Release Cycle¶

A new Blender version is targeted to be released every 3 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: fixes and other incremental improvements.
master branch: documentation for new features and improvements for the release after that

The blender-v{VERSION}-release branch will be available for 5 weeks prior to the release date. At the same time master will be open for the next release, giving 2 months to add documentation for new features for the next release, and another month to make improvements.

Bcon Phases¶

Each Blender version has its own Bcon phase, indicating which types of changes are allowed to be committed and what writers are focusing on.

That means for example that Blender 2.90 can be in Bcon3 (wrapping up), while Blender 2.91 is in Bcon1 (new features and changes).

Phase	Description	Duration	Details	Branch
Bcon1	New features and changes	5 weeks 4 weeks	The first 5 weeks overlap with the Bcon3 & Bcon4 phases of the previous release, Writing focus will be split on fixes for the previous release and writing documentation for features already added or likely to be added to Blender This is also the perfect time to make any larger or more disruptive improvements to the manual.	`master`
Bcon2	Improve and stabilize	4 weeks	Work to improve, optimize and fix bugs in new and existing features. All big or disruptive changes must be finished at the end of this stage.	`master`
Bcon3	Wrapping up	4 weeks	Focus should be on fixes and other incremental improvements. All new Blender features should be documented by the end of this stage.	`blender-v{VERSION}-release`
Bcon4	Prepare release	1 week	Focus should be wrapping up fixes and other incremental improvements.	`blender-v{VERSION}-release`
Bcon5	Release	1-2 days	The manual is compiled on the server and redirects / sym links are updated. See the Release Guide for more information.
Bcon6	Long-term release	2 years	In case a major error is found in the manual the change will be committed to the release branch.	`blender-v{VERSION}-release`