Nam Chung

Welcome to Gibbon v30.0.00 (Nam Chung)

Marking a milestone release and 15 years of development, Gibbon v30 includes two new core modules, both designed to improve school communication and workflow: Calendar and Student Alerts. This release also includes improvements to the Timetable, a new Pastoral heading in the main menu, a photo history to store user images from previous years, tools for admins to troubleshoot user accounts, and a host of other improvements.

Gibbon v30 is a recommended update for current installations. Please note that the minimum system requirements have increased to PHP 8.0 and MySQL 8.0. Our thanks to Ali Maharramli for his help to analyze and identify security improvements for Gibbon. Information about our security policy can be found on our GitHub repository.

The Gibbon Foundation

The development of Gibbon is enabled by the Gibbon Foundation, a non-profit body that oversees the development, maintenance and long-term health of the Gibbon open source project.

If your organisation values what Gibbon offers, please consider supporting our work by becoming a Foundation Member or making a one-time donation. Learn more here.

Gibbon v30 also brings three new languages to production: Catalan, Japanese and Portuguese. Our continued thanks go out to our hard working Gibbon translators: powered by their efforts, Gibbon is now available in 29 languages. If you would like to volunteer to translate Gibbon into your language, please email support@gibbonedu.org.

“Nam Chung (Chinese: 南涌; pinyin: Nán Chōng) is an area in the north eastern New Territories of Hong Kong, west of Luk Keng and to the southwest of the Starling Inlet (Sha Tau Kok Hoi), opposite Sha Tau Kok. ” - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nam_Chung

In 1951, one of Hong Kong’s last known South China tigers, now known as the “Nam Chung Tiger” was involved in an “attack on a pig” near Nam Chung village, a reminder of Hong Kong’s wild and diverse ecological legacy - via The Last Tigers of Hong Kong by John Saeki

Important Notes for v30.0.00

• Gibbon requires a minimum PHP version of 8.0 and MySQL version of 8.0. Please check to ensure your server supports this requirement. Gibbon v30 supports up to PHP 8.3, which is currently the highest recommended version.
• Always backup your files and database before upgrading.
• See the Updating Gibbon guide for detailed steps.
• Our Gibbon Development Road Map includes our GitHub branch, project board and future release dates. Take a look at https://docs.gibbonedu.org/development/gibbon-road-map.

Ma On Shan

Welcome to Gibbon v29.0.00 (Ma On Shan).

Gibbon v29 features a redesigned timetable, which is more informative and offers quick-toggle layers: this work continues the visual refresh introduced in our last release. v29 also includes an improved Library view in Student Profile, Petty Cash tracking, Behaviour observations, colour-coded Markbook columns and a host of other improvements.

Thanks to Pablo Salinas (Pb3l1t0) for his help to analyze and identify security improvements for Gibbon. Following his recommendations, v29 now includes improved form security with CSRF and nonce token handling.

Gibbon Foundation

The development of Gibbon is enabled by the Gibbon Foundation, a non-profit body that oversees the development, maintenance and long-term health of the Gibbon open source project.

Gibbon adds value to a wide range of schools and organisations around the world, without any fees or licencing costs. Our focus is on quality education for all, not profit, and we believe that this is how school software should be. Nonetheless, building and maintaining quality software comes with costs, which have grown in proportion with the size of our community.

Please join us here if you are interested in supporting the ongoing development of Gibbon. Thank you!

Translation

Our continued thanks go out to our hard working Gibbon translators: powered by their efforts, Gibbon is now available in 26 languages! If you would like to volunteer to translate Gibbon into your language, please email support@gibbonedu.org.

“Ma On Shan (Chinese: 馬鞍山; lit. 'Horse Saddle Peak') is a saddle-shaped peak in east of Tolo Harbour in the New Territories of Hong Kong. With a height of 702 metres, it stands among the ten highest mountains in Hong Kong.” - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma_On_Shan_(peak)

IMPORTANT NOTES FOR v29.0.00

• Gibbon requires a minimum PHP version of 7.4 and MySQL version of 5.7. Please check to ensure your server supports this requirement. Gibbon v29 supports up to PHP 8.3 and MySQL 8.0, which are currently the highest recommended versions.

