Kubernetes v1.38: Release Cycle Sneak Peek
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Sreeram Venkitesh
Sep 1, 2026, 3:26:50 PM (9 days ago) Sep 1
to dev, kubernetes-sig-release, releas...@kubernetes.io, le...@kubernetes.io
Hello there, Kubernetes community!
I hope you had a smooth experience with Kubernetes v1.37 "Garhwal" [0]. With v1.37 behind us, the Kubernetes Release Team is now moving onto the third and final release cycle of 2026: Kubernetes v1.38 [1].
My name is Sreeram Venkitesh, and I'm honored to serve as your Release Lead for v1.38. On behalf of the Kubernetes v1.38 Release Team, I am happy to share the release schedule and introduce the team helping guide this cycle.
The v1.38 release cycle began on Monday, August 31st, 2026. We are targeting Wednesday, December 16th, 2026 for the final release cut. The full proposed schedule is available here [2].
Starting v1.38, we're bringing a new change to the release cycle timeline [3]. The usual two week gap between releases is reduced and is added to the release cycle between the enhancements freeze and the code freeze. We hope this change gives contributors more time to work on their KEPs before the code freeze.
The dates for the major milestones proposed for this cycle are the following:
- Release Cycle begins: Monday, 31st August, 2026
- Enhancements Freeze: Tuesday 29th September 2026 (End of Day, Anywhere on Earth) / 12:00 UTC Wednesday 30th September 2026
- Code Freeze: Wednesday 18th November 2026 (End of Day, Anywhere on Earth) / 12:00 UTC Thursday 19th November 2026
- Release Day: Wednesday, 16th December, 2026
We also have a great group of subteam leads supporting the release:
- ChengHao Yang as Enhancements Lead
- Arsh Sharma as Communications Lead
- Keisuke Ishigami as Release Signal Lead
- Destiny Erhabor as Docs Lead
The v1.38 Release Team details are available here [4].
The schedule is still in the process of being finalized, so please feel free to share any feedback you may have in the PR [2]. Please be on the lookout for detailed release communications from the team as the cycle progresses.
If you have comments, concerns, or questions, please reach out in #sig-release [5].
Thank you,
Sreeram Venkitesh
On behalf of the Kubernetes v1.38 Release Team
[0]: Kubernetes v1.37: Garhwal
[1]: kubernetes-release-cadence
[2]: sig-release/releases/release-1.38
[3] [NOTICE] Kubernetes Release Schedule Update
[4]: sig-release/releases/release-1.38/release-team.md
[5]: #sig-release
I hope you had a smooth experience with Kubernetes v1.37 "Garhwal" [0]. With v1.37 behind us, the Kubernetes Release Team is now moving onto the third and final release cycle of 2026: Kubernetes v1.38 [1].
My name is Sreeram Venkitesh, and I'm honored to serve as your Release Lead for v1.38. On behalf of the Kubernetes v1.38 Release Team, I am happy to share the release schedule and introduce the team helping guide this cycle.
The v1.38 release cycle began on Monday, August 31st, 2026. We are targeting Wednesday, December 16th, 2026 for the final release cut. The full proposed schedule is available here [2].
Starting v1.38, we're bringing a new change to the release cycle timeline [3]. The usual two week gap between releases is reduced and is added to the release cycle between the enhancements freeze and the code freeze. We hope this change gives contributors more time to work on their KEPs before the code freeze.
The dates for the major milestones proposed for this cycle are the following:
- Release Cycle begins: Monday, 31st August, 2026
- Enhancements Freeze: Tuesday 29th September 2026 (End of Day, Anywhere on Earth) / 12:00 UTC Wednesday 30th September 2026
- Code Freeze: Wednesday 18th November 2026 (End of Day, Anywhere on Earth) / 12:00 UTC Thursday 19th November 2026
- Release Day: Wednesday, 16th December, 2026
We also have a great group of subteam leads supporting the release:
- ChengHao Yang as Enhancements Lead
- Arsh Sharma as Communications Lead
- Keisuke Ishigami as Release Signal Lead
- Destiny Erhabor as Docs Lead
The v1.38 Release Team details are available here [4].
The schedule is still in the process of being finalized, so please feel free to share any feedback you may have in the PR [2]. Please be on the lookout for detailed release communications from the team as the cycle progresses.
If you have comments, concerns, or questions, please reach out in #sig-release [5].
Thank you,
Sreeram Venkitesh
On behalf of the Kubernetes v1.38 Release Team
[0]: Kubernetes v1.37: Garhwal
[1]: kubernetes-release-cadence
[2]: sig-release/releases/release-1.38
[3] [NOTICE] Kubernetes Release Schedule Update
[4]: sig-release/releases/release-1.38/release-team.md
[5]: #sig-release
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