Hi, I have gone ahead with the 4.5.0 schedule as listed, but I think it's very hard to be concrete about 4.6.0 at this point.
Thanks, Andrew On 2026/10/10 20:33:35 Muralidhar Basani via dev wrote: > Hi all, > > I'm not deeply involved in release management, so please take this as just > some data in case it's useful for the 4.5/4.6 discussion. > > I compared the planned dates on the wiki release plans with what actually > happened in git for the last five releases: > > Version Planned Feat Freeze Branch cut Planned target Released > Late RCs > 4.0.0 2024-12-11 2024-12-16 2025-01-29 > 2025-03-18 48d 5 > 4.1.0 2025-06-04 2025-06-10 2025-07-09 > 2025-09-02 55d 4 > 4.2.0 2025-11-19 2025-11-21 2026-01-07 > 2026-02-16 40d 5 > 4.3.0 2026-03-18 2026-03-18 2026-05-06 > 2026-05-20 14d 3 > 4.4.0 2026-07-29 2026-07-27 2026-09-09 > 2026-10-12* 33d 5 > (* expected) > > Feature freeze is usually on time; the time between code freeze and the > release is where we tend to need more than planned (median ~40 days after > the target). With the current 4.5.0 plan, that would put the 4.5.0 release > around late April 2027, which may be worth keeping in mind when choosing > the 4.6.0 dates. > > I put the small script in this PR, in case it's helpful for future > planning: https://github.com/apache/kafka/pull/23769 > Added sample runs in the PR. > If this is not the direction we want, happy to close it. > > > Here is a short snippet from the scripts run > > ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ > > % python3 release/schedule.py > .... > .... > version KIP freeze derived from feature freeze code freeze > first RC target release realistic release > ------- ---------- ----------------- -------------- > ----------- ---------- -------------- > ----------------- > 4.5.0 2027-01-13 wiki release plan 2027-02-03 2027-02-17 > 2027-03-16 2027-03-17 2027-04-28 > 4.6.0 2027-05-19 history 2027-06-09 2027-06-23 > 2027-07-20 2027-07-21 2027-09-01 > 4.7.0 2027-09-22 history 2027-10-13 2027-10-27 > 2027-11-23 2027-11-24 2028-01-05 > ... > > %python3 release/schedule.py --release-date 4.4.0=2026-10-12 status 4.6.0 > .... > .... > Release 4.6.0 as of 2026-10-10 (dates: history) > KIP freeze 2027-05-19 (in 221 days) > feature freeze 2027-06-09 (in 242 days) > code freeze 2027-06-23 (in 256 days) > first RC 2027-07-20 (in 283 days) > target release 2027-07-21 (in 284 days) > realistic release 2027-09-01 (in 326 days) > ... > ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ > > > Thanks, > Murali > > On Sat, Oct 10, 2026 at 3:33 PM Matthias J. Sax <[email protected]> wrote: > > > What's you rational for doing 4.6 in March already? If we so 4.5 > > early/mid January, it would be a very small release. Given the overhead > > releases have, I am wondering if it would be worth doing? > > > > For 4.5, I am also ok to start a Jan/6 instead of Jan/13 with KIP > > freeze. If we do 4.6 in July (instead of March) I don't see a need to > > pull it forward by one a week though. But I am fine in any case. > > > > -Matthias > > > > On 9/28/26 11:49 PM, Dejan Stojadinović wrote: > > >> "Anyway, all I want to say is that the original schedule was hard to > > > follow. The codebase is large and CVEs are common these days." > > > > > > As an occasional contributor I can confirm this. > > > From my POV committers/maintainers are having a challenging task to keep > > > up, especially while trying to juggle around with multiple release > > > branches/versions (trunk/4.5.0, 4.4.0, 4.3.2, 4.2.2). > > > > > > Best regards, > > > Dejan S. > > > https://github.com/dejan2609 > > > > > > > > > On Tue, Sep 29, 