Swift 6.3 Release Process
This post describes the release process, and estimated schedule for Swift 6.3.
Snapshots of Swift 6.3
Downloadable snapshots of the Swift 6.3 release branch will be posted regularly as part of continuous integration testing. As support is available, snapshot downloads will be added for newly supported platforms.
Once Swift 6.3 is released, the official final builds will also be posted in addition to the snapshots.
Getting Changes into Swift 6.3
On November 12th, 2025 the release/6.3 branch will be cut from main in the swift repository and related project repositories. This will contain the changes that will be released in Swift 6.3. After the branch is cut, changes can be landed on the branch via pull request if they meet the criteria for the release.
Philosophy on Taking Changes into Swift 6.3
- All language and API changes for Swift 6.3 will go through the Swift Evolution process. Evolution proposals should aim to be completed by the branch date in order to increase their chances of impacting the Swift 6.3 release. Exceptions will be considered on a case-by-case basis, particularly if they tie in with the core goal of the release.
- Other changes (e.g., bug fixes, diagnostic improvements, SourceKit interface improvements) will be accepted based on their risk and impact.
- Low-risk test tweaks will also be accepted late into the release branch if it aids in the qualification of the release.
- As the release converges, the criteria for accepted changes will become increasingly restrictive.
Impacted Repositories
The following repositories will have a release/6.3 branch to track
sources as part of Swift 6.3 release:
- indexstore-db
- sourcekit-lsp
- swift-build
- swift-cmark
- swift-corelibs-blocksruntime
- swift-corelibs-foundation
- swift-corelibs-libdispatch
- swift-corelibs-xctest
- swift-docc-render-artifact
- swift-docc-render
- swift-docc-symbolkit
- swift-docc
- swift-driver
- swift-experimental-string-processing
- swift-format
- swift-foundation-icu
- swift-foundation
- swift-integration-tests
- swift-llbuild
- swift-llvm-bindings
- swift-lmdb
- swift-markdown
- swift-package-manager
- swift-stress-tester
- swift-syntax
- swift-testing
- swift-tools-support-core
- swift-xcode-playground-support
- swift
The llvm-project will have a corresponding swift/release/6.3 branch from stable/21.x.
Release Managers
The overall management of the release will be overseen by the following individuals, who will announce when stricter control of change goes into effect for the Swift 6.3 release as the release converges.
- Ben Cohen (@Ben_Cohen, GitHub: airspeedswift) is the overall release manager for Swift 6.3.
- Holly Borla (@hborla , GitHub: hborla) is the release manager for the Swift Compiler, sourcekit-lsp, indexstore-db, swift-syntax, and swift-stress-tester.
- Ravi Kandhadai Madhavan (@ravikandhadai, GitHub: ravimad) is the release manager for llvm-project.
- Fred Riss (@Frederic_Riss, GitHub: fredriss) is the release manager for LLDB in llvm-project.
- Steve Canon (@scanon, GitHub: stephentyrone) is the release manager for the Swift Standard Library.
- Tony Parker (@Tony_Parker, GitHub: parkera) is the release manager for swift-corelibs-foundation, swift-foundation, and swift-foundation-icu.
- Aaron Morrison (@akmorrison, GitHub: akmorrison) is the release manager for swift-corelibs-libdispatch.
- Stuart Montgomery (@smontgomery , GitHub: stmontgomery) is the release manager for swift-corelibs-xctest and swift-testing.
- Robert Connell (@rconnell , GitHub: rconnell9) is the release manager for swift-package-manager, swift-build, swift-llbuild and swift-tools-support-core.
- Franklin Schrans (@franklin, GitHub: franklinsch) is the release manager for swift-docc, swift-lmdb, swift-docc-render, swift-docc-render-artifact, swift-docc-symbolkit.
- Vera Mitchell (@QuietMisdreavus , GitHub: QuietMisdreavus) is the release manager for swift-markdown and swift-cmark
- Tony Allevato (@allevato, GitHub: allevato) is the release manager for swift-format.
Platform Release Managers
- Nicole Jacque (@Nicole_Jacque, GitHub: najacque) is the release manager for the Darwin platform.
- Mishal Shah (@mishal_shah , GitHub: shahmishal) is the release manager for Linux, WASM and FreeBSD platforms.
- Saleem Abdulrasool (@compnerd, GitHub: compnerd) is the release manager for the Windows platform.
- Marc Prud'hommeaux (@marcprux , GitHub: marcprux) is the release manager for Swift SDK for Android.
- Mishal Shah (@mishal_shah, GitHub: shahmishal) will be the release coordinator responsible for production of nightly and release snapshots and coordinating sign-off on repositories and platforms for the release.
Please feel free to post on the development forum or contact Ted Kremenek directly concerning any questions about the release management process.
Pull Requests for Release Branch
In order for a pull request to be considered for inclusion in the release branch (release/6.3 ) after it has been cut, the pull request must have:
- A title starting with a designation containing the release version number of the target branch.
- This form filled out in its description. An item that is not applicable may be left blank or completed with an indication thereof, but must not be omitted altogether.
To switch to this template when drafting a pull request in a swiftlang repository in a browser, append the template=release.md query parameter to the current URL and refresh. For example:
-https://github.com/swiftlang/swift/compare/main...my-branch?quick_pull=1
+https://github.com/swiftlang/swift/compare/main...my-branch?quick_pull=1&template=release.md
All changes going on the release/6.3 branch must go through pull requests that are accepted by the corresponding release manager.