Initial draft release plan for Gerrit v3.12
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+---
+title: "Release Plan for Gerrit 3.12"
+tags: news
+keywords: news
+permalink: 2024-10-03-gerrit-3.12-release-plan.html
+summary: "Release Plan for Gerrit 3.12"
+hide_sidebar: true
+hide_navtoggle: true
+toc: true
+---
+
+## High Level Release Plan
+
+| Date | Activity |
+|------------|---------------------------------------------------|
+| Mar 31 | Create `stable-3.12` branch, Release `3.12.0-rc0` |
+| Apr 7 | Release `3.12.0-rc1` |
+| Apr 14 | Release `3.12.0-rc2` |
+| Apr 21 | Release `3.12.0-rc3` - Feature freeze deadline. |
+| Apr 28 | Release `3.12.0-rc4` |
+| May 5 | Release `3.12.0-rc5` - Release freeze |
+| May 12 | Final release of `3.12.0` |
+
+## Gerrit Hackathon
+
+There are plans for Gerrit hackathon in May in Germany (the exact location
+has not been decided yet), but most likely not soon enough to support this
+release.
+
+There is a [`gerrit-3_12-release` Discord channel](https://discord.com/channels/775374026587373568/1353333423636348968)
+dedicated to anyone willing to help with the development, testing and
+documentation of this release.
+
+## Switch to Java 21
+
+Gerrit v3.12 has dropped support for Java 17; Java 21 is mandatory and
+set as the target source-code level.
+
+## End-to-end Testing
+
+We plan to use the
+[Gatling e2e test framework for Git](https://gerrit-review.googlesource.com/Documentation/dev-e2e-tests.html),
+developed by GerritForge and Ericsson to test the stability of the release
+on a production-like setup.
+
+[GerritForge](https://www.gerritforge.com), who is also offering
+[Gerrit-as-a-Service on Google Cloud Marketplace](https://gerritforge.com/gaas.html),
+will be testing the scalability of Gerrit v3.12, particularly with
+medium to large-sized projects and in a multi-primary setup with Kubernetes
+on GKE.
+
+## End of Life for Gerrit 3.9.x
+
+Per the support policy mentioned in the
+[project homepage](https://www.gerritcodereview.com/support.html#supported-versions),
+after 3.12.0 is released, 3.9.x will reach the end of life and will no
+longer be actively supported.
+
+Support for 3.10.x and 3.11.x will continue as usual.
+Users of 3.9.x or earlier are recommended to upgrade to one of these versions.