2026 at 7:55 AM Chia-Ping Tsai <[email protected]> > > wrote: > > > > > >> Hi Andrew, > > >> > > >> +1 to the revised 4.5.0 schedule. I would not pull it a week earlier, > > >> since that puts the KIP freeze right after the holidays. > > >> > > >> Regarding the 4.6.0 schedule, I think we could discuss it once 4.5.0 > > >> reaches code freeze. We had too many must-have changes in 4.4.0, which > > >> caused a serious delay. I try to review all backports but my tokens are > > >> limited :) > > >> > > >> Anyway, all I want to say is that the original schedule was hard to > > >> follow. The codebase is large and CVEs are common these days. > > >> > > >> Best, > > >> Chia-Ping > > >> > > >> > > >> On 2026/09/25 08:36:23 Andrew Schofield wrote: > > >>> Hi, > > >>> I'm starting to look at the release schedule for 4.5.0. > > >>> > > >>> In Chia-Ping's table from 29 May 2026, we have: > > >>> > > >>> Version : KIP Freeze : Feature Freeze : Code Freeze : Target Release > > >>> 4.4.0 (planned) : Jun 17, 2026: Jul 8, 2026 : Jul 22, 2026 : Aug 19, > > 2026 > > >>> 4.5.0 : Oct 7, 2026 : Oct 28, 2026 : Nov 11, 2026 : Dec 9, 2026 > > >>> 4.6.0 : Mar 3, 2027 : Mar 24, 2027 : Apr 7, 2027 : May 5, 2027 > > >>> > > >>> In reality, 4.4.0 ran 3 weeks later than this. Matthias suggested a KIP > > >> freeze of Jan 13, 2027 which gives this. > > >>> > > >>> 4.4.0 (actual) : Jul 8, 2026: Jul 29, 2026 : Aug 12, 2026 : Real soon > > now > > >>> 4.5.0 (revised): Jan 13, 2027 : Feb 3, 2027 : Feb 17, 2027 : Mar 17, > > 2027 > > >>> 4.6.0 : Mar 3, 2027 : Mar 24, 2027 : Apr 7, 2027 : May 5, 2027 > > >>> > > >>> I think we could even pull 4.5.0 a week earlier than that, but I don't > > >> think there's anything fundamentally wrong with a short 4.6.0 provided > > >> people know in advance. > > >>> > > >>> Are people happy with the 4.5.0 (revised) dates above? Would a week > > >> earlier be better given that it gives an extra week to 4.6.0 which is > > >> looking very squeezed? > > >>> > > >>> Thanks, > > >>> Andrew > > >>> > > >>> On 2026/09/16 04:01:41 Chia-Ping Tsai wrote: > > >>>> Hi all, > > >>>> > > >>>> +1 to the 4.5 schedule, given the delay of 4.4.0. > > >>>> > > >>>> I think having 4.5 land right on Lunar New Year should be fine this > > >> time, since "too close" is the real issue here. > > >>>> > > >>>> Best, > > >>>> Chia-Ping > > >>>> > > >>>>> Matthias J. Sax <[email protected]> 於 2026年9月16日 清晨7:05 寫道： > > >>>>> > > >>>>> I don't think we have for 4.5... I believe that there was a slight, > > >> high level agreement for the long term, that we want to follow the > > >> "calendar week proposal"? > > >>>>> > > >>>>>>>>>> KIP freeze would be Wednesday's, weeks 9 / 25 / 41, with > > >> feature freeze > > >>>>>>>>>> +3 weeks, and code freeze +2 weeks. > > >>>>> > > >>>>> AK 4.4 KIP freeze was Jul/8. > > >>>>> > > >>>>> For 2026, week 41 would be Oct/7 which is way too close IMHO. > > >>>>> For 2027, week 9 would be Mar/3 which seems to be too far out? > > >>>>> > > >>>>> Second release (week 25) for 2027 would be Jun/23, which would be > > >> 4.6? > > >>>>> > > >>>>> So the question remains, where to put 4.5 so we can start to follow > > >> the new schedule starting with 4.6. It seems KIP freeze between Jan 13 > > >> might be a good compromise putting it roughly between 4.4 and 4.6 KIP > > >> freeze dates. Of course, the release would overlap with Chinese New > > Year, > > >> but it would be the last time we have this overlap. > > >>>>> > > >>>>> Just my 2tc. > > >>>>> > > >>>>> > > >>>>> -Matthias > > >>>>> > > >>>>>> On 9/15/26 8:17 AM, David Jacot wrote: > > >>>>>> Hi all, > > >>>>>> Have