Backdrop 1.33.1 Release checklist

[jenlampton]

Release scheduled for January 25, 2026 2pm - 10pm PT

Pre-release tasks

• Merge commits @quicksketch
• Create the next bugfix milestone @jenlampton
• Move all unfinished issues to the next bugfix release milestone @jenlampton
• Review all closed issues in milestone: @jenlampton
  • Issue titles should include a complete, but very brief summary of the problem.
  • Bug issue titles should start with Fix or Fixed,
  • New feature issue titles should start with Add or Added.
  • Each issue should have accurate labels, especially the "type - " labels.
• Close the milestone @quicksketch
• Draft Release notes @jenlampton
  • Include a short, descriptive summary of the release, for example:
    • "Maintenance release for Backdrop CMS. This update contains bug fixes and usability improvements only."
  • Include a section heading ## Notes for updating*
    • Note if any changes were made to files outside the core directory, for example:
      • - No changes have been made to the `.htaccess`, `robots.txt` or default `settings.php` files in this release. Updating customized versions of those files is not necessary.
      • See this example for updates to .htaccess
      • See this example or this example for updates to settings.php
    • Note if updates (update.php) needs to be run, for example:
      • Use the text The database update script does **not** need to be run.
      • or **It will be necessary to run the update script** (located at /core/update.php) for this release.
      • Note: you can use this command to see if any install files were changed:
        ls -1 core/modules/*/*.install | while read filename; do echo "$(git log -1 --pretty="format:%ad %f" --date=format:"%F %R" -- $filename)" $filename; done|sort
  • Include a section heading ## Changes since version 1.xx.x
    • Navigate to Actions
    • Select the most recent time "Release Notes Generator" has been run.
    • Download the release-notes artifact attached to the generator.
    • Unzip the file, and copy/pate contents into release notes draft.
      • Move the headings to H3, add another # before the ## to get ###.
    • Remove any square brackets in the titles, and move those issues to their own section.

Release tasks

• Update bootstrap.inc with version number @quicksketch
• Tag for release, and push tag to GitHub @quicksketch
• Revert version number back @quicksketch
• Create release notes on GitHub, and publish release @quicksketch
• Post/Tweet/Toot/Skeet that a new release is out (assignments below)
  • Use text like "There is a bug-fix release out for #BackdropCMS today, version 1.33.1: https://backdropcms.org."
  • Post to Bluesky @stpaultim
  • Post to Mastodon @stpaultim
  • Post to Twitter @stpaultim

Immediate Post-release tasks

• Update Tugboat @klonos
• Update Composer @herbdool
• Update Docker @Wylbur
• Update Pantheon @herbdool
• Update Platform.sh @herbdool
• Update Amezmo @jenlampton
• Update DrupalForge @izmeez
• Update the Wikipedia articles @klonos
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Template:BackdropCMS_version&action=edit -
    • Auto applied to:
      • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backdrop_CMS
      • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_content_management_systems

Backdrop's Website updates

• backdropcms.org @jenlampton
• beta.backdropcms.org @bugfolder
• docs.backdropcms.org @jenlampton
• events.backdropcms.org @jenlampton
• forum.backdropcms.org @jenlampton
• localize.backdropcms.org @jenlampton

See Also

• Checklist for 1.33.0 release

[quicksketch]

All PRs for 1.33.1 have been merged and we can begin the release process.

Release notes draft:

---

Maintenance release for Backdrop CMS. This update contains bug fixes and usability improvements only. This release focuses on fixing regressions found in the 1.33.0 release.

Notes for updating

• It is not necessary to run the update script (located at /core/update.php) for this release.
• No changes have been made to the .htaccess, robots.txt or default settings.php files in this release. Updating customized versions of those files is not necessary.

Changes since version 1.33.0

Bug fixes

• Call to undefined function cache() in system_list() error on PHP 7.1 #7061
• Regression when contrib modules call _field_filter_items() #7058
• Regression in contrib modules using text_field_is_empty() with only 2 parameters #7057
• Layout additional paths are displayed as overrides even if they're not, in some cases #7053
• Taxonomy term pages with image put image at bottom of page for only 1 or 2 items with that term #7060

Miscellaneous changes

• Improve dropdown menu labels for touch/click behavior #4253
• The page content type now defaults to not having scheduling on new installs #3795

[quicksketch]

The 1.33.1 release is now out: https://github.com/backdrop/backdrop/releases/tag/1.33.1

[laryn]

Pantheon upstream was updated yesterday.

[herbdool]

We should update the template for these releases. New people assigned to some items.