The WordPress 7.1 release schedule is now on the record: Beta 1 lands on 15 July 2026, weekly betas follow through the end of July, RC1 arrives on 5 August, and the final release is set for 19 August 2026 — the last day of WordCamp US in Phoenix. The 10-person release squad was announced on 17 June, after a call for volunteers on 21 May. Anne McCarthy, Automattic’s Architecture and Open Source Director, leads 7.1 — her first release lead. The Roadmap to 7.1 followed on 19 June, naming AI, collaboration, media, and performance as focus areas. The release party schedule was posted on 3 July.
That is a six-week sprint from Beta 1 to final. Tight, but not reckless — provided the squad keeps scope in check. The last cycle did not.
What the WordPress 7.1 release schedule looks like
The dates are fixed, and the cadence is familiar: weekly betas to shake out regressions, then a single release candidate before the final. Here is the full timeline as it stands:
| Milestone | Date |
|---|---|
| Release squad announced | 17 June 2026 |
| Roadmap published | 19 June 2026 |
| Release party schedule posted | 3 July 2026 |
| Beta 1 | 15 July 2026 |
| Weekly betas | Through end of July 2026 |
| RC1 | 5 August 2026 |
| Final release | 19 August 2026 |
WordCamp US runs 16–19 August in Phoenix. The final release lands on the closing day — a deliberate bit of theatre, and a deadline that will not move quietly.
The squad: 10 people, one lead, four focus areas
Anne McCarthy takes the release lead for the first time. She is not new to the project — her work on core architecture and open source strategy at Automattic is well documented — but this is her first turn at the helm of a release cycle. The squad is 10 people, a lean number by historical standards. Lean squads move faster; they also have less slack when something breaks.
The roadmap names four focus areas: AI, collaboration, media, and performance. Those are broad labels, and the roadmap does not yet attach specific tickets to each. Expect the details to firm up as Beta 1 approaches. For now, the signal is clear: collaboration and performance are back on the table after 7.0’s bruising.
Why 7.0’s delay still hangs over this cycle
WordPress 7.0 “Armstrong” shipped on 20 May 2026, delayed from 9 April. The cause was not a minor bug. The real-time collaboration feature stored sync data in post meta, and that inadvertently disabled query caches whenever the editor opened. The fix required a new database table — a schema change that could not be rushed.
That is the kind of failure that reshapes a release cycle. The 7.1 squad inherits both the lesson and the code. Collaboration remains a focus area, which means the same feature set is still in play. The difference this time is that the database table exists, and the team knows where the bodies are buried.
Still, a six-week beta-to-final window leaves little room for another schema surprise. If Beta 1 surfaces a similar issue, the 19 August date is the first thing to go. The squad has not said otherwise.
What to watch between now and Beta 1
Beta 1 on 15 July is the first real test. Until then, the useful signals are the ones the squad publishes:
- Roadmap updates. The 19 June roadmap is a starting point, not a contract. Watch for tickets moving in and out of the four focus areas.
- Release party schedule. Posted 3 July, it sets the cadence for betas and RCs. If dates shift, this is where they will show up first.
- Dev notes. Schema changes, new hooks, and deprecations will land as dev notes before Beta 1. Read them before you update your plugins.
- Hosting and plugin compatibility. If you run a managed host, ask when they plan to stage 7.1. If you maintain plugins, test against nightly now.
For agencies and in-house teams, the practical move is to block time in the week of 5 August for RC1 testing. That is when the code is feature-frozen and the remaining changes are bug fixes. If you wait for 19 August, you are testing in production.
Our read on the WordPress 7.1 release schedule
The schedule is aggressive but not unreasonable. A 10-person squad, a first-time lead, and four broad focus areas is a lot to carry in six weeks. The 7.0 delay was caused by a feature that touched the database — and collaboration is still on the list. We conclude that the 19 August date is achievable only if the squad holds scope and ships the collaboration work that already exists rather than expanding it.
If you are planning an update window, treat 19 August as the target and 5 August as your real deadline. Test on RC1. Read the dev notes. And if the squad slips, it will be for the same reason 7.0 did: a database change that could not be rushed.
FAQ
When is WordPress 7.1 released?
The final release is scheduled for 19 August 2026, the last day of WordCamp US in Phoenix. Beta 1 is on 15 July, and RC1 is on 5 August.
Who leads the WordPress 7.1 release?
Anne McCarthy, Automattic’s Architecture and Open Source Director, leads the 10-person squad. It is her first release lead role. The squad was announced on 17 June 2026.
What are the focus areas for WordPress 7.1?
The roadmap names AI, collaboration, media, and performance. Specific tickets are expected to firm up before Beta 1 on 15 July.