we converged on the schedule that we want to use yet? Based on > > >>>>>> the last emails, it is not so clear to me. For your context, I am > > >>>>>> trying to figure out the timeline for 4.5. > > >>>>>> Best, > > >>>>>> David > > >>>>>>> On Fri, May 29, 2026 at 1:03 PM Christo Lolov < > > >> [email protected]> wrote: > > >>>>>>> > > >>>>>>> I think we could be a bit more lax with the KIP freeze of 6.7.0 > > >> when > > >>>>>>> 2034 comes around to account for LNY :) > > >>>>>>> > > >>>>>>> Joking aside, my preference between "KIP freeze would be > > >> Wednesday's, > > >>>>>>> weeks 9 / 25 / 41, with feature freeze +3 weeks, and code freeze +2 > > >>>>>>> weeks" and "start Q1 release with X buffer after LYN and complete > > >> Q3 > > >>>>>>> release with Y buffer before Christmas" would be to start with the > > >>>>>>> first and adjust by shifting by 1 week on individual basis the ones > > >>>>>>> which are too close. I am okay with too close being defined as 2 > > >>>>>>> weeks. Based on your very detailed tables we seem to have only a > > >> few > > >>>>>>> such outliers in the next decade. > > >>>>>>> > > >>>>>>> Best, > > >>>>>>> Christo > > >>>>>>> > > >>>>>>> On Fri, 29 May 2026 at 08:35, Chia-Ping Tsai <[email protected]> > > >> wrote: > > >>>>>>>> > > >>>>>>>> Matthias, you are definitely a master of scheduling! I'm +100 to > > >> your plans. > > >>>>>>>> > > >>>>>>>> Also, it is absolutely helpful to write down the exact release > > >> dates for the next few years at once. It will ease our anxiety a lot! > > I'd > > >> be more than happy to update the wiki with these dates once we all > > agree on > > >> this new schedule. For example: > > >>>>>>>> > > >>>>>>>> Version KIP Freeze Feature Freeze Code Freeze Target > > >> Release > > >>>>>>>> 4.4.0 Jun 17, 2026 Jul 8, 2026 Jul 22, 2026 Aug 19, > > >> 2026 > > >>>>>>>> 4.5.0 Oct 7, 2026 Oct 28, 2026 Nov 11, 2026 Dec 9, > > >> 2026 > > >>>>>>>> 4.6.0 Mar 3, 2027 Mar 24, 2027 Apr 7, 2027 May 5, > > >> 2027 > > >>>>>>>> 4.7.0 Jun 23, 2027 Jul 14, 2027 Jul 28, 2027 Aug 25, > > >> 2027 > > >>>>>>>> 4.8.0 Oct 13, 2027 Nov 3, 2027 Nov 17, 2027 Dec 15, > > >> 2027 > > >>>>>>>> 4.9.0 Mar 1, 2028 Mar 22, 2028 Apr 5, 2028 May 3, > > >> 2028 > > >>>>>>>> 5.0.0 Jun 21, 2028 Jul 12, 2028 Jul 26, 2028 Aug 23, > > >> 2028 > > >>>>>>>> 5.1.0 Oct 11, 2028 Nov 1, 2028 Nov 15, 2028 Dec 13, > > >> 2028 > > >>>>>>>> > > >>>>>>>> Furthermore, let's do our best to avoid fixing release blockers > > >> under the Christmas tree :) > > >>>>>>>> > > >>>>>>>> On 2026/05/28 21:22:51 "Matthias J. Sax" wrote: > > >>>>>>>>> Thanks for the input. > > >>>>>>>>> > > >>>>>>>>> Overall, it seems that 3+2 weeks for feature freeze / code freeze > > >>>>>>>>> windows gets a lot of support. > > >>>>>>>>> > > >>>>>>>>> However, the idea of dividing the release windows not into 3 > > >> equally > > >>>>>>>>> long junks, but be more flexible to account for holiday seasons, > > >> seems > > >>>>>>>>> not to get a lot of support? Not sure why... I personally think > > >> it would > > >>>>>>>>> be good to take it into account, and I also think that Chia-Ping > > >> raises > > >>>>>>>>> a very good point. > > >>>>>>>>> > > >>>>>>>>> > > >>>>>>>>> > > >>>>>>>>> @Chia-Ping: Other holidays are a great point. Thanks for raising > > >> it. I > > >>>>>>>>> did actually briefly think about it, but it's difficult, and > > >> thus I just > > >>>>>>>>> started with something simple as proposal to kick off a > > >> discussion. > > >>>>>>>>> > > >>>>>>>>> I think, Diwali is short enough to not make it a concern > > >> (similar to > > >>>>>>>>> Thanksgiving)? > > >>>>>>>>> > > >>>>>>>>> For Lunar New Year, I agree that it would be good to plan for it. > > >>>>>>>>> However, it seems it's shifting quite a lot year-over-year what > > >> makes it > > >>>>>>>>> very difficult (w/o a huge window) to include? > > >>>>>>>>> > > >>>>>>>>> Overall, a 5 / 3.5 / 3.5 schedule seems to be quite unbalanced > > >> (this > > >>>>>>>>> would be 22 / 15 / 15 weeks per release? And two very short 3.5 > > >> month > > >>>>>>>>> releases does not sound very appealing? > > >>>>>>>>> > > >>>>>>>>> > > >>>>>>>>> I was playing with it a little bit more. Overall we have 52 > > >> weeks, so > > >>>>>>>>> roughly 17.3 weeks per release. So we can naturally split it into > > >>>>>>>>> 17/17/18 using the additional week for the holidays. But that's > > >> not good > > >>>>>>>>> enough to take both Christmas and Lunar New Year into account. > > >> However, > > >>>>>>>>> with a 16/16/20, we could make it work I believe, even if it > > >> does cut it > > >>>>>>>>> tight sometimes... To be able to phrase a "simple rule", we can > > >> use ISO > > >>>>>>>>> weeks: > > >>>>>>>>> > > >>>>>>>>> KIP freeze would be Wednesday's, weeks 9 / 25 / 41, with feature > > >> freeze > > >>>>>>>>> +3 weeks, and code freeze +2 weeks. > > >>>>>>>>> > > >>>>>>>>> Ie, we put the first KIP freeze after LNY with plenty of buffer > > >> for most > > >>>>>>>>> years: > > >>>>>>>>> > > >>>>>>>>>> > > >> > > > > ┌──────┬────────┬────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────────┐ > > >>>>>>>>>> │ Year │ LNY │ Q1 KIP freeze (week 9 Wed) │ > > >> Buffer │ > > >>>>>>>>>> > > >> > > > > ├──────┼────────┼────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────────────────┤ > > >>>>>>>>>> │ 2027 │ Feb 6 │ Mar 3 │ 25 days > > >> │ > > >>>>>>>>>> > > >> > > > > ├──────┼────────┼────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────────────────┤ > > >>>>>>>>>> │ 2028 │ Jan 26 │ Mar 1 │ 34 days > > >> │ > > >>>>>>>>>> > > >> > > > > ├──────┼────────┼────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────────────────┤ > > >>>>>>>>>> │ 2029 │ Feb 13 │ Feb 28 │ 15 days > > >> │ > > >>>>>>>>>> > > >> > > > > ├──────┼────────┼────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────────────────┤ > > >>>>>>>>>> │ 2030 │ Feb 3 │ Feb 27 │ 24 days > > >> │ > > >>>>>>>>>> > > >> > > > > ├──────┼────────┼────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────────────────┤ > > >>>>>>>>>> │ 2031 │ Jan 23 │ Feb 26 │ 34 days > > >> │ > > >>>>>>>>>> > > >> > > > > ├──────┼────────┼────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────────────────┤ > > >>>>>>>>>> │ 2032 │ Feb 11 │ Feb 25 │ 14 days > > >> │ > > >>>>>>>>>> > > >> > > > > ├──────┼────────┼────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────────────────┤ > > >>>>>>>>>> │ 2033 │ Jan 31 │ Mar 2 │ 30 days > > >> │ > > >>>>>>>>>> > > >> > > > > ├──────┼────────┼────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────────────────┤ > > >>>>>>>>>> │ 2034 │ Feb 19 │ Mar 1 │ 10 days ← > > >> tightest with realistic LNY │ > > >>>>>>>>>> > > >> > > > > ├──────┼────────┼────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────────────────┤ > > >>>>>>>>>> │ 2035 │ Feb 8 │ Feb 28 │ 20 days > > >> │ > > >>>>>>>>>> > > >> > > > > └──────┴────────┴────────────────────────────┴───────────────────────────────────────┘ > > >>>>>>>>> > > >>>>>>>>> Guess, we could also make it week-8 instead of 9, and accept > > >> that 2034 > > >>>>>>>>> would cut it too short (or be even more flexible and keep week-9 > > >> for > > >>>>>>>>> 2034 as an exception to the rule), but that's a single