AnsibleByExample

Ansible Code Freeze Schedule June 2026 — Release Process Guide

Beginner
2024-01-014By Luca Berton

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Ansible Foundations to Production — full curriculum
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  2. 2. Installing and Configuring Ansible
  3. 3. Running Ad-Hoc Commands
  4. 4. Writing Your First Playbook
  5. 5. Understanding and Using Modules
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  10. 10. Inventory Management
  11. 11. Using Ansible Vault for Secrets
  12. 12. Debugging and Troubleshooting
  13. 13. Real-World Automation Examples
  14. 14. Final Project: Deploy a Web Server
  15. 15. Bonus - What's Next with Ansible?
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Ansible Code Freeze Schedule June 2026 — Release Process Guide

Introduction

The Ansible community announced an official code freeze starting June 2, 2026. During code freeze, only critical bugfixes and security patches are accepted — no new features, no breaking changes. This guide explains the schedule, what it means for collection maintainers and users, and how to prepare.

Code Freeze Timeline

DateEvent
Now – Jun 1Feature development open — merge new features, deprecations
Jun 2, 2026🧊 Code freeze begins — feature PRs blocked
Jun 2 – releaseBugfixes and security patches only
TBDRelease candidate (RC)
TBDFinal release

What's Allowed During Freeze

ActionAllowed?
Critical bugfixes✅
Security patches✅
Documentation updates✅
Test improvements✅
New features❌ Blocked
Breaking changes❌ Blocked
New deprecation warnings❌ Blocked
New module/plugin additions❌ Blocked

For Collection Maintainers

Before Code Freeze (Do Now)

# 1. Merge all pending feature PRs
# 2. Update changelogs
# 3. Bump collection version
# 4. Run full test suite
# 5. Ensure CI/CD passes on all supported Ansible versions

# Check your collection's test status
cd my_collection
ansible-test sanity --docker
ansible-test units --docker
ansible-test integration --docker

During Code Freeze

# Only merge bugfix PRs
# Tag PRs as "bugfix" or "backport"
# Keep changelog updated
# No new module parameters unless fixing a bug

Prepare for Release

# Update galaxy.yml version
namespace: my_namespace
name: my_collection
version: 2.1.0  # Bump before freeze

# Update changelog
# Document all changes since last release

For Users

What to Do Now

  1. Test current playbooks against latest collection versions
  2. Pin collection versions in requirements.yml before freeze
  3. Report bugs early — bugs found after freeze get prioritized
  4. Review deprecation warnings — deprecated features may be removed next major
# requirements.yml — pin before freeze
collections:
  - name: community.general
    version: ">=9.5.0,<10.0.0"
  - name: ansible.netcommon
    version: ">=8.5.0,<9.0.0"

During Code Freeze

  • Expect stability — no new features means less risk of breakage
  • Upgrade testing — good time to test your playbooks against RC
  • Report issues — bugs found during freeze get high priority
DateEvent
May 28, 2026AWS Community Meeting
Jun 2, 2026Code Freeze begins
Jun 4, 2026AAP Config as Code Office Hours

Past Code Freezes

The Ansible community follows a regular release cadence:

  • ansible-core: Follows upstream CPython-style release schedule
  • ansible package: Bundles collections with ansible-core
  • Collections: Independent release schedules, but coordinated freezes

How to Participate

  • Matrix: #social:ansible.com — discuss freeze and releases
  • Forum: https://forum.ansible.com — official announcements
  • Bullhorn newsletter: Weekly community updates
  • GitHub: Watch collection repos for freeze labels

Best Practices

  1. Merge features before Jun 2 — after that, only bugfixes
  2. Pin versions for production — don't deploy during freeze turbulence
  3. Test RCs when available — help catch bugs before final release
  4. Read changelogs — know what's changing in your dependencies
  5. Plan deprecation migrations — features deprecated now may be removed in the next major release

Conclusion

The June 2, 2026 code freeze is your deadline for getting new features into the next Ansible release. After that date, only bugfixes and security patches are accepted. Use the time before freeze to merge feature PRs, update tests, and pin versions. During freeze, focus on stability testing and bug reporting.

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