Commit e1181475e11 for php.net
commit e1181475e1102ae5e6e7cf711381420e0cbc6ab6
Author: DanielEScherzer <daniel.e.scherzer@gmail.com>
Date: Mon Jun 9 12:22:07 2025 -0700
release-process: update pre-release cycle docs (#18805)
https://wiki.php.net/rfc/release_cycle_update
diff --git a/docs/release-process.md b/docs/release-process.md
index 5d603a22f07..6eec8ff9f64 100644
--- a/docs/release-process.md
+++ b/docs/release-process.md
@@ -18,14 +18,14 @@ PHP on the fourth Thursday of November each year. Following the GA release, we
publish patch-level releases every four weeks, with at least one release
candidate (RC) published two weeks before each patch-level release.
-Each major and minor version undergoes a 24-week pre-release cycle before GA
-release. The pre-release cycle begins on the second Thursday of June with the
-first alpha release of the new major/minor version. The pre-release cycle
-consists of at least:
+Each major and minor version undergoes a 20-week pre-release cycle before GA
+release. The pre-release cycle begins on the second Thursday of July with the
+first alpha release of the new major/minor version (usually; count back from the
+GA release date). The pre-release cycle consists of at least:
- 3 alpha releases
- 3 beta releases
-- 6 release candidates
+- 4 release candidates
Feature freeze for the next major/minor occurs with the first beta release.