• Always backup your files and database before upgrading.

• See the Updating Gibbon guide for detailed steps.

• Our Gibbon Development Road Map includes our GitHub branch, project board and future release dates. Take a look at https://docs.gibbonedu.org/development/gibbon-road-map.

Lam Tsuen (Update)

Welcome to Gibbon v28.0.01 (Lam Tsuen).

Gibbon v28 sports an exciting front-end refresh powered by HTMX and Alpine.js, replacing jQuery and various other front-end libraries. As well as considerable improvements to the UI, this refresh also includes quick-save forms, a nicer Fast Finder and snappier, more app-like page loads. v28 also includes a new Activities registration system, a new Mailing List feature in Messenger, more intuitive password policy visuals, and a raft of other improvements.

In addition, ownership of all Core modules has now been visibly moved to the Gibbon Foundation, where they are joined by the majority of our Additional modules. Via the Foundation we are also working on a new supporter system, which will allow schools to choose to donate ongoing financial support to our project, allowing us to ensure Gibbon’s long term future. In the meantime, if you’d like to offer us a leg-up on this front, please consider using the buttons below to make a one-time donation:

USD $10 | USD $50 | USD $100 | USD $500 | USD $1,000 | Other Amount

Our continued thanks go out to our hard working Gibbon translators: powered by their efforts, Gibbon is now available in 26 languages! If you would like to volunteer to translate Gibbon into your language, please email support@gibbonedu.org.

“Lam Tsuen (Chinese: 林村) is an area in Tai Po District, Hong Kong, noted for its Lam Tsuen wishing trees. During the Qing dynasty, Lam Tsuen was a member of Tai Po Tsat Yeuk ('Tai Po Seven Alliances'), an inter-village alliance that established Tai Wo Market in 1892 in order to break the monopoly of the old Tai Po Market.” - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lam_Tsuen

IMPORTANT NOTES FOR v28.0.01

• Gibbon requires a minimum PHP version of 7.4 and MySQL version of 5.7. Please check to ensure your server supports this requirement. Gibbon v28 supports up to PHP 8.2 and MySQL 8.0, which are currently the highest recommended versions.

• If you are running Gibbon on PHP 8.3+, it is recommended to turn off deprecation messages through php.ini, as these messages are only intended for development purposes.

• Always backup your files and database before upgrading.

• If you are upgrading, please read the Changes With Important Notices section of /CHANGELOG.txt before you install, to see if your upgrade requires any manual intervention.

• Our Gibbon Development Road Map, will be updated shortly, and will include our GitHub branch and project board for v28 and future release dates. Take a look at the Gibbon Road Map

Gibbon Mapping Project

We are continuing to build a map of schools using Gibbon and/or Free Learning, and we’d love to know about your usage. If you have a moment, please complete our 3-minute form: https://bit.ly/3idoTWw

Updates
06/12/2024 - Released v28.0.01 to apply fixes and visual tweaks following the v28 release.
09/12/2024 - Re-released v28.0.01 to correct a message wall visual issue.

Lam Tsuen

Welcome to Gibbon v28.0.00 (Lam Tsuen).

Gibbon v28 sports an exciting front-end refresh powered by HTMX and Alpine.js, replacing jQuery and various other front-end libraries. As well as considerable improvements to the UI, this refresh also includes quick-save forms, a nicer Fast Finder and snappier, more app-like page loads. v28 also includes a new Activities registration system, a new Mailing List feature in Messenger, more intuitive password policy visuals, and a raft of other improvements.

In addition, ownership of all Core modules has now been visibly moved to the Gibbon Foundation, where they are joined by the majority of our Additional modules. Via the Foundation we are also working on a new supporter system, which will allow schools to choose to donate ongoing financial support to our project, allowing us to ensure Gibbon’s long term future. In the meantime, if you’d like to offer us a leg-up on this front, please consider using the buttons below to make a one-time donation:

USD $10 | USD $50 | USD $100 | USD $500 | USD $1,000 | Other Amount

Our continued thanks go out to our hard working Gibbon translators: powered by their efforts, Gibbon is now available in 26 languages! If you would like to volunteer to translate Gibbon into your language, please email support@gibbonedu.org.

