Hello Omnia, About KIP-1332 that we want to include in 4.4, the PR is approved but not merged yet (running some more benchmarks we want), so wonder if it's ok to have a bit more time even though feature freeze started yesterday?
This is an opt-in new/experimental feature so well contained, and the benchmarks are indeed to rule out impact on the default behavior. Let me know what you think, Thanks! Lianet On Tue, Jul 7, 2026, 3:59 p.m. <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi everyone, just a friendly reminder that tomorrow is the KIP freeze. > Could you please update the release plan with your KIPs and their status > before then? > Thanks, > Omnia > Sent from my iPhone > > > On 11 Jun 2026, at 20:53, Uladzislau Blok <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > Hello All, > > > > Thanks Omnia for tracking this release. > > I just wanted to mention that I added a new KIP to the release scope: > > "KIP-1321: Headers aware StreamPartitioner" > > KIP was already accepted. > > > > Thank you, > > Uladzislau Blok > > > > > >> On Wed, Jun 10, 2026 at 6:01 PM Matthias J. Sax <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> > >> Thanks! > >> > >> Next step: figure out the overall release plan cadence on the other > >> thread :) > >> > >>> On 6/10/26 4:16 AM, Chia-Ping Tsai wrote: > >>> Thanks for your patience, Ommia! > >>> > >>> Omnia Ibrahim <[email protected]> 於 2026年6月10日週三 下午6:59寫道： > >>> > >>>> Okay seems like the final plan going with option 1 I have updated the > >>>> 4.4.0 release dates with the final dates. > >>>> > >>>> Now the KIP freeze is set for 8th July > >>>> > >>>> Thanks everyone! > >>>> > >>>>> On 8 Jun 2026, at 07:06, Chia-Ping Tsai <[email protected]> wrote: > >>>>> > >>>>> Hi Omnia, > >>>>> > >>>>> Thanks for putting these options together. +1 for Opt-1. > >>>>> > >>>>> BTW, assuming the 3+2 schedule, the code freeze for 4.5.0 under > Option 1 > >>>> should be Nov 18 rather than Nov 25. > >>>>> > >>>>> Also, this means we will seamlessly transition into our ideal new > >>>> cadence of 3 releases a year, with target release dates landing > nicely in > >>>> January, May, and August. > >>>>> > >>>>> Best, > >>>>> Chia-Ping > >>>>> > >>>>> On 2026/06/05 16:57:34 Omnia Ibrahim wrote: > >>>>>> Hi all, > >>>>>> > >>>>>> There have been a few different opinions on the 4.4 schedule and as > >>>> release manager I need to put the final dates. I'd like to lock this > in > >>>> early so please cast your vote below. > >>>>>> > >>>>>> The two proposals are below along with a visualisation of both 4.4 > >>>> timelines and the downstream impact on 4.5. > >>>>>> > >>>>>> 1. Delay 4.4 by few weeks with 3+2+4 > >>>>>> KIP freeze = > 8th > >>>> July 2026 (2nd Wed) > >>>>>> Feature freeze = KIP freeze + 3 weeks == 29th July 2026 > >>>>>> Code freeze = Feature freeze + 2 weeks == 12th Aug 2026 > >>>>>> Release target = Code freeze + 4 weeks == 9th Sep 2026 > >>>>>> > >>>>>> 4.5 impact: 4.5 KIP freeze would start Q4 2026 (around 14 Oct), > with a > >>>> release target in Q1 2027 (around 20 Jan). This makes 4.5 a > structurally > >>>> longer release — the gap between code freeze (25 Nov) and release > target is > >>>> approximately 8 weeks, absorbing the holiday period. > >>>>>> > >>>>>> > >>>>>> 2. Push 4.4 to be the last release in 2026 by target Oct for release > >>>> target with 3+3+4 only for this one— This means KIP freeze start end > of > >>>> July 2026 > >>>>>> > >>>>>> KIP freeze = > >>>> 29th July 2026 > >>>>>> Feature freeze = KIP freeze + 3 weeks == 19th