The Joomla! project released Joomla! 6.0 Alpha 2 on June 24, 2025, a crucial step in the development of the next generation of this renowned content management system (CMS). This test version, aimed at developers and enthusiasts, offers a glimpse of the innovations to come. Below, we present the details of this release, its features, how to test it and ways to contribute to the future of Joomla!.
What is Joomla! 6.0 Alpha 2 for?
Joomla! 6.0 Alpha 2 is an invitation for developers and users to explore the future of Joomla!. With new features, technical improvements and a well-defined roadmap, this version promises to be a milestone in the evolution of the CMS. Participate by testing, reporting bugs, and contributing ideas to help make Joomla! 6.0 the best version yet.
Visit the Joomla! website for more information, join the discussions on GitHub, or join the community on Mattermost. Your input is essential to the success of the project!
The alpha release has two main goals:
- Extension Testing: Allow developers to evaluate their extensions in the Joomla! environment. 6.0, identifying potential compatibility issues before the final release.
- News Exploration: Introduce users to the new features and improvements that will be part of version 6.0.
Attention: This version is not recommended for production sites, and is exclusively for testing in controlled environments.
How to Access Joomla! 6.0 Alpha 2?
You can download Joomla! 6.0 Alpha 2 directly from the official Joomla! website. For those who prefer to always be up to date, the nightly builds packages, updated every night, are available. In addition, beginners can test Joomla! 5 for free at launch.joomla.org to familiarize yourself with the CMS before exploring version 6.0.
Final Release Schedule
Joomla! 6.0 is scheduled to be officially released on October 14, 2025. Here is the planned schedule:
- Alpha Phase:
- Alpha 1: May 27, 2025
- Alpha 2: June 24, 2025 (current)
- Alpha 3: July 22, 2025
- Beta Phase (Feature Freeze):
- Beta 1: August 19, 2025
- Beta 2: September 2, 2025
- Beta 3: September 16, 2025
- Release Candidate (Language Freeze):
- RC 1: September 30, 2025
- Stable Release:
- October 14, 2025
Note: Dates may be adjusted based on volunteer availability or unforeseen circumstances.
What's New in Joomla! 6.0 Alpha 2?
Joomla! 6.0 Alpha 2 introduces a number of features and technical improvements that reinforce the project's commitment to delivering a modern and efficient CMS. Among the main new features are:
New Features
- Date and Time Fields: New options to manage dates more conveniently.
- Batch Tag Removal: Ease of deleting multiple tags simultaneously.
- Thumbnails in Media Manager: Thumbnail support for all file types.
- Language File Cache: Performance improvement with caching.
- Multiple Image Extension Support: The random image module now accepts multiple formats.
- Article Link Dialogs: Support for modals for article links.
- Customization in XML: New options for module headers and tags.
Technical Improvements
- Replaced CMSObject with stdClass in admin templates.
- Removed obsolete dependencies, such as database objects in views.
- Workflow updates for greater flexibility with generic types.
- Installer and updater optimizations, eliminating dependencies on Adapter classes.
- Improvements to the Article API, with improved date filters.
For details on compatibility issues, see the official documentation at docs.joomla.org. Information about the compatibility plugin for migration can be found at manual.joomla.org.
The Future of Joomla! 6.0
The development of Joomla! 6.0 is in its early stages, with new features beingaccepted until the feature freeze on August 19, 2025. Ongoing projects include:
- Healthchecker: A tool to check system health.
- Advanced SEO: Enhancements for search engine optimization.
- Migration Tool: Simplifying the transition from previous versions.
If you have suggestions for new features, join the discussions on Joomla! GitHub. New features are added based on community feedback and testing.
How to Help with Joomla! 6.0 Development
The Joomla! community is driven by volunteers, and your participation is essential to ensuring a quality release. Here's how you can contribute:
- Build Testing: Download Joomla! 6.0 Alpha 2 and report issues at issues.joomla.org.
- Extension Development: Test your extensions with Joomla! 5.3 and 6.0, sharing results in the Joomla! community's Mattermost developer channel.
- Documentation Contribution: Help create and update documentation at docs.joomla.org and manual.joomla.org.
Community Thanks
The success of Joomla! 6.0 Alpha 2 is the result of the hard work of many volunteers. Special thanks to the following contributors:
- Developers: Bembelimen, beni71, brianteeman, brbrbr, chmst, dgrammatiko, Fedik, Hackwar, HLeithner, joomdonation, korenevskiy, laoneo, Quy, richard67, zero-24.
- Testers: Ceford, exlemor, Quy, QuyTon, krishnaGandhi11, brianteeman, martin-zw, ghost, obuisard, alikon, rakibhossainraju, degobbis, SarahBerryman12.
- Launch Managers: Martina Scholz, Benjamin Trenkle, Richard Fath and Heiko Lübbe.