RHEL 11 Release Date & New Features: CentOS Stream 11, AlmaLinux 11, Rocky Linux 11 Preview
At the end of January 2026, at CentOS Connect 2026 in Brussels, Scott McCarty (lead product manager for RHEL 10) and Brian Stinson (engineering product owner for RHEL 11) publicly discussed RHEL 11 planning for the first time. This is the earliest Red Hat has ever talked about a major release — roughly two and a half years before its expected launch.
If you arrived here searching for RHEL 11, CentOS Stream 11, AlmaLinux 11, or Rocky Linux 11, this page first covers what Red Hat has officially said, then offers release timing predictions for each distribution.
RHEL 11: Confirmed Plans
Section titled “RHEL 11: Confirmed Plans”Release cadence: expected around 2028
Section titled “Release cadence: expected around 2028”RHEL major versions ship on a roughly three-year cycle:
| Version | GA date | Interval |
|---|---|---|
| RHEL 8 | May 2019 | — |
| RHEL 9 | May 2022 | 3 years |
| RHEL 10 | May 2025 | 3 years |
| RHEL 11 | Expected around 2028 (no official date) | ~3 years |
RHEL 11 planning kicked off weeks before RHEL 10 shipped. Red Hat moved its roadmap disclosure from “one year before release” to “two and a half years before release,” and is explicit that only about 60% of the plan has been shared — the rest will be refined with community feedback.
First public roadmap entry: Modularity removal
Section titled “First public roadmap entry: Modularity removal”The very first RHEL 11 item on Red Hat’s Digital Roadmap is a deprecation: RHEL 11 will drop support for DNF Modularity (module streams).
Modularity, introduced in RHEL 8, lets you pick alternate version streams of the same software, e.g. dnf module install postgresql:15. Its complex metadata and maintenance overhead led Red Hat to stop producing most new modules in RHEL 9, and RHEL 10’s AppStream ships no modular content at all (using versioned traditional RPMs instead). RHEL 11 removes the mechanism entirely — Red Hat confirmed the plan in an official blog post in December 2025.
Three carryover themes from RHEL 10
Section titled “Three carryover themes from RHEL 10”These technologies introduced in RHEL 10 continue to evolve into RHEL 11 (some may be completed before RHEL 11 ships):
- PQC (Post-Quantum Cryptography): migrating to quantum-resistant algorithms
- Command Line Assistant: the AI-powered CLI helper (RHEL Lightspeed)
- bootc / image mode: building and updating the OS like a container image
Three new strategic directions
Section titled “Three new strategic directions”1. Constructible OS
The most talked-about concept in RHEL 11 planning. The idea: instead of shipping RHEL as one fixed, predetermined set of software, treat it like a bill of materials (BOM) — assemble OS variants on demand from a pool of pre-built components plus metadata.
The driver is an explosion of hardware and software demands — AI compute, edge computing, and new platforms like ARMv9 and RISC-V keep emerging, and partners such as AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, NVIDIA, and SAP all want to deliver customized solutions on top of RHEL. About 15 such variant requests are already attached to RHEL 11, and the first public pilot is an NVIDIA-focused variant built with the CentOS community.
Another goal is package-level lifecycle and support clarity: showing users exactly who is responsible for each package (including packages inside containers) and at what support level. Red Hat admits the boundaries aren’t defined yet — partner-built variants are very likely, but whether general customers get self-serve assembly is still an open question.
2. An improved RFE process
Today, requesting a feature mostly means calling support and filing a ticket. Red Hat plans a digital workflow: submit new ideas directly on the Digital Roadmap, vote and give feedback on published items — and even floated the idea of an MCP server so your AI assistant could file RFEs for you.
3. A high-touch Beta program
The old “throw an ISO over the wall and see what people say” beta model is being replaced. The new approach follows the bootc and Hummingbird playbook: recruit users to co-develop specific technologies with Red Hat. The canonical example is Visa, which cut fleet-wide update reboot times from ~45 minutes to 5 minutes with bootc — a value proposition only discovered through deep customer collaboration.
A new model for community collaboration
Section titled “A new model for community collaboration”Red Hat says CentOS SIGs (Special Interest Groups) will be a key venue for co-developing RHEL 11 features, while Fedora ELN continues to handle the major-release bootstrap. It stopped short of promising that the majority of development would happen in SIGs, though — sensitive work like market research stays internal.
Red Hat also made three asks of the community: trust over certainty (accept a plan that is only 60% complete), honest feedback (your infrastructure patterns are valuable even if you’re not a customer), and co-develop in the SIGs. For community members, the barrier to participating in RHEL 11 development is lower than at any point in history.