Aug 2026 > >>>>>> Code freeze = Feature freeze + 3 weeks == 9th Sep 2026 > >>>>>> Release target = Code freeze + 4 weeks == 7th Oct 2026 > >>>>>> The FF→CF window is 3 weeks rather than 2 (as in Option 1) to give > the > >>>> community more stabilisation time, given how tight the cadence has > been > >>>> this year. > >>>>>> > >>>>>> 4.5 impact: 4.5 KIP freeze starts 11 Nov 2026 (2nd Wed of November), > >>>> code freeze lands 23 Dec 2026, and release target is 20 Jan 2027. The > >>>> community takes the holiday break between code freeze and release — RC > >>>> validation resumes in January with no pressure to deliver over the > break. > >>>>>> > >>>>>>  > >>>>>> Please reply with: > >>>>>> > >>>>>> +1 for Opt-1 — Option 1 (3+2+4, release 9 Sep 2026) > >>>>>> +1 for Opt-2 — Option 2 (3+3+4, release 7 Oct 2026) > >>>>>> 0 — No strong preference > >>>>>> Vote closes Tuesday 9 Jun 2026 at 23:00 UTC. I will tally and post > the > >>>> result. > >>>>>> > >>>>>> I personally vote +1 for Opt-2. > >>>>>> > >>>>>> Best, Omnia > >>>>>> > >>>>>>> On 4 Jun 2026, at 09:32, Lucas Brutschy via dev < > [email protected]> > >>>> wrote: > >>>>>>> > >>>>>>> I'm not sure I have a good overview of all the different proposals, > >>>>>>> but I'd vote for Omnia's first proposal: push back the 4.4.0 KIP > >>>>>>> freeze to early July, target a September release, and have the > 4.5.0 > >>>>>>> freezes this year and target the release date in January, and start > >>>>>>> using Matthias' proposed schedule with 4.6.0. > >>>>>>> > >>>>>>> Cheers, > >>>>>>> Lucas > >>>>>>> > >>>>>>> On Wed, Jun 3, 2026 at 11:38 PM <[email protected]> wrote: > >>>>>>>> > >>>>>>>>> In general, a 3+2+4 schedule was favored on the other thread, so > I > >>>> would think using it would be good? > >>>>>>>> > >>>>>>>> I know this is the favourite one on the other thread but I am > >>>> thinking of making exception for 4.4 and adopt the preferred one from > 4.5 > >>>> so we have 4.4 target for Oct and 4.5 target is Q1 2027 > >>>>>>>> > >>>>>>>> WDYT? > >>>>>>>> > >>>>>>>> Sent from my iPhone > >>>>>>>> > >>>>>>>>> On 3 Jun 2026, at 17:04, Matthias J. Sax <[email protected]> > wrote: > >>>>>>>>> > >>>>>>>>> Yes, I meant 2026 and 2027... somehow lagged a year :D > >>>>>>>>> > >>>>>>>>> > >>>>>>>>> In general, a 3+2+4 schedule was favored on the other thread, so > I > >>>> would think using it would be good? > >>>>>>>>> > >>>>>>>>> For KIP freeze date, seems we have many different proposals > >>>>>>>>> - Jun/15 (Monday) > >>>>>>>>> - July/1st (Wednesday) > >>>>>>>>> - July/8th (Wednesday) > >>>>>>>>> - July/15th (Wednesday) > >>>>>>>>> - July/29 (Wednesday) > >>>>>>>>> > >>>>>>>>> Maybe we should pick something in the middle like July/1st or > >>>> July/8th as a compromise? > >>>>>>>>> > >>>>>>>>> > >>>>>>>>> -Matthias > >>>>>>>>> > >>>>>>>>> On 6/3/26 8:29 AM, Chia-Ping Tsai wrote: > >>>>>>>>>>>> Omnia Ibrahim <[email protected]> 於 2026年6月3日 晚上8:50 > 寫道： > >>>>>>>>>>> > >>>>>>>>>>> KIP freeze = > >>>> 29th July 2026 > >>>>>>>>>>> Feature freeze = KIP freeze + 3 weeks == 19th Aug 2026 > >>>>>>>>>>> Code freeze = Feature freeze + 3 weeks == 9th Sep 2026 > >>>>>>>>>>> Release target = Code freeze + 4 weeks == 7th Oct 2026 > >>>>>>>>>> +1 to this plan, allowing us to adopt the new schedule starting > >>>> from 4.5.0 I just realize how rushed our previous releases were in > this > >>>> year. Our Kafka community is by far the most productive I’d say > >>>>>>>>>> Best, > >>>>>>>>>> Chia-Ping > >>>>>>>>> > >>>>>> > >>>>>> > >>>> > >>>> > >>> > >> >
