server.

Why it matters

Model Runner V2 as default is the biggest serving-stack change in months; anyone upgrading should check the removed-architecture list before deploying.

Importance: 2/5

Major serving-stack release with breaking changes

Sources