diff --git a/poky/meta-poky/conf/distro/poky.conf b/poky/meta-poky/conf/distro/poky.conf
index b719ae4..ed37f4a 100644
--- a/poky/meta-poky/conf/distro/poky.conf
+++ b/poky/meta-poky/conf/distro/poky.conf
@@ -58,6 +58,14 @@
             debian-10 \n \
             opensuseleap-15.1 \n \
             "
+#
+# OELAYOUT_ABI allows us to notify users when the format of TMPDIR changes in
+# an incompatible way. Such changes should usually be detailed in the commit
+# that breaks the format and have been previously discussed on the mailing list
+# with general agreement from the core team.
+#
+OELAYOUT_ABI = "12"
+
 # add poky sanity bbclass
 INHERIT += "poky-sanity"