Release Timelines

Welcome to the Release Timelines overview page. Here you can always find the most up-to-date release schedules for Catena-X ecosystem releases.

For a detailed explanation of the overall process and the release cycle, please refer to the Release management section.

Overview of further upcoming releases​

The following overview provides a high-level roadmap of the planned Catena-X ecosystem releases. Each ecosystem release typically consists of two release parts. The overview illustrates the continuous evolution of the ecosystem through alternating major and minor releases, ensuring a balanced approach between innovation and consolidation. Each major release establishes the foundation for new developments and strategic enhancements, while the subsequent minor release focuses on refinement, stabilization, and the continuous improvement of the introduced capabilities. This predictable release cadence supports transparent planning and enables all participating stakeholders to align their activities and contributions accordingly.

Overall timeline for Releases from 2025 to 2026

Catena-X and Eclipse Tractus-X Release Schedules​

The following sections describe the release cycles, including both Catena-X internal milestones and Eclipse Tractus-X open milestones. Each phase contributes to transparency, alignment, and coordinated delivery across all participating committees and expert groups.

Catena-X Neptune, incl. Eclipse Tractus-X Release 26.06 & 26.09​

Named after the planet Neptune, CX-Neptune symbolizes depth, stability, and the exploration of new frontiers within the Catena-X data space. As a major release, Neptune sets the strategic direction and introduces key architectural foundations that shape the further evolution of the ecosystem.

Neptune therefore serves as the central anchor, establishing the core innovations that are gradually refined, stabilized, and extended throughout the cycle.

Timeline for Release 26.06

Timeline for Release 26.09

Catena-X Proteus, incl. Eclipse Tractus-X Release 27.03​

Following the major release CX-Neptune, CX-Proteus is directly connected to its parent release, as Proteus is one of Neptune’s moons. This minor release therefore represents continuity and close evolution within the established ecosystem rather than a change of direction. It focuses on strengthening and refining what was introduced with CX-Neptune, ensuring stability, coherence, and improved interoperability across the ecosystem. In this sense, CX-Proteus acts as a natural extension of its major release, orbiting around its core innovations and gradually maturing them.

Timeline for Release 27.03

Catena-X Sirius, incl. Eclipse Tractus-X Release 27.06 & 27.09​

Inspired by Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky, this major release symbolizes orientation, innovation, and forward momentum. Catena-X Sirius serves as a milestone that illuminates new possibilities for collaboration and standardization across the ecosystem. As with every major release, it represents an opportunity to introduce new ideas and further expand the vision of an open and interoperable data space.

Timeline for Release 27.06

Timeline for Release 27.09

Catena-X Procyon, incl. Eclipse Tractus-X Release 27.12 & 28.03​

Procyon, one of the brightest stars in the constellation Canis Minor, represents a companion presence to Sirius in the night sky. As the minor release following CX-Sirius, CX-Procyon reflects this relationship by focusing on consolidation and continuous improvement of what was introduced before. It strengthens the ecosystem by stabilizing innovations, improving quality, and ensuring that the developments from Sirius can mature into a robust and reliable foundation for future cycles.

Timeline for Release 27.12

Timeline – Phases and Milestones in Detail​

The following section provides a detailed description of every phase and milestone shown in the release timeline. The timeline is structured into three overarching sections - Preparation, Standard Review & TX Development, and Release Closing - and runs in parallel for Catena-X and Eclipse Tractus-X.

Catena-X​

Preparation​

The Preparation section covers the activities that take place after the standard has already been fully written by the responsible Expert Group or Committee. It comprises the Briefing Release Planning, the Internal Planning Day, and the Expert Feedback Phase.

During this phase, Expert Groups and Committees present their completed standards or work to the wider community and collect final feedback before the formal review process begins. The Preparation section therefore ensures that all standard candidates are aligned, transparent, and ready to enter the Standard Review process.

Briefing Release Planning​

The Briefing Release Planning is a dedicated meeting that specifically prepares all stakeholders for the upcoming Internal Planning Day. Objectives of the meeting:

• Preparing participants for the Internal Planning Day, ensuring that everyone knows which content to bring and how the sessions will be structured.
• Sharing relevant organizational updates and contextual information.
• Explaining the timeline, milestones, and expectations of the upcoming release cycle.

This ensures that the Internal Planning Day can be used efficiently and that all participants enter the meeting with a shared understanding.

Internal Planning Day​

The Internal Planning Day is the central planning meeting of the release cycle on the Catena-X side. Its purpose is to formally define which completed standards will be included in the upcoming release.

Prerequisite for participation is that each standard candidate is final and ready for review at this point in time. "Final" means that the standard is fully drafted and written and can be handed over for the subsequent review process without any content gaps.

