What are the release schedules for beta, production, and test environments?

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Instructure products are worked on continuously and include bug fixes, enhancements, and new features, across three environments: beta, production, and test. These environments are accessible through web platforms and mobile apps using the appropriate URL.

Key Information:

• Advance Notice: Release notes provide details about upcoming changes to production.
• Time Zones: Production release dates are local for all regions; other events follow US Mountain Time.
• Subject to Change: Release schedules may change. Check for updates regularly.

• What is the Beta Environment?
• What is the Production Environment?
• What is the Test Environment?
• Canvas Release Calendar Summary

 

What is the Beta Environment?

The beta environment is designed for testing and quality assurance (QA) before changes are implemented in the production environment.

Beta Refresh: Any content added to or modified in the beta environment will be overwritten by content in the production environment. Beta is unavailable during environment refreshes. The duration of this process may vary.

Beta Release: Updated features for the upcoming production release are available. This date varies by product. 

What is the Production Environment?

The production environment is the live system where users engage with the platform daily. 

• Release Timing: Deployment times may vary by institution.
• Accessibility: All production release dates are local to each region.

What is the Test Environment?

The test environment allows admins and instructors to test real data without affecting the production environment, such as adding users, testing course content, and/or troubleshooting issues. The test environment can also be configured with production-ready features, such as access to an institution's login authentication system.

Notes: 

• If your institution lacks access to the test environment, consider using the beta environment for testing.
• Not all tools are available in the test environment. Currently, the following Canvas tools are not available in the test environment:
  • New Quizzes (Canvas LMS)
  • Admin Analytics (Canvas LMS)
  • Canvas Mobile

Test Refresh: Any content added to or modified in the test environment will be overwritten by content in the production environment. Test is unavailable during environment refreshes. The duration of this process may vary.

Test Release: Updated features from the latest production release are available on the first Monday following the production release.

*An exact time when the test environment will be overwritten by production will vary for every organization.

Release Schedule by Product

Product	Release Notes Published	Beta Environment Release	Production Environment Release	Test Environment Release
Canvas Deploy	Second and fourth Friday of the month	Second and fourth Thursday of the month	Second and fourth Wednesday of the month	N/A
Canvas Mobile	As Needed	Not Available	As needed	Not Available
Canvas Release	Third Wednesday of each month	Third Monday of the month.	Third Saturday of the month	First Monday after Production Release
Catalog	Wednesday before release	Tuesdays	Mondays	Not Available
Commons	As Needed	Third Monday of the month- as needed	Third Saturday of the month-as needed	Not Available
Credentials	Wednesday after Beta Release	Monday, two weeks before Production-As Needed	Monday- As Needed	Not Available
Elevate Data Sync	As Needed	Not Available	As Needed - Monthly	Not Available
Elevate Standards Alignment	Last or first Thursday of the month	As Needed	Weekly, As Needed	Not Available
Impact and LTI Usage- Prod	Weekly on Tuesday	Not Available	Continuous	Not Available
Impact - Content	Bi-weekly on Tuesday	Not Available	Bi-Weekly on Tuesday	Not Available
Intelligent Insights	As Needed	Wednesdays	Third Saturday of the month	Not Available
Mastery Connect	Friday-as needed	Not Available	Weekly on Thursday (As needed)	Not Available
Mastery Item Bank	As Needed	Not Available	As Needed	Not Available
Studio	As Needed	As Needed	Wednesdays (as needed)	Not Available

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Environment Refresh Schedule by Product

Product	Beta Environment Refresh	Test Environment Refresh
Canvas	Weekly on Saturday	Monthly on Third Saturday
Catalog	Weekly on Tuesday	N/A
Commons	Weekly on Saturday	Monthly on Third Saturday
Credentials	Weekly on Saturday	N/A
Elevate Data Sync	N/A	N/A
Elevate Standards Alignment	N/A	N/A
Impact and LTI Usage- Prod	N/A	N/A
Impact - Content	N/A	N/A
Intelligent Insights	N/A	N/A
Mastery Connect	N/A	N/A
Mastery Item Bank	N/A	N/A
Studio	N/A	N/A

 

Canvas Release Calendar Summary

The image below displays all events that take place between Canvas production releases. The Canvas release is always the third Saturday of the month. Depending on the calendar month, the Canvas Beta Release Preview and Release Notes, may be adjusted by one week.

Only production release dates are local for all regions. All other events originate from US Mountain time as noted in Instructure Time Zone Communications‌.

Subscription Options:

• Subscribe to the Release Schedule (Google Calendar)
• Download via iCal or HTML

Subscribed calendars automatically reflect updates, including feature deprecations and end-of-life announcements. Downloaded calendars do not include updates.

Release Events Overview:

• Beta Refresh: Weekly, every Saturday.
• Production Release: Third Saturday of each month
• Test Refresh: Third Saturday of each month.
• Test Release: First Monday after production release.

Canvas Release Calendar Example