“Lam Tsuen (Chinese: 林村) is an area in Tai Po District, Hong Kong, noted for its Lam Tsuen wishing trees. During the Qing dynasty, Lam Tsuen was a member of Tai Po Tsat Yeuk ('Tai Po Seven Alliances'), an inter-village alliance that established Tai Wo Market in 1892 in order to break the monopoly of the old Tai Po Market.” - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lam_Tsuen

IMPORTANT NOTES FOR v28.0.00

• Gibbon requires a minimum PHP version of 7.4 and MySQL version of 5.7. Please check to ensure your server supports this requirement. Gibbon v28 supports up to PHP 8.2 and MySQL 8.0, which are currently the highest recommended versions.

• If you are running Gibbon on PHP 8.3+, it is recommended to turn off deprecation messages through php.ini, as these messages are only intended for development purposes.

• Always backup your files and database before upgrading.

• If you are upgrading, please read the Changes With Important Notices section of /CHANGELOG.txt before you install, to see if your upgrade requires any manual intervention.

• Our Gibbon Development Road Map, will be updated shortly, and will include our GitHub branch and project board for v28 and future release dates. Take a look at the Gibbon Road Map

Gibbon Mapping Project

We are continuing to build a map of schools using Gibbon and/or Free Learning, and we’d love to know about your usage. If you have a moment, please complete our 3-minute form: https://bit.ly/3idoTWw

Lam Tsuen (v28 pre-release)

Dear Gibbon community, this is a pre-release of the upcoming v28.0.00 release, scheduled for November 20, 2024. This pre-release is aimed for users who wish to help us test the UI refresh and offer feedback before the full release. Please do not use this as an update for production environments, as it is development code designed for testing purposes only. Thanks!

2024-11-03: Re-pre-release to fix installer issue.

Kadoorie Farm (Update)

Welcome to Gibbon v27 (Kadoorie Farm). This version brings a wide range of backend enhancements, including improved PHP 8.2 compatibility, updates to Google OAuth and jQuery libraries, date localization, and loads of ongoing refactoring. The frontend offers a fresh new UI for the Library module and an auto-save system when creating new lesson plans.

Our first attempt at an April release was scuppered by upstream Google integration changes, and so this version has arrived in May instead. The extra time has been used for quality control, with the aim of offering a stable version at release. Going forward we plan to stick as closely as possible to our new April/November 20th release cycle.

The Gibbon Foundation is now fully up and running, representing a massive milestone for our community. We hope to announce a new supporter system in November (alongside v28), which will allow schools to choose to donate ongoing financial support to our project, allowing us to ensure Gibbon’s long term future. In the meantime, if you’d like to offer us a leg-up on this front, please consider using the buttons below to make a one-time donation:

USD $10 | USD $50 | USD $100 | USD $500 | USD $1,000 | Other Amount

Gibbon v27 improves type-checking and support for PHP 8.2, with a continued minimum requirement of PHP 7.4 and MySQL 5.7. If you’re running Gibbon on PHP 8.3+, it is still recommended to turn off deprecation messages through php.ini, as these messages are only intended for development purposes.

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who continues to work hard to translate Gibbon into their own language. Thanks to your ongoing efforts Gibbon is available in 24 languages! If you would like to volunteer to translate Gibbon into your language, please email support@gibbonedu.org.

“Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden (KFBG) (Chinese: 嘉道理農場暨植物園), was originally set up to aid poor farmers in the New Territories in Hong Kong. It later shifted its focus to promote biodiversity conservation in Hong Kong and south China, and greater environmental awareness. It is located near Pak Ngau Shek, encompassing Kwun Yam Shan in the central New Territories; The Farm was built in a valley with streams, woodlands and terraces in 1956 by the Kadoorie Agricultural Aid Association. Now it is managed to integrate nature conservation, including a rescue and rehabilitation programme for native animals, along with holistic education and practices in support of a transition to sustainable living.” - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kadoorie_Farm_and_Botanic_Garden

IMPORTANT NOTES FOR v27.0.01

• Gibbon requires a minimum PHP version of 7.4 and MySQL version of 5.7. Please check to ensure your server supports this requirement. Gibbon v27 supports up to PHP 8.2 and MySQL 8.0, which are currently the highest recommended versions.