Content of the meeting:

• Presentation of the issue for each finalized standard planned for inclusion in the upcoming release. The issue provides an overview of the standard's scope, objectives, and relevant dependencies, and serves as the central place where the corresponding pull request (PR) for the finalized standard is linked and tracked.
• Collaborative discussion and alignment of the presented content to ensure transparency, alignment, and a shared understanding across all stakeholders.

Expert Feedback Phase (2 weeks)​

During the Expert Feedback Phase, the responsible Expert Group takes the lead and uses the time to collect and incorporate final feedback on the already completed standard. Key responsibilities include:

• Checking all dependencies of the standard (it is recommended to use the dependency graph here as well).
• Addressing concerns and input from other Expert Groups and stakeholders.
• Pushing content changes into the standard based on the received feedback.

This is the last phase in which the Expert Group has full ownership over content decisions. Until the Completeness Check begins, the Expert Group decides autonomously whether to incorporate feedback or not.

Standard Review & TX Development​

The Standard Review & Eclipse Tractus-X Development phase runs in parallel for Catena-X and Eclipse Tractus-X, with each initiative focusing on different aspects of the release process.

For Catena-X, this phase is dedicated to the review and validation of standard candidates. In parallel, the Eclipse Tractus-X community continues the development, implementation, and integration of the corresponding open-source components. For details on the activities taking place within Eclipse Tractus-X during this phase, please refer to the Eclipse Tractus-X section.

Standard Application Window​

The Standard Application Window is the overarching timeframe covering all formal review, quality assurance, and Opt-Out activities of the release cycle. Within this window, standards are validated, reviewed by experts, and prepared for their transition into official Catena-X standards.

Quality Assurance Phase​

The Quality Assurance Phase represents the central review and validation stage of the Catena-X release cycle. With the start of this phase, the standard owners formally hand over their completed standards drafts to the TC4S (Technical Committee for Standardization), which assumes coordination of the entire review process up to the final release decision.

From this point on, all standard drafts enter a structured review and validation process. Feedback can still be incorporated, but only in close alignment with TC4S and the assigned reviewing experts.

The objective of this phase is to ensure that every standard candidate is complete, consistent, interoperable, and aligned with the quality expectations of the Catena-X ecosystem. To achieve this, TC4S orchestrates a structured review involving the responsible committees and domain experts, each contributing their specific expertise to the evaluation.

At the end of the phase, the overarching committee formally confirms that the standard fulfills the expectations defined by the responsible Expert Group and is ready to proceed to the next stage of the release process.

Quality Gate 1​

Quality Gate 1 marks the first formal checkpoint within the Quality Assurance Phase. Its purpose is to ensure that only standard candidates aligned with the values, goals, and quality principles of the Catena-X data ecosystem proceed further in the release process. Each standard is systematically evaluated against defined criteria, focusing on completeness, relevance, redundancy, and conformance.

Two types of evaluation criteria apply:

• Hard criteria: Non-compliance leads to the immediate exclusion of the standard from the release.
• Soft criteria: Non-compliance does not result in exclusion. The responsible Expert Group is given the opportunity to address the identified issues during the ongoing Quality Assurance Phase in order to remain part of the release.

At the conclusion of Quality Gate 1, all Expert Groups are formally notified whether their standard has been accepted for the release — including a transparent explanation of the underlying reasons.

Quality Gate 2​

The second Quality Gate ("Quality Gate 2") ensures that only standard candidates that correspond to the quality expectations of Catena-X are being released. During Quality Gate 2, the maturity of the standard is verified and — provided a green light is given — a technical recommendation for its release is made to the Executive Board.

This milestone marks the formal transition from the Quality Assurance Phase to the Opt-Out preparation activities.

Prep Opt-Out (1 week)​

A short preparation phase to get all standards and communication ready before the official Opt-Out phase begins. Standards are finalized for external visibility, and stakeholders are prepared for the decision-making window.

Start Opt-Out​

After the formal approval, an Opt-Out period of 45 days is required, during which all association members are presented with the standard candidates ahead of their official release to the public. After the 45-day period has passed, the Executive Board is presented the standard candidates again for a final approval for publication, marking their official transition from being a standard candidate into an official Catena-X standard.

Opt-Out Town Hall​

A dedicated meeting held during the Opt-Out phase to present the standard candidates with the community. The Town Hall provides transparency on the standards up for approval and offers members the opportunity to ask questions.

Release Closing​

The Release Closing section marks the finalization and publication of the release. It ensures that all approved standards and outputs are complete, verified, and properly documented for both internal and external stakeholders - providing full transparency, traceability, and quality assurance.

Release Finalization (1.5 weeks)​

The final phase before publication. During this phase, all necessary activities to ensure a smooth and transparent release are carried out:

• All approved standards are consolidated into the release package.
• Detailed Release Notes are created.

Publish Release​

This milestone marks the official publication of the Catena-X release. All approved standards and normative documents become publicly available and officially valid within the Catena-X ecosystem.

Recap Release​

The Recap Release is a dedicated meeting that provides a comprehensive presentation of the release outcomes. It also provides an outlook and vision for upcoming releases.

