Joomla 5.2.0 Beta 1

On Tuesday 20 August 2024, Joomla 5.2 Beta 1 was released. This beta version is specifically for developers to test the upcoming Joomla version.

In software development, each new version goes through a number of phases: Alpha, Beta, Release Candidate and Stable:

In the Alpha phase, new features are introduced and added.
In the Beta phase, a ‘feature freeze’ applies and no new features are added. From then on, the focus is entirely on debugging and fixing.
The Release Candidate (RC) is there to iron out the last minor bugs, so that everything is completely ready for the Stable release. At this stage, a ‘language freeze’ applies and no new language strings are included.
The Stable version (Joomla 5.2.0) is the version that can be installed on live websites.

Joomla 5.2 Beta 1

Joomla 5.2 Beta 1 introduces several new features and improvements.
Key additions include:

New layouts for e-mail templates
Improved multilingual support without restrictions for menu structures
Improved SEO through additional options and bug fixes in routing.
RSS feeds are automatically blocked when disabled.
Guided Tours: autostart tour (currently in final review phase).
SEO: An additional bug fix for routing (still need to fix bugs).
Articles module: Replacement of current article modules (still some final tweaks needed).
Multilingual websites: Removal of unnecessary restrictions for menu structures (added shortly after Beta 1).

This release focuses mainly on stabilising these features, with further bug fixes planned for the coming weeks.

Joomla 5.2 will be released on 15 October 2024.

The planned milestones are:

Alpha:
- Alpha 1 - 28 May 2024 (completed)
- Alpha 2 - 25 June 2024 (completed)
- Alpha 3 - 23 July 2024 (completed)
Beta (Feature Freeze):
- Beta 1 - 20 August 2024 (current version)
- Beta 2 - 3 September 2024
- Beta 3 - 17 September 2024
Release Candidate (Language Freeze):
- RC 1 - 1 October 2024
Stable release:
- 15 October 2024