All dates given here are subject to revision, but we will try our best to stick to them if possible. Note that "Tagging" that the codebase is closed for this release on the date mentioned. The tarballs and packages are then being prepared and released approximately one week later. The KDE Release Team is acting as the coordinator for the 4.0 release.

Note the release is done in two portions: the KDE Development Platform 4.0 and the KDE Desktop 4.0. The KDE Desktop contains the complete package: all the main modules plus a release of the extragear module. The KDE Development Platform contains all the bits and pieces necessary to develop KDE4 applications. This means kdesupport, kdelibs, kdepimlibs and kdebase/runtime. Note the earlier freeze date for those modules and make sure you don't miss the deadline to get your fixes in.

KDE 4.0

August 2006: Technical Preview 1

The first technical preview, a developer release.

November 2006: Technical Preview 2

The second technical preview, a developer release.

February 2007: Technical Preview 3

The third technical preview, a developer release.

The kdelibs API will remain as stable as possible after that, so that application developers (in particular those not having their code in the KDE SVN) can start porting towards a stable kdelibs API.

Of course the applications in the KDE SVN will have been ported all along, and it will possible to alpha-test them at this stage.

Milestones

Milestones help guide us toward a final release, and the dates are subject to change. For more details see our roadmap.

April 2, 2007: Subsystem Freeze

From this date forward, no new KDE subsystem or major changes can be committed to kdelibs.

The buildsystem requirements (i.e. cmake version) are fixed.

May 1, 2007: kdelibs Soft Freeze

The kdelibs API is "soft-frozen", meaning that changes can be made but only with the consent of the core developers.

May 3, 2007: Alpha Tagging

The Alpha will be source only -- without translations.

June 1, 2007: trunk/KDE is module frozen

Trunk is frozen for new or resurrected applications.

A list of main modules that will be included in the final release will be made.

June 27, 2007: Alpha2 Tagging

The Alpha2 will be source only -- without translations.

July 24, 2007: Core Library Freeze

The core library APIs are frozen solid.

July 26, 2007: Beta1

Beta 1 is prepared and released after some initial testing.

August 29, 2007: Beta2

Beta 2 is prepared and released after some initial testing.

Trunk is frozen for feature commits. i18n string changes are allowed.

October 3, 2007: KDE Development Platform frozen solid

The KDE Development Platform is frozen. For the modules that are included in the KDE Development Platform, only patches reviewed on the development lists are permitted. If in doubt, contact the release coordinator. The KDE Development Platform covers kdesupport, kdelibs, kdepimlibs, kdebase/runtime and kdebindings (Ruby and Python bindings only).

October 10, 2007: Beta3

Beta 3 is prepared, initially tested and released on October 16.

October 19, 2007: Total Release Freeze

This is the very last chance for committing anything that isn't reviewed on the development lists. If in doubt, ask the release coordinator.

October 24, 2007: Tagging Release Candidate 1, Tagging KDE Development Platform

Release Candidate 1 of the Desktop is prepared, initially tested and released on October 30. The KDE Development Platform is tagged for final release and released on October 30.

Schedules/KDE4/4.0 Release Schedule