Ansible project 8.0

This release schedule includes dates for the ansible package, with a few dates for the ansible-core package as well. All dates are subject to change. See the ansible-core 2.15 Roadmap for the most recent updates on ansible-core.

Release schedule

2023-03-31:

ansible-core feature freeze, stable-2.15 branch created.

2023-04-03:

Start of ansible-core 2.15 betas (biweekly, as needed).

2023-04-04:

Ansible-8.0.0 alpha1 (roughly biweekly ansible alphas timed to coincide with ansible-core-2.15 pre-releases).

2023-04-24:

First ansible-core 2.15 release candidate.

2023-05-02:

Another Ansible-8.0.0 alpha release.

2023-05-15:

Ansible-core-2.15.0 released.

2023-05-15:

Last day for collections to make backwards incompatible releases that will be accepted into Ansible-8. This includes adding new collections to Ansible 8.0.0; from now on new collections have to wait for 8.1.0 or later.

2023-05-16:

Ansible-8.0.0 beta1 – feature freeze [1] (weekly beta releases; collection owners and interested users should test for bugs).

2023-05-23:

Ansible-8.0.0 rc1 [2] [3] (weekly release candidates as needed; test and alert us to any blocker bugs). Blocker bugs will slip release.

2023-05-26:

Last day to trigger an Ansible-8.0.0rc2 release because of major defects in Ansible-8.0.0rc1.

2023-05-30:

Ansible-8.0.0rc2 when necessary, otherwise Ansible-8.0.0 release.

2023-06-06:

Ansible-8.0.0 release when Ansible-8.0.0rc2 was necessary.

2023-05-30 or 2023-06-06:

Create the ansible-build-data directory and files for Ansible-9.

2023-06-20:

Release of ansible-core 2.15.1.

2023-06-22:

Release of Ansible-8.1.0 (bugfix + compatible features: every four weeks.)

[1]

No new modules or major features accepted after this date. In practice, this means we will freeze the semver collection versions to compatible release versions. For example, if the version of community.crypto on this date was community.crypto 2.3.0; Ansible-8.0.0 could ship with community.crypto 2.3.1. It would not ship with community.crypto 2.4.0.

[2]

After this date only changes blocking a release are accepted. Accepted changes require creating a new rc and may slip the final release date.

[3]

Collections will only be updated to a new version if a blocker is approved. Collection owners should discuss any blockers at a community IRC meeting (before this freeze) to decide whether to bump the version of the collection for a fix. See the Community IRC meeting agenda.

Note

Breaking changes will be introduced in Ansible 8.0.0, although we encourage the use of deprecation periods that will show up in at least one Ansible release before the breaking change happens, this is not guaranteed.

Note

In general, it is in the discretion of the release manager to delay a release by 1-2 days for reasons such as personal (schedule) problems, technical problems (CI/infrastructure breakdown), and so on. However, in case two releases are planned for the same day, a release of the latest stable version takes precedence. This means that if a stable Ansible 8 release collides with a pre-release of Ansible 9, the latter will be delayed. If a Ansible 8 release collides with a stable Ansible 9 release, including 9.0.0, the Ansible 8 release will be delayed.

Ansible minor releases

Ansible 8.x minor releases will occur approximately every four weeks if changes to collections have been made or to align to a later ansible-core-2.15.x. Ansible 8.x minor releases may contain new features but not backwards incompatibilities. In practice, this means we will include new collection versions where either the patch or the minor version number has changed but not when the major number has changed. For example, if Ansible-8.0.0 ships with community.crypto 2.3.0; Ansible-8.1.0 may ship with community.crypto 2.4.0 but would not ship with community.crypto 3.0.0.

Note

Minor and patch releases will stop when Ansible-9 is released. See the Release and Maintenance Page for more information.

For more information, reach out on a mailing list or a chat channel - see Communicating with the Ansible community for more details.