• Always backup your files and database before upgrading.

• If you are upgrading, please read the Changes With Important Notices section of /CHANGELOG.txt before you install, to see if your upgrade requires any manual intervention.

• Our Gibbon Development Road Map, will be updated shortly, and will include our GitHub branch and project board for v28 and future release dates. Take a look at https://docs.gibbonedu.org/developers/getting-started/gibbon-road-map

Gibbon Mapping Project

We are continuing to build a map of schools using Gibbon and/or Free Learning, and we’d love to know about your usage. If you have a moment, please complete our 3-minute form: https://bit.ly/3idoTWw

22/05/2024: Re-released to fix a user image issue discovered post-release
07/06/2024: Released v27.0.01 to fix Admissions acceptance and submission emails not sending

Kadoorie Farm

Welcome to Gibbon v27.0.00 (Kadoorie Farm). This version brings a wide range of backend enhancements, including improved PHP 8.2 compatibility, updates to Google OAuth and jQuery libraries, date localization, and loads of ongoing refactoring. The frontend offers a fresh new UI for the Library module and an auto-save system when creating new lesson plans.

Our first attempt at an April release was scuppered by upstream Google integration changes, and so this version has arrived in May instead. The extra time has been used for quality control, with the aim of offering a stable version at release. Going forward we plan to stick as closely as possible to our new April/November 20th release cycle.

The Gibbon Foundation is now fully up and running, representing a massive milestone for our community. We hope to announce a new supporter system in November (alongside v28), which will allow schools to choose to donate ongoing financial support to our project, allowing us to ensure Gibbon’s long term future. In the meantime, if you’d like to offer us a leg-up on this front, please consider using the buttons below to make a one-time donation:

USD $10 | USD $50 | USD $100 | USD $500 | USD $1,000 | Other Amount

Gibbon v27 improves type-checking and support for PHP 8.2, with a continued minimum requirement of PHP 7.4 and MySQL 5.7. If you’re running Gibbon on PHP 8.3+, it is still recommended to turn off deprecation messages through php.ini, as these messages are only intended for development purposes.

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who continues to work hard to translate Gibbon into their own language. Thanks to your ongoing efforts Gibbon is available in 24 languages! If you would like to volunteer to translate Gibbon into your language, please email support@gibbonedu.org.

“Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden (KFBG) (Chinese: 嘉道理農場暨植物園), was originally set up to aid poor farmers in the New Territories in Hong Kong. It later shifted its focus to promote biodiversity conservation in Hong Kong and south China, and greater environmental awareness. It is located near Pak Ngau Shek, encompassing Kwun Yam Shan in the central New Territories; The Farm was built in a valley with streams, woodlands and terraces in 1956 by the Kadoorie Agricultural Aid Association. Now it is managed to integrate nature conservation, including a rescue and rehabilitation programme for native animals, along with holistic education and practices in support of a transition to sustainable living.” - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kadoorie_Farm_and_Botanic_Garden

IMPORTANT NOTES FOR v27.0.00

• Gibbon requires a minimum PHP version of 7.4 and MySQL version of 5.7. Please check to ensure your server supports this requirement. Gibbon v27 supports up to PHP 8.2 and MySQL 8.0, which are currently the highest recommended versions.

• Always backup your files and database before upgrading.

• If you are upgrading, please read the Changes With Important Notices section of /CHANGELOG.txt before you install, to see if your upgrade requires any manual intervention.

• Our Gibbon Development Road Map, will be updated shortly, and will include our GitHub branch and project board for v28 and future release dates. Take a look at https://docs.gibbonedu.org/developers/getting-started/gibbon-road-map

Gibbon Mapping Project

We are continuing to build a map of schools using Gibbon and/or Free Learning, and we’d love to know about your usage. If you have a moment, please complete our 3-minute form: https://bit.ly/3idoTWw

22/05/2024: Re-released to fix a user image issue discovered post-release

Joss House Bay

Welcome to Gibbon v26.0.00 (Joss House Bay). This version featured an extended development cycle that focused on maintenance, stability and security. During this release cycle we worked with a number of security researchers to scan and test Gibbon, as explained in our v25.0.01 release notes.

