diff --git a/meta-yocto/conf/abi_version.conf b/meta-yocto/conf/abi_version.conf
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..83b668a2a2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/meta-yocto/conf/abi_version.conf
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+#
+# 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 = "8"