Kubernetes v1.34 Release Information

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

Kubernetes v1.34: Of Wind & Will (O’ WaW)

Kubernetes v1.34: Of Wind & Will (O’ WaW)

A release powered by the wind around us — and the will within us.

Every release cycle, we inherit winds that we don’t really control — the state of our tooling, documentation, and the historical quirks of our project. Sometimes these winds fill our sails, sometimes they push us sideways or die down.

What keeps Kubernetes moving isn’t the perfect winds, but the will of our sailors who adjust the sails, man the helm, chart the courses and keep the ship steady. The release happens not because conditions are always ideal, but because of the people who build it, the people who release it, and the bears ^, cats, dogs, wizards, and curious minds who keep Kubernetes sailing strong — no matter which way the wind blows.

This release, Of Wind & Will (O’ WaW), honors the winds that have shaped us, and the will that propels us forward.

Tracking docs

Guides

Summary

The v1.34 release cycle is as follows:

Timeline

WhatWhoWhenWeekRelease Signal
Start of Release CycleLeadMonday 19th May 2025week 1master-blocking, master-informing
Start Enhancements TrackingEnhancements LeadMonday 19th May 2025week 1
Schedule finalizedLeadFriday 23rd May 2025week 1
Team finalizedLeadFriday 23rd May 2025week 1
Begin APAC-friendly meetingsLeadWednesday 28th May 2025week 2
Start Release Notes DraftDocs LeadWednesday 4th June 2025week 3
v1.34.0-alpha.1 releasedBranch ManagerWednesday 11th June 2025week 4
Begin Production Readiness FreezeEnhancements LeadThursday 12th June 2025week 4
Begin Enhancements FreezeEnhancements Lead21:00 UTC Friday 20th June 2025 / 14:00 PST Friday 20th June 2025week 5
v1.34.0-alpha.2 releasedBranch ManagerWednesday 25th June 2025week 6
Docs deadline — Open placeholder PRsDocs LeadThursday 3rd July 2025week 7
Call for ExceptionsLeadMonday 7th July 2025week 8
Brace Yourself, Code Freeze is ComingComms / Release SignalMonday 7th July 2025week 8
v1.34.0-alpha.3 releasedBranch ManagerWednesday 9th July 2025week 8
Begin Feature blog freeze - Open placeholder PRsComms Lead02:00 UTC Friday 11th July 2025 / 19:00 PST Thursday 10th July 2025week 8
v1.34.0-beta.0 releasedBranch ManagerWednesday 16th July 2025week 9
Begin Code Freeze and Test FreezeBranch Manager02:00 UTC Friday 25th July 2025 / 19:00 PDT Thursday 24th July 2025week 10
Begin Burndown (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday meetings)LeadMonday 28th July 2025week 11
Deprecations and Removals blog publishedCommsMonday 28th July 2025week 11
Docs deadline — PRs ready for reviewDocs LeadTuesday 29th July 2025week 11
Release Highlights deadlineCommsTuesday 29th July 2025week 11
Burndown Meetings daily (Tuesday & Thursday over Slack)LeadMonday 4th August 2025week 12
release-1.34 branch createdBranch ManagerWednesday 6th August 2025week 12
release-1.34 jobs createdBranch ManagerWednesday 6th August 2025week 12
Start final draft of Release NotesDocs LeadWednesday 6th August 2025week 12
Docs FreezeDocs LeadWednesday 6th August 2025week 12
v1.34.0-rc.0 releasedBranch ManagerWednesday 6th August 2025week 121.34-informing, 1.34-blocking, master-blocking, master-informing
Feature blogs ready to reviewEnhancement Owner / SIG LeadsFriday 8th August 2025week 12
v1.34.0-rc.1 released (additional release cut for critical bug fix)Branch ManagerSaturday 9th August 2025week 12
Release blog ready to reviewComms / Docs02:00 UTC Friday 15th August 2025 / 19:00 PDT Thursday 14th August 2025week 13
v1.34.0-rc.2 releasedBranch ManagerWednesday 20th August 2025week 14
Release Notes complete — reviewed & merged to https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetesDocs LeadWednesday 27th August 2025week 15
v1.34.0 releasedBranch ManagerWednesday 27th August 2025week 15
Release blog publishedCommsWednesday 27th August 2025week 15
ThawBranch ManagerWednesday 27th August 2025week 15
Feature blog publication startsCommsThursday 28th August 2025week 15

Phases

Please refer to the release phases document.