In order to better fit with the school year we have updated our release cycle dates: going forward these will switch from January/June 20th to April/November 20th.

Over the past few years we have been working with lawyers, accountants and advisors to set up the Gibbon Foundation, a non-profit entity incorporated in Hong Kong. The foundation aims to protect and strengthen the project, and we are delighted to announce that it is now up and running. This opens the possibility for fundraising and donations to further support the development of Gibbon as a sustainable, global project. More news on this front will be shared in the coming months.

We are also pleased to announce that the copyright of the Gibbon codebase has been officially transferred from Ross Parker, the founder of Gibbon, to the Gibbon Foundation. This change represents a milestone in the growth and sustainability of the project and its community.

Gibbon v26 raises minimum requirements to PHP 7.4 and MySQL 5.7, enabling us to continue to modernize the codebase and use functionality from newer versions of these languages. Please check your system compatibility before upgrading. As PHP 8.2+ introduces several new deprecations and strict type checking requirements, testing for this version is ongoing. If you’re running Gibbon on PHP 8.2+, it’s recommended to turn off deprecation messages through php.ini, as these messages are only intended for development purposes.

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who continues to work hard to translate Gibbon into their own language. Thanks to your ongoing efforts Gibbon is available in 24 languages! If you would like to volunteer to translate Gibbon into your language, please email support@gibbonedu.org.

“Joss House Bay, also known as Tai Miu Wan (大廟灣), is near the south end of Clear Water Bay Peninsula in Hong Kong. The Cantonese name Tai Miu Wan means "the bay of large temple" after the oldest Tin Hau Temple in Hong Kong. The Tin Hau Temple was a large joss house built in 1266. It is the oldest and biggest Tin Hau Temple in Hong Kong so it is called the Big Temple.” - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joss_House_Bay

IMPORTANT NOTES FOR v26.0.00

• As of v26, Gibbon now requires a minimum PHP version of 7.4 and MySQL version of 5.7. Please check to ensure your server supports this requirement before upgrading. Gibbon v26 supports up to PHP 8.2 and MySQL 8.0, which are the highest recommended versions.

• Always backup your files and database before upgrading.

• If you are upgrading, please read the Changes With Important Notices section of /CHANGELOG.txt before you install, to see if your upgrade requires any manual intervention.

• Our Gibbon Development Road Map, will be updated shortly, and will include our GitHub branch and project board for v27 and future release dates. Take a look at https://docs.gibbonedu.org/developers/getting-started/gibbon-road-map

Gibbon Mapping Project

We are continuing to build a map of schools using Gibbon and/or Free Learning, and we’d love to know about your usage. If you have a moment, please complete our 3-minute form: https://bit.ly/3idoTWw

Ice House Street (Maintenance & Security Release)

Gibbon v25.0.01 is a Maintenance & Security release that improves key areas of the system without adding new features. All schools are encouraged to update their systems to this version to keep their system up-to-date and secure.

Our primary aim for the current development cycle has been to focus on the overall stability and security of Gibbon. In doing so, we have hired a security firm, RSM Hong Kong, to analyze Gibbon and identify areas of security to improve. During that time, we have also been in touch with external security researchers who continue to analyze open source projects and notify developers of areas of concern.

We would like to thank the following teams and individuals for their contributions to help analyze and identify improvements for Gibbon:

• Christian Pöschl and the usd AG’s Responsible Disclosure Team
• Diego Alejandro Guancha Naranjo, Independent Researcher
• Mario Klawuhn and the Aware7 Security Research Team
• The security research team at RSM Hong Kong
• Dr. Ahmad Abbadi, Independent Gibbon User

Based on the security improvements we’ve made these past months, as well as bug fixes that have arisen during this time, we have put together v25.0.01 as a Maintenance & Security release for the Gibbon community. We encourage schools to update to this version, rather than waiting until the next version, as in keeping with best practices for securing software, details of the security research will be published in CVE databases and in GitHub in due course.