CentOS Stream 11 Prediction
Section titled “CentOS Stream 11 Prediction”CentOS Stream N is the public development branch for RHEL N, typically branching a few months before RHEL N goes GA:
| Version | Stream branch date | Corresponding RHEL GA |
|---|---|---|
| Stream 9 | Early 2021 | May 2022 |
| Stream 10 | Around Dec 2024 | May 2025 |
| Stream 11 | Expected late 2027 to early 2028 | Expected 2028 |
Until Stream 11 exists, Fedora ELN (Enterprise Linux Next) is the best window into RHEL 11 technology choices — kernel, toolchain, and default components.
For reference: RHEL 9 was based on Fedora 34 and RHEL 10 on Fedora 40. By that pattern, RHEL 11 will likely be based on a Fedora release from around 2027 (roughly Fedora 46/47) — this is speculation, but watching Fedora Change proposals is the earliest way to see RHEL 11 take shape.
AlmaLinux 11 & Rocky Linux 11 Predictions
Section titled “AlmaLinux 11 & Rocky Linux 11 Predictions”Both major downstream rebuilds follow their corresponding RHEL release closely. Using EL 10 as a reference:
| Version | RHEL 10 GA | Distro GA | Lag |
|---|---|---|---|
| AlmaLinux 10 | May 20, 2025 | May 27, 2025 | ~1 week |
| Rocky Linux 10 | May 20, 2025 | June 11, 2025 | ~3 weeks |
Downstream follow-up keeps getting faster: Rocky Linux 10 had been building against CentOS Stream 10 since early 2024, and the AlmaLinux 10 Beta shipped five months before the RHEL 10 GA (December 10, 2024). If RHEL 11 ships in 2028, AlmaLinux 11 could follow within a week or two of the GA, and Rocky Linux 11 within about a month. Neither project has made any announcement about version 11 — be skeptical of any “AlmaLinux 11 download” or “Rocky Linux 11 ISO” content you come across.
Predicted Timeline Summary
Section titled “Predicted Timeline Summary”| Milestone | Expected timing | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Fedora ELN continuously building the RHEL 11 base | Ongoing | Officially confirmed |
| CentOS Stream 11 branch | Late 2027 – early 2028 | Historical pattern |
| RHEL 11 Beta | Late 2027 – 2028 | Historical pattern |
| RHEL 11 GA | Around 2028 | Red Hat hinted, not announced |
| AlmaLinux 11 / Rocky Linux 11 | ~1 week–1 month after RHEL 11 GA | Historical pattern |
What to Do Now
Section titled “What to Do Now”- New deployments: go with the EL 10 family (see the Distro Overview); EL 11 is far enough out that it shouldn’t affect current decisions
- Audit Modularity usage (EL 8/9 environments): run
dnf module list --enabledon existing systems and plan replacements early - Plan your upgrade path: review the EL 8 to EL 9 and EL 9 to EL 10 upgrade guides — the process for EL 11 will be similar
- Want to get involved: follow CentOS SIGs and Fedora ELN — the officially designated entry points for RHEL 11 community collaboration
Frequently Asked Questions
Section titled “Frequently Asked Questions”When will RHEL 11 be released?
Section titled “When will RHEL 11 be released?”Red Hat has not announced an official date. Based on the three-year cadence of RHEL 8/9/10 and Red Hat’s early-2026 statement that release is about two and a half years away, RHEL 11 is expected around 2028.
Is CentOS Stream 11 available yet?
Section titled “Is CentOS Stream 11 available yet?”No. Based on historical patterns, CentOS Stream 11 is expected to branch a few months before the RHEL 11 GA (late 2027 to early 2028). Until then, Fedora ELN is the best window into RHEL 11 technology choices.
Can I download AlmaLinux 11 or Rocky Linux 11 now?
Section titled “Can I download AlmaLinux 11 or Rocky Linux 11 now?”No. Neither project has announced version 11. Based on how quickly the EL 10 rebuilds followed, expect AlmaLinux 11 within a week or two of the RHEL 11 GA and Rocky Linux 11 within about a month. Any content currently claiming to offer AlmaLinux 11 or Rocky Linux 11 downloads should not be trusted.
What features will RHEL 11 remove?
Section titled “What features will RHEL 11 remove?”The first confirmed removal is DNF Modularity (module streams), replaced by versioned traditional RPM packages. Environments still using module streams on EL 8/9 should audit dnf module usage and plan migration early.
What is the biggest new feature in RHEL 11?
Section titled “What is the biggest new feature in RHEL 11?”The most notable direction so far is Constructible OS — assembling OS variants on demand from a pool of pre-built components, like a bill of materials. It is still in early planning and details may change.
Sources
Section titled “Sources”- Inside the RHEL 11 Planning Room (CentOS Connect 2026 talk) — Scott McCarty & Brian Stinson, Jan 30, 2026
- Red Hat’s official announcement: Modularity removal in RHEL 11 — December 2025, the first officially announced RHEL 11 change
- Scott McCarty’s talk summary
- Red Hat Digital Roadmap — RHEL 11 entries updated over time
- EL Version Timeline — release and lifecycle summary for all EL versions