TL;DR: The release previously tested as TrueNAS 26 is now TrueNAS 27, starting with RC.1 in October 2026, because most users will run it during 2027 and the community asked for version numbers that match the year a release is deployed. The schedule is unchanged, and TrueNAS 27.0 still releases in early December 2026.
The release many of you have been testing as TrueNAS 26 has a new name. Starting with RC.1, available October 6th, it is TrueNAS 27.
If you don’t care about version numbers and want to dive into the details or get to the downloads, please read the RC.1 feature blog.
Why the Change?
Most of you will deploy this release during 2027, and many of you will run it well beyond that. A chorus of voices in the TrueNAS Community suggested that the version number should reflect the year you actually run it, not necessarily the year it was released. Think of a car’s model year: the 2027 model arrives in the fall of 2026, and nobody expects it to be called the 2026. We were persuaded by that argument and had the time to make the change. So, we changed it!
We are also simplifying how we number releases. We previously used a year-and-month format (e.g. TrueNAS 25.10, 25.04, 24.10, etc). Now that TrueNAS has moved to one major release a year, the month no longer tells you anything useful. Going forward, each major release is named for the year most of you will deploy it: TrueNAS 27 now, TrueNAS 28 next. Within TrueNAS 27, the dot releases are purely sequential and not tied to any month. The RELEASE version will be 27.0.
Why does it Matter?
A version number is often the first thing a security review or audit looks at. Linux, one of the core foundations of TrueNAS, has published over 7,000 kernel CVEs in 2026 at the time of writing.
TrueNAS 27 is built with Linux kernel 6.18 and OpenZFS 2.4, and it will continue to receive frequent updates through the 27.x releases.
Why Now?
RC.1 is the point where many more of our customers and community members start running this release train. Changing the name now means TrueNAS 27.0 ships with its final name from day one, so documentation, upgrade paths, and support conversations never have to translate between two names.
What Does NOT Change?
The schedule. TrueNAS 27.0 will still be released in early December of 2026. The code and feature set will largely stay the same.
Largely, you say?
Because we’ve made some additions since our Beta.3! To see what’s new and enhanced in TrueNAS 27 RC.1, read the RC.1 announcement for the details and new features.