New Terminology for GitHub Previews

As part of our commitment to improving your experience at GitHub, we’re simplifying the terminology we use to refer to products that are in testing and validation stages. Starting on October 18, 2024, you’ll start seeing the word “Preview” instead of “Alpha” or “Beta” to describe our features that are not yet generally available.

What’s Changing?

Our goal with this update is to create a more consistent, clear process that helps our customers understand the state of new features and how they fit into their development workflows.

• As shown in the table below, we’re reducing the number of terms we’re using but keeping the same flexibility for giving early access and gathering customer feedback before a General Availability (GA) launch.
• The key difference between “Private” and “Public” previews is whether the release is publicly announced.

What to Expect

These changes are now live in customer-facing documentation as of today.

Here’s an overview of the changes:

Thanks for being part of the GitHub community! These updates are designed to provide clearer communication and a smoother experience as we roll out new features.