year... > > >> for 2029 > > >>>>>>>>> and 2032 we still have one week buffer. > > >>>>>>>>> > > >>>>>>>>> For Christmas, we would still ensure that the release can go out > > >> on > > >>>>>>>>> time, too. The below Q3 target release date is 4 weeks after code > > >>>>>>>>> freeze. This is a little bit more tight, as we often need more > > >> than 4 > > >>>>>>>>> weeks to get it done: > > >>>>>>>>> > > >>>>>>>>>> ┌──────┬──────────────────────────┬────────────────┐ > > >>>>>>>>>> │ Year │ Q3 release (week 50 Wed) │ Days to Dec 25 │ > > >>>>>>>>>> ├──────┼──────────────────────────┼────────────────┤ > > >>>>>>>>>> │ 2026 │ Dec 9 │ 16 │ > > >>>>>>>>>> ├──────┼──────────────────────────┼────────────────┤ > > >>>>>>>>>> │ 2027 │ Dec 15 │ 10 │ > > >>>>>>>>>> ├──────┼──────────────────────────┼────────────────┤ > > >>>>>>>>>> │ 2028 │ Dec 13 │ 12 │ > > >>>>>>>>>> ├──────┼──────────────────────────┼────────────────┤ > > >>>>>>>>>> │ 2029 │ Dec 12 │ 13 │ > > >>>>>>>>>> ├──────┼──────────────────────────┼────────────────┤ > > >>>>>>>>>> │ 2030 │ Dec 11 │ 14 │ > > >>>>>>>>>> ├──────┼──────────────────────────┼────────────────┤ > > >>>>>>>>>> │ 2031 │ Dec 10 │ 15 │ > > >>>>>>>>>> ├──────┼──────────────────────────┼────────────────┤ > > >>>>>>>>>> │ 2032 │ Dec 8 │ 17 │ > > >>>>>>>>>> ├──────┼──────────────────────────┼────────────────┤ > > >>>>>>>>>> │ 2033 │ Dec 14 │ 11 │ > > >>>>>>>>>> ├──────┼──────────────────────────┼────────────────┤ > > >>>>>>>>>> │ 2034 │ Dec 13 │ 12 │ > > >>>>>>>>>> ├──────┼──────────────────────────┼────────────────┤ > > >>>>>>>>>> │ 2035 │ Dec 12 │ 13 │ > > >>>>>>>>>> └──────┴──────────────────────────┴────────────────┘ > > >>>>>>>>> > > >>>>>>>>> > > >>>>>>>>> > > >>>>>>>>> For some years, we would still cut it a little bit tight, but we > > >> could > > >>>>>>>>> also apply an exception to the rule, to compensate for it. If we > > >> have > > >>>>>>>>> enough buffer room from LYN, we can start the Q1 release train a > > >> week > > >>>>>>>>> earlier, reducing the Q3->Q1 timeline by one week. > > >>>>>>>>> > > >>>>>>>>> > > >>>>>>>>> Curious to hear what people think about it. In the end, if we > > >> can agree > > >>>>>>>>> on high level rules like "start Q1 release with X buffer after > > >> LYN", and > > >>>>>>>>> "complete Q3 release with Y buffer before Christmas", and still > > >> aim for > > >>>>>>>>> an as balance week-allocation per release, we can just put > > >> together a > > >>>>>>>>> release plan for the next 10 years and be done with it. > > >>>>>>>>> > > >>>>>>>>> > > >>>>>>>>> -Matthias > > >>>>>>>>> > > >>>>>>>>> > > >>>>>>>>> > > >>>>>>>>> On 5/28/26 3:51 AM, Christo Lolov wrote: > > >>>>>>>>>> Hello, > > >>>>>>>>>> > > >>>>>>>>>> Thanks for pushing for this! I can confirm that the 4.2.0's > > >> release > > >>>>>>>>>> coincided with a reasonable amount of holidays, so I would > > >> favour a > > >>>>>>>>>> 3+2 schedule with releases in March, July and November. > > >>>>>>>>>> > > >>>>>>>>>> Best, > > >>>>>>>>>> Christo > > >>>>>>>>>> > > >>>>>>>>>> On Thu, 28 May 2026 at 07:05, Ismael Juma <[email protected]> > > >> wrote: > > >>>>>>>>>>> > > >>>>>>>>>>> Hi, > > >>>>>>>>>>> > > >>>>>>>>>>> On Wed, May 27, 2026 at 12:44 AM Andrew Schofield < > > >> [email protected]> > > >>>>>>>>>>> wrote: > > >>>>>>>>>>> > > >>>>>>>>>>>> I would go for 3 releases of equal lengths in March, July and > > >> November. I > > >>>>>>>>>>>> favour the 3+2 schedule. > > >>>>>>>>>>>> > > >>>>>>>>>>> > > >>>>>>>>>>> +1 > > >>>>>>>>>>> > > >>>>>>>>>>> Thanks, > > >>>>>>>>>>> Ismael > > >>>>>>>>> > > >>>>>>>>> > > >>>>> > > >>>> > > >>> > > >> > > > > >
