Planning is underway for WordPress 7.1!  This post outlines the proposed schedule along with a call for volunteers to support the release process.

Following the typical cadence, the proposed final release date for 7.1 is Wednesday, August 19, 2026.  This proposed timeline remains flexible for the resulting Release Squad and adjustments can be made if necessary as they determine what timeline works best for their schedule.

Proposed Schedule

Milestone	Date
Alpha Begins	Immediately (7.1-alpha began in trunktrunk A directory in Subversion containing the latest development code in preparation for the next major release cycle. If you are running "trunk", then you are on the latest revision. on March 27th with [62161], closed then re-opened)
BetaBeta A pre-release of software that is given out to a large group of users to trial under real conditions. Beta versions have gone through alpha testing in-house and are generally fairly close in look, feel and function to the final product; however, design changes often occur as part of the process. 1	Wednesday, July 15
Beta 2	Wednesday, July 22
Beta 3	Wednesday, July 29
Release Candidaterelease candidate One of the final stages in the version release cycle, this version signals the potential to be a final release to the public. Also see alpha (beta). 1	Wednesday, August 5
Release Candidate 2	Wednesday, August 12
Dry Run	Tuesday, August 18
Final Release	Wednesday, August 19

As always, all dates are subject to change based on development progress.

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Call for Volunteers

Each WordPress release depends on contributors from across the project coming together to make it a success. 

As with the 6.7, 6.8, 6.9, and 7.0 release cycles, WordPress 7.1 will continue the approach of forming a smaller, focused Release Squad based on feedback received.  This streamlined structure places more emphasis on collaboration with the various Make Team Reps, who are encouraged to help coordinate efforts from within their respective teams.  The goals are to reduce the overhead on the Release Squad while still ensuring each team’s contributions and priorities are represented throughout the cycle, and to reduce overlap between a Make Team RepTeam Rep A Team Rep is a person who represents the Make WordPress team to the rest of the project, make sure issues are raised and addressed as needed, and coordinates cross-team efforts. and that team’s Release Squad Leads.  Noteworthy Contributors will be captured from Team Reps towards the end of the release cycle.

While the end goal is to publish the final release of WordPress 7.1 at WordCamp US, traveling to or attending WordCampWordCamp WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more. US is not a requirement to serve on the release squad.  All communication related to the release process will continue to take place in the #core SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/ channel.

If you are interested in helping lead WordPress 7.1 in one of the following roles, please comment below or reach out in the #7-1-release-leads Slack channel:

• Release LeadRelease Lead The community member ultimately responsible for the Release. – sets overall goals, makes final decisions on merging, gives final reviews where needed
• Release Coordination – helps manage timelines, cross-team collaboration, and status updates
• Tech Leads – oversees coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. development (including GutenbergGutenberg The Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/), triagetriage The act of evaluating and sorting bug reports, in order to decide priority, severity, and other factors., and critical issues
• Triage Lead – help monitor issues, shepherd patches, and guide contributors
• Test Lead – coordinates testing efforts across the community and test reports

Whether you have led a release before or are looking to get involved for the first time, there are many ways to contribute.  Volunteers of all backgrounds and experience levels are welcome!

If you are interested in volunteering, please leave a comment below noting your preferred area(s) by Friday, June 5th.  @4thhubbard (or a designee), will review the nominations shortly after to confirm and announce the release squad as soon as possible.

Together we can make WordPress 7.1 the best one yet!

Props to @jorbin @4thhubbard for reviewing this post.

#7-1