NixOS 26.05 – Release schedule

Hi, we are @yayayayaka and @jopejoe1, the [release managers](https://nixos.github.io/release-wiki/Release-Managers.html) for NixOS 26.05 ("Yarara").

We are also happy to work with @NotAShelf and @bryanhonof, who will be the [release editors](https://nixos.github.io/release-wiki/Release-Editors.html) for this NixOS release.

Below you can find the release calendar up to the planned release at the end of May 2026. If something feels unclear to you, don't hesitate to reach out, we appreciate questions, feedback and suggestions. We are here to guide the process and make sure this will be a great release for all of us. You can contact us in the [release management matrix room](https://matrix.to/#/#nixos-release-management:nixos.org).

These dates may still change slightly. The decision on how many staging cycles will happen will be made later. When a step is done, it will be announced under this issue or with a separate GitHub issue or [discourse](https://discourse.nixos.org/) post.

<table>
<thead>
  <tr>
    <th>Done?</th>
    <th>Date (UTC)</th>
    <th>Branches Affected</th>
    <th>Events</th>
  </tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
  <tr>
    <td>✅ #504935</td>
    <td>2026-03-30 07:00</td>
    <td></td>
    <td>Start discussion about “Feature Freeze &amp; Release Blockers” with
ecosystems maintainers</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>✅</td>
    <td>2026-04-13 07:00</td>
    <td>All branches</td>
    <td>Restrict breaking changes to Release Critical Packages</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>✅</td>
    <td>2026-04-27 07:00</td>
    <td>All branches</td>
    <td>Restrict all breaking changes with the exception of updates to
    desktop environment</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>✅ #517946</td>
    <td rowspan="2">2026-05-04 07:00</td>
    <td><code>master</code></td>
    <td>Wait for <code>staging-next</code> merge into <code>master</code>,
    begin first <code>staging-next</code> cycle</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>✅ #516381</td>
    <td><code>master</code></td>
    <td>Begin Zero Hydra Failures campaign</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td></td>
    <td rowspan="3">2026-05-11 07:00</td>
    <td><del><code>master</code></del></td>
    <td><del>Wait for first <code>staging-next</code> merge into
    <code>master</code>; begin second <code>staging-next</code> cycle</del></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td></td>
    <td><code>staging</code>, <code>staging-26.05</code></td>
    <td>Perform staging branch-off</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td>✅</td>
    <td><code>staging</code></td>
    <td>Unrestrict all breaking changes; new changes will not be present in
    the release</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td></td>
    <td rowspan="9">2026-05-18 07:00</td>
    <td><code>master</code></td>
    <td>Wait for <del>second</del> <code>staging-next</code> merge into
    <code>master</code></td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td></td>
    <td><code>staging-next</code></td>
    <td>Unrestrict all breaking changes; new changes will not be present in
    the release</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td></td>
    <td><code>master</code>, <code>release-26.05</code></td>
    <td>Perform Branch-off, create release channels, create new beta /
    unstable tags</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td></td>
    <td><code>master</code></td>
    <td>Mark failing packages as broken</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td></td>
    <td><code>master</code>, <code>release-26.05</code></td>
    <td>Create the release branch and tags</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td></td>
    <td><code>release-26.05</code></td>
    <td>Create release channels</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td></td>
    <td><code>master</code>, <code>release-26.05</code></td>
    <td>Fixes need to use the “backport” workflow to arrive in the
    release</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td></td>
    <td><code>master</code></td>
    <td>Unrestrict all breaking changes; new changes will not be present in
    the release</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td></td>
    <td><code>release-26.05</code></td>
    <td>Prepare for release, finish remaining issues</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td></td>
    <td>2026-05-25 07:00</td>
    <td><code>release-26.05</code></td>
    <td><strong>Release!</strong> Marks the end of the Zero Hydra Failures
    campaign.</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td></td>
    <td>2026-06-01 16:00</td>
    <td></td>
    <td>Release Retrospective, everyone is invited to give feedback!</td>
  </tr>
  <tr>
    <td></td>
    <td>2026-07-02 07:00</td>
    <td></td>
    <td>End of life cleanup</td>
  </tr>
</tbody>
</table>


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NixOS 26.05 – Release schedule #503391

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Done?	Date (UTC)	Branches Affected	Events
✅ #504935	2026-03-30 07:00		Start discussion about “Feature Freeze & Release Blockers” with ecosystems maintainers
✅	2026-04-13 07:00	All branches	Restrict breaking changes to Release Critical Packages
✅	2026-04-27 07:00	All branches	Restrict all breaking changes with the exception of updates to desktop environment
✅ #517946	2026-05-04 07:00	`master`	Wait for `staging-next` merge into `master`, begin first `staging-next` cycle
✅ #516381	2026-05-04 07:00	`master`	Begin Zero Hydra Failures campaign
	2026-05-11 07:00	~~`master`~~	~~Wait for first `staging-next` merge into `master`; begin second `staging-next` cycle~~
		`staging`, `staging-26.05`	Perform staging branch-off
✅		`staging`	Unrestrict all breaking changes; new changes will not be present in the release
	2026-05-18 07:00	`master`	Wait for ~~second~~ `staging-next` merge into `master`
		`staging-next`	Unrestrict all breaking changes; new changes will not be present in the release
		`master`, `release-26.05`	Perform Branch-off, create release channels, create new beta / unstable tags
		`master`	Mark failing packages as broken
		`master`, `release-26.05`	Create the release branch and tags
		`release-26.05`	Create release channels
		`master`, `release-26.05`	Fixes need to use the “backport” workflow to arrive in the release
		`master`	Unrestrict all breaking changes; new changes will not be present in the release
		`release-26.05`	Prepare for release, finish remaining issues
	2026-05-25 07:00	`release-26.05`	Release! Marks the end of the Zero Hydra Failures campaign.
	2026-06-01 16:00		Release Retrospective, everyone is invited to give feedback!
	2026-07-02 07:00		End of life cleanup

Uh oh!

NixOS 26.05 – Release schedule #503391

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