Project present and future

The next scheduled minor release is version 1.34.0, set for May 15th, 2026

Features planned for version 1.34

Scheduled release date: May 15th, 2026

See the GitHub issue tracker for all 1.34 issues.

Goals for 1.x

All Backdrop 1.x releases will include new features that do not require API breaks. A subset of proposed topics are listed below. Please note: our priorities may change based on the most urgent needs of the Backdrop community.

General Goals

  1. A more intuitive administrative interface with every release.
  2. Improved the experience for those new to Backdrop CMS.
  3. Ensure that a transition from Drupal 7 is as smooth as possible.
  4. More TBD!

Specific Goals

  1. Automatic core updates (push-button core updates have been available since 1.11).
  2. Improved multilingual support (especially for RTL languages).
  3. More TBD!

Goals for 2.0

As of March 2026, there are no specific plans for a 2.0 branch of Backdrop CMS. We are currently able to do everything we want in the minor releases that come out 3 times per year.

Backdrop version 1 will continue to be supported until Backdrop version 3 is released.

Backdrop 2.0 will include the removal of deprecated functions, and will most likely include changes in HTML markup which may require updates to themes. 

The upgrade from Backdrop 1 to Backdrop 2 (if it happens) will be easier than the upgrade between major Drupal versions.

See the GitHub issue tracker for more 2.x issues for a set of proposed changes that cannot happen during the 1.x cycle.

See the summary of discussions that took place in early 2024.