Laravel Release Process

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Laravel Release Process image

Editors Note: We’ve now updated this guide and you can find the current Laravel Release Process from this link. The following is left as a historical guide.


At Laracon 2013 in Washington D.C., Taylor announced the first official release cycle for the framework.

The way releases are set up is that a new version of Laravel is released every six months, one around June and another at the end of each year. Bug fixes are provided for six months and security fixes for one year.

By having an official release cycle, it allows us end users to plan around when we need to perform upgrades and also the dev team a way of knowing what is coming and when. Since this announcement, all new releases have followed this schedule.

With the release of Laravel 5.1, a new cycle was added to offer long-term support. It includes bug fixes for two years and security fixes for three.

This means 5.1 will be the only LTS version available until the two-year mark ends, June 2017. At that point, another LTS version will be announced. Here is an outline for the release schedule:

Proposed Release Schedule

5.1 LTS – Jun 9, 2015

Bug fixes until June 2017, and security fixes until June 2018.

Laravel 5.2 – Dec 21, 2015

General release of 5.2 which includes 6 months of bug fixes, 1 year of security.

Laravel 5.3 – Aug 23, 2016

6 months of bug fixes, 1 year of security.

Laravel 5.4 – January 24, 2017

6 months of bug fixes, 1 year of security. Here is a look at the new features of Laravel 5.4

Laravel 5.5 LTS – August 30, 2017

This is the current LTS release. At this point, Laravel 5.1 will no longer receive bug fixes but will continue getting security fixes until June 2018. Check out the what’s new in Laravel 5.5 series to see all the new features in this release.

Laravel 5.6 – February 7th, 2018

6 months of bug fixes, 1 year of security. what’s new in Laravel 5.6.

Laravel 5.7 – September 4th, 2018

6 months of bug fixes, 1 year of security. Check out the what’s new in Laravel 5.7 series to see all the new features in this release.

Laravel 5.8 – February 26th, 2019

6 months of bug fixes, 1 year of security. Check out the what’s new in Laravel 5.8 series to see all the new features in this release.

History of Laravel Releases

VersionReleaseBug Fixes UntilSecurity Fixes Until
V1June 2011
V2September 2011
v3February 2012
v4May 2013
[5.0](http://wp.laravel-news.com/laravel-5-released/)Feb 4th, 2015Aug 4th, 2015Feb 4th, 2016
[5.1 (LTS)](https://laravel-news.com/laravel-5-1-released)Jun 9th, 2015Jun 9th, 2017Jun 9th, 2018
[5.2](https://laravel-news.com/laravel-5-2-is-released)Dec 21st, 2015Jun 21st, 2016Dec 21st, 2016
[5.3](https://laravel-news.com/laravel-5-3-is-now-released)Aug 23rd, 2016Feb 23rd, 2017Aug 23rd, 2017
[5.4](https://laravel-news.com/laravel-5-4)Jan 24th, 2017Jul 24th, 2017Jan 24th, 2018
[5.5 (LTS)](https://laravel-news.com/laravel-5-5)Aug 30th, 2017Aug 30th, 2019Aug 30th, 2020
[5.6](https://laravel-news.com/laravel-5-6)Feb 7th, 2018Aug 7th, 2018Feb 7th, 2019
[5.7](https://laravel-news.com/laravel-5-7-is-now-released)Sep 4, 2018Feb 4th, 2019Sep 4th, 2019
[5.8](https://laravel-news.com/laravel-5-8)Feb 26th, 2019Aug 26th, 2019Feb 26th, 2020
[6.0 (LTS)](https://laravel-news.com/laravel-6)Sept 3rd, 2019Sept 3rd, 2021Sept 3rd, 2022

Please keep in mind this is just a general guide and versions can change. Our hope is this clarifies any confusion around how the release schedule is set up.

Eric L. Barnes photo

Eric is the creator of Laravel News and has been covering Laravel since 2012.

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