Eclipse Tractus-X​

The Eclipse Tractus-X section of the release cycle is initiated by the Open Planning Day, which serves as the common starting point for both the FOSS development and the KIT development activities. From this shared kick-off, both streams evolve in parallel and ultimately merge into a joint release finalization and publication.

Open Planning Day​

The Open Planning Day is an open Tractus-X meeting and marks the official start of the Tractus-X activities within the release cycle. During this session, product teams present their planned features and discuss the feasibility of implementation, enabling a shared understanding of scope, dependencies, and technical challenges across both the FOSS and KIT streams.

It provides the foundation for the subsequent development phases by aligning all contributors on the release scope and expectations.

Further information can be found in the official documentation. Details on how to join are available here: Open Planning Day.

FOSS (Free and Open-Source Software)​

The FOSS section comprises the development of the software in the context of Tractus-X. These components are implemented by dedicated product teams, each responsible for specific functional units. Once development is complete, the section concludes with a final integration and a comprehensive end-to-end testing process to ensure system readiness.

Development Phase​

During this phase, teams are allocated dedicated time to develop and contribute to FOSS components that are part of the overall ecosystem. Product teams work on their assigned components, coordinate with other teams on dependencies, and prepare their deliverables for the upcoming testing phase.

Opt-In/Opt-Out of the Test Phase​

This milestone marks the point at which all teams intending to participate in the upcoming release must create their Release Check Issue. By doing so, they formally indicate their commitment to contribute to the release and provide initial information on their planned deliverables.

Briefing Testing​

The Briefing Testing is an open Tractus-X meeting that provides detailed guidance on roles, responsibilities, and deadlines for the testing phase, ensuring that everyone involved understands their tasks and deliverables.

Details and access can be found here: Briefing Testing.

Feature Freeze​

The Feature Freeze marks a milestone in the release process, at which point no further development of new features or functionality is permitted for this release. This ensures system stability and allows teams to focus exclusively on integration, testing, and defect resolution in preparation for the release.

INT Deployment​

In this phase, the release candidates are deployed on the INT (Integration) environment. This provides the technical basis for the subsequent end-to-end testing across all components.

Kick-off Testing​

The Kick-off Testing is an open Tractus-X meeting held at the start of the E2E test phase in the regular daily slot at 8:30 – 9:00 a.m. It officially marks the beginning of the coordinated testing activities across all product teams.

Details and access can be found here: Kick-off Testing.

Testing Phase​

In this phase, tests are executed and status is reported consistently by the product teams in daily meetings from 8:30 – 9:00 a.m. CET. The phase ensures that all components work seamlessly together and that any remaining defects are identified and resolved before publication.

KITs (Keep It Together)​

KITs are available to everyone as part of the Eclipse Tractus-X open-source project, which facilitates participation in the design and development of KITs. The KIT section comprises the development, review, and finalization of the KITs in the context of Tractus-X.

Development Phase (KITs)​

During this phase, KIT contributors work on the creation and refinement of their KITs. This includes preparing content, aligning with dependent components, and coordinating with reviewers to ensure that the KITs meet the quality expectations of the Tractus-X community.

KIT Review​

The KIT Review phase ensures that all submitted KITs undergo a structured technical and editorial review. Reviewers verify content quality, consistency, and alignment with the overall Tractus-X release before the KITs are officially merged and published.

KIT Initial PR​

The KIT Initial PR marks the point at which KIT creators prepare and submit an initial pull request for their KIT. The initial PR enables reviewers to start their review activities early, allowing feedback to be gathered and addressed in a timely manner. This ensures a smoother review process and better alignment with the open-source contribution standards of Eclipse Tractus-X.

KIT Final PR​

The KIT Final PR marks the deadline by which the finalized pull request must be submitted. Only KITs whose final PR is available by this milestone can be guaranteed to be included in the upcoming release, as reviewers need sufficient time to complete their review before the release closing.

KITs submitted after this deadline cannot be ensured to make it into the release and may be deferred to a later cycle.

Release Closing (Tractus-X)​

The Release Closing section for Tractus-X marks the finalization and publication of all FOSS components and KITs. It ensures that all outputs are complete, verified, and properly documented, providing confidence to all participating teams and external partners that the release meets the agreed quality standards.

Release Finalization​

During this phase, all necessary activities to ensure a smooth and transparent release are carried out. For Tractus-X, this includes the preparation of the changelog and a review of the Release Check Issues. Any outstanding questions are clarified directly with the respective product teams.

Publish Release​

This milestone marks the official publication of the Eclipse Tractus-X release — released in parallel to the Catena-X release. All FOSS components and KITs become publicly available for the ecosystem.

Recap Release​

The Recap Release provides a comprehensive presentation of the release outcomes, including a live system demonstration to showcase the functional and technical progress achieved. It also serves as a joint retrospective and outlook for the next cycle.