Release Cycle¶
Release Dates and Schedule¶
For information on the release dates of specific Blender versions, see the milestones on project.blender.org.
Release Cycle¶
A new Blender version is targeted to be released every 4 months. The actual release cycle for a specific release is longer, and overlaps the previous and next release cycle.
Branches¶
Work is done in two branches:
blender-v{VERSION}-release
branch: bug fixing only for the upcoming or LTS releasemain
branch: new features and improvements for the release after that
The blender-v{VERSION}-release
branch will be available for 6 weeks
prior to the release date. At the same time main
will be open for
the next release, giving 12 weeks to add new features for the next
release, and another 5 weeks to improve them.
Bcon Phases¶
Each Blender version has its own Bcon phase, indicating which types of changes are allowed to be committed and what developers are focusing on.
That means for example that Blender 3.4 can be in Bcon3 (bug fixing only) while Blender 3.5 is in Bcon1 (open for new features).
Phase | Description | Duration | Details | Branch | Splash Shows |
Bcon1 | New features and changes | 6 weeks | Add bigger features and merge branches. Risky changes that are
likely to cause bugs or additional work must be done before the end of this
phase.
The first 6 weeks overlap with the Bcon3 & Bcon4 phases of the previous release, and many developers will focus on bug fixing in those first weeks. Developers dedicate a steady 1-2 days/week to the bug tracker, focusing on triaging and newly introduced bugs. |
main |
Alpha |
6 weeks | |||||
Bcon2 | Improve and stabilize | 5 weeks | Work to improve, optimize and fix bugs in new and existing features. Only
smaller and less risky changes, including small features, should be made in
this phase.
If a new feature is too unstable or incomplete, it will be reverted before the end of this phase. Developers spend 2-3 days/week in the bug tracker, triaging, fixing recently introduced or prioritized module bugs. |
main |
Alpha |
Bcon3 | Bug fixing only | 5 weeks | Focus on bug fixing and getting the release ready.
Development moves to the blender-v{VERSION} release branch and the splash screen gets updated. In main Bcon1 for the next release starts. blender-v{VERSION}-release is regularly merged into main .
The Python API remains stable during this phase, so add-ons have time to update before the release. High priority bugs dictate how much time developers will spend in the tracker as oppose to work on the next release Bcon1 features. |
blender-v{VERSION}-release |
Beta |
Bcon4 | Prepare release | 1 week | Stable branch is frozen to prepare for the release. Only critical and
carefully reviewed bug fixes allowed.
Release candidate and release builds are made. Developers spend a short time 5 days/week with an eye in the tracker for any unexpected high priority regression. |
blender-v{VERSION}-release |
Release Candidate |
Bcon5 | Release | 1-2 days | Stage where the final builds are packaged for all platforms, last tweaks
to the logs and promotional images, social media, video announcements.
The final switch is flicked on [blender.org](https://www.blender.org) for the new release to show up in the [Download page](https://www.blender.org/download). |
- | - |
Bcon6 ([LTS](lts.md) only) | Long-term release | 2 years | Critical fixes from main are ported over after passing quality assurance tests.
|
blender-v{VERSION}-release |