Kubernetes v1.36 Release Information

Information regarding the current release cycle including important dates, Release Team contact information, tracking spreadsheets and more!

Kubernetes v1.36

Tracking docs

Guides

Summary

The v1.36 release cycle is as follows:

  • Monday 12th January 2026: Week 1 — Release cycle begins
  • Wednesday 4th February 2026 (AoE) / Thursday 5th February 2026, 12:00 UTC: Week 4 — Production Readiness Freeze
  • Wednesday 11th February 2026 (AoE) / Thursday 12th February 2026, 12:00 UTC: Week 5 — Enhancements Freeze
  • Thursday 26th February 2026 (AoE) / Friday 27th February 2026, 12:00 UTC: Week 7 — Feature blog freeze
  • Wednesday 18th March 2026 (AoE) / Thursday 19th March 2026, 12:00 UTC: Week 10 — Code Freeze and Test Freeze
  • Monday 23rd - Thursday 26th March 2026: Week 11 - KubeCon EU
  • Wednesday 8th April 2026 (AoE) / Thursday 9th April 2026, 12:00 UTC: Week 13 — Docs Freeze
  • Wednesday 22nd April 2026: Week 15 — Kubernetes v1.36.0 released

Note on AoE deadlines:

Deadlines are expressed in “Anywhere on Earth” (AoE) time. This means the date ends when the calendar day finishes in the last timezone on Earth (UTC−12). Example: A deadline of Thursday, Oct 16 (AoE) gives contributors their full Thursday everywhere in the world. The cutoff therefore would be Friday, Oct 17 at 12:00 UTC.

Timeline

WhatWhoWhenWeekRelease Signal
Start of Release CycleLeadMonday 12th January 2026week 1master-blocking, master-informing
Start Enhancements TrackingEnhancements LeadMonday 12th January 2026week 1
Schedule finalizedLeadFriday 16th January 2026week 1
Team finalizedLeadFriday 16th January 2026week 1
Begin APAC-friendly meetingsALLWednesday 21st January 2026week 2
Start Release Notes DraftDocs LeadWednesday 28th January 2026week 3
Call for PRR and Enhancement Freeze ExceptionsLeadThursday 29th January 2026week 3
v1.36.0-alpha.1 releasedBranch ManagerWednesday 4th February 2026week 4
Begin Production Readiness FreezeEnhancements LeadWednesday 4th February 2026 (AoE) / Thursday 5th February 2026, 12:00 UTCweek 4
Begin Enhancements FreezeEnhancements LeadWednesday 11th February 2026 (AoE) / Thursday 12th February 2026, 12:00 UTCweek 5
v1.36.0-alpha.2 releasedBranch ManagerWednesday 18th February 2026week 6
Brace Yourself, Code Freeze is ComingComms / Release SignalMonday 23rd February 2026week 7
Docs deadline — Open placeholder PRsDocs LeadThursday 26th February 2026 (AoE) / Friday 27th February 2026, 12:00 UTCweek 7
v1.36.0-alpha.3 releasedBranch ManagerWednesday 4th March 2026week 8
Begin Feature blog freeze - Open placeholder PRsComms LeadThursday 5th March 2026 (AoE) / Friday 6th March 2026, 12:00 UTCweek 8
Call for Code Freeze ExceptionsLeadMonday 9th March 2026week 9
v1.36.0-beta.0 releasedBranch ManagerWednesday 11th March 2026week 9
Begin Code Freeze and Test FreezeBranch ManagerWednesday 18th March 2026 (AoE) / Thursday 19th March 2026, 12:00 UTCweek 10
KubeCon EUMonday 23rd - Thursday 26th March 2026week 11
Begin Burndown (Meetings on Mon / Wed / Fri)ALLMonday 30th March 2026week 12
Deprecations and Removals blog publishedComms LeadMonday 30th March 2026week 12
Docs deadline — PRs ready for reviewDocs LeadTuesday 31st March 2026week 12
Release Highlights deadlineComms LeadTuesday 31st March 2026week 12
Feature blogs ready to reviewEnhancement Owner / SIG LeadsMonday 6th April 2026week 13
Burndown Meetings daily (Tue & Thu over Slack)ALLMonday 6th April 2026week 13
release-1.36 branch createdBranch ManagerWednesday 8th April 2026week 13
release-1.36 jobs createdBranch ManagerWednesday 8th April 2026week 13
v1.36.0-rc.0 releasedBranch ManagerWednesday 8th April 2026week 131.36-informing, 1.36-blocking, master-blocking, master-informing
Start final draft of Release NotesDocs LeadWednesday 8th April 2026week 13
Docs FreezeDocs LeadWednesday 8th April 2026 (AoE) / Thursday 9th April 2026, 12:00 UTCweek 13
Release blog ready to reviewComms / DocsThursday 9th April 2026 (AoE) / Friday 10th April 2026, 12:00 UTCweek 13
v1.36.0-rc.1 releasedBranch ManagerTuesday 14th April 2026week 14
Release Notes completeDocs LeadWednesday 22nd April 2026week 15
v1.36.0 releasedBranch ManagerWednesday 22nd April 2026week 15
Release blog publishedComms LeadWednesday 22nd April 2026week 15
ThawBranch ManagerWednesday 22nd April 2026week 15
Feature blog publication startsComms LeadThursday 23rd April 2026week 15

Phases

Please refer to the release phases document.