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
