The Joomla Project is pleased to announce the availability of the first Joomla 5.1 Alpha 4 for testing.

What is this release for?

There are two main goals for Alpha releases:

• Providing developers with the basis to test their extensions and reporting any issues well before the final release
• Allowing users to discover the new features introduced to Joomla 5.1.

For a complete list of known backward compatibility issues for version 5.1, please see Potential backward compatibility issues in Joomla 5.1 on the documentation site.

What is this release NOT for?

This alpha version of Joomla 5.1 is not suitable for production sites. It is for testing only.

Where to get it?

Download Joomla 5.1 Alpha 4

To always use the latest build of Joomla 5, we invite you to use the nightly build packages (updated every night).

To make it easier for newcomers, you can launch a free Joomla 5 website for testing at launch.joomla.org.

When is the final release due?

Joomla! 5.1 (general availability) will be released on or about 16th April 2024. The planned milestones are:

Alpha

• 28th November 2023 - done
• 26th December 2023 - done
• 23rd January 2024 - done
• 20th February 2024 - this release

Beta (Feature Freeze)

• 5th March 2024
• 19th March 2024

Release Candidate (Language Freeze)

• 2nd April 2024

Stable Release

• 16th April 2024

Please note that dates may be subject to change depending on the availability of volunteers and circumstances beyond our control.

Security Fixes

• [20240201] - Core - Insufficient session expiration in MFA management views
• [20240202] - Core - Open redirect in installation application
• [20240203] - Core - XSS in media selection fields
• [20240204] - Core - XSS in mail address outputs
• [20240205] - Core - Inadequate content filtering within the filter code 

What’s new in Joomla 5.1 Alpha 4?

We are firmly committed to making the next generation of Joomla the best. These are the features that have been committed to version 5.1.

• All changes from 4.4 and 5.0
• Update Jooa11y Accessibility Checker Plugin with latest Sa11y
• Add new configuration options and features
• Improve Guided Tours with new features for required field handling and support for checkbox / radio / select lists as target
• Replace bootstrap modal with new dialog in backend for
• Scheduler task “Run test”
• Extensions changelog
• Batch-Dialog in Redirect component
• Plugin editing
• Add main region and better support for modules in Cassiopeia error page
• Update FontAwesome to 6.5.1
• Add support for subcategory levels in contacts category view
• CLI Improvements
• Add command to manage Joomla core update channels
• Renaming and improving output of core:update:check
• Improve output of Core Update command
• Add toolbar buttons in language installation toolbar to go directly to language management views
• Add buttons for sorting rows in subforms, additionally to drag and drop functionality
• Add rebuild button in Tags
• Add Article Schemaorg plugin and the link to the JED to extend the core

What are the plans for Joomla 5.1?

There are several projects which, with your help, could become part of Joomla! 5.1, if they are release-ready by 20th March 2024.

• SEO Project - GSOC 22

If you have any ideas for new functionality, feel free to discuss it on GitHub.

Be aware that these features are not release-ready yet, and it depends a lot on testers and feedback if they make the cut.

To learn more about our development strategy, please read this article.

How can you help Joomla 5.1 development?

To help ensure the 5.1 release and our major features are “production-ready”, we need your help testing releases and reporting any bugs you may find at issues.joomla.org.

For this reason, a Pizza Bug & Fun has been organised for February 24th: https://pizza-bugs-fun.com
Please attend it to help the whole community test the new release

Most of all, we encourage extension developers to roll up their sleeves, seek out bugs and test their extensions with Joomla 5.1 and communicate their experience.

Where can I find documentation about Joomla 5?

There are some tutorials to help you with Joomla 5. You can find the existing ones, like creating a Plugin or a Module for Joomla 5, namespaces conventions, prepared statements, using the new web asset classes and many more in https://docs.joomla.org/Category:Joomla!_5.x

We encourage developers to help write the documentation about Joomla 5 on docs.joomla.org and manual.joomla.org to help and guide users and other extension developers.

A JDocs page will help developers to see the existing documentation and the documentation still needed.

We invite you to check it regularly, update it and provide the missing content.

Related information

If you are an extension developer, please make sure you subscribe to the extension developer channel https://joomlacommunity.cloud.mattermost.com/main/channels/extension-development-room

Where you can join the community of extension developers.

• Working with the Joomla Feature Tracker
• General developer mailing list
• Joomla developer network
• Joomla and UI framework

A Huge Thank You to Our Volunteers!

A big thank you goes out to everyone who contributed to the release!