---

Welcome to Gibbon v25.0.00 (Ice House Street). This release includes a new tool for visually managing internal staff coverage, making teacher substitutions easier than ever. In addition we have supercharged the timetable, which now displays activities and duties, both of which can also be included in coverage requests. The Admissions module and flexible Form Builder, added as beta in v24, are now the default for fresh installations. In addition, Messenger now includes a Pre-Flight mode, allowing sending users to see who will receive a message, and to receive a testing copy.

v25 also includes future attendance for ad hoc groups, an Off Timetable option for special days, custom fields for lesson plans and more than 40 other enhancements and improvements.

Our deepest gratitude goes out to everyone who continues to work hard to translate Gibbon into their own language. Thanks to your ongoing efforts Gibbon is available in 24 languages! If you would like to volunteer to translate Gibbon into your language, please email support@gibbonedu.org.

“‘Ice House Street (雪廠街) is a one-way street in Central, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. Named after the structure previously located on it that housed the city's only source of ice, it stretches from Lower Albert Road to Connaught Road. The street is noted for several historical landmarks situated on it, most notably the Club Lusitano and the Old Dairy Farm Depot.” - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_House_Street

Looking To The Future

Version 25 is a landmark release for Gibbon, representing 12 years of development, 100 code releases and over 18,000 installations across the globe, all driven by a small but committed team of volunteer developers. In reflecting on where we have been, we are excited to let you know a little more about where we are going next:

• Over the past few years we have been working with lawyers, accountants and advisors to set up the Gibbon Foundation, a non-profit entity incorporated in Hong Kong. Although this work remains underway, our hope is that within 6 months it will be ready to provide a secure legal framework for the ongoing development of Gibbon, with a focus on community development, intellectual property, advocacy and fundraising. This marks a major landmark in Gibbon’s transition from a “two-person band” (Sandra and Ross) to a sustainable, global project.

• After many years of January/June releases, we will be adjusting our release roadmap from v26 onward, to begin releasing in November/April instead. This means v26 will be an extended development cycle, releasing November 20, 2023.

• For Gibbon v26 (Joss House Bay), rather than adding new features, we will be focusing our spotlight on stablising the Gibbon codebase, improving our documentation, and supporting our growing community. In the same way that an agricultural field requires fallow time to maintain its fruitfulness, so do open source projects!

IMPORTANT NOTES FOR v25.0.00

• Gibbon v25 requires a minimum PHP version of 7.3. Please check to ensure your server supports this requirement before upgrading. Gibbon v25 supports PHP 8.1 and MySQL 8.0, which are the highest recommended versions.

• Always backup your files and database before upgrading. This is especially important this release, as there are a number of structural changes to the database.

• If you are upgrading, please read the Changes With Important Notices section of /CHANGELOG.txt before you install, to see if your upgrade requires any manual intervention.

• Our Gibbon Development Road Map, will be updated shortly, and will include our GitHub branch and project board for v26 and future release dates. Take a look at https://docs.gibbonedu.org/developers/getting-started/gibbon-road-map

Ice House Street

Welcome to Gibbon v25.0.00 (Ice House Street). This release includes a new tool for visually managing internal staff coverage, making teacher substitutions easier than ever. In addition we have supercharged the timetable, which now displays activities and duties, both of which can also be included in coverage requests. The Admissions module and flexible Form Builder, added as beta in v24, are now the default for fresh installations. In addition, Messenger now includes a Pre-Flight mode, allowing sending users to see who will receive a message, and to receive a testing copy.

v25 also includes future attendance for ad hoc groups, an Off Timetable option for special days, custom fields for lesson plans and more than 40 other enhancements and improvements.

Our deepest gratitude goes out to everyone who continues to work hard to translate Gibbon into their own language. Thanks to your ongoing efforts Gibbon is available in 24 languages! If you would like to volunteer to translate Gibbon into your language, please email support@gibbonedu.org.

“‘Ice House Street (雪廠街) is a one-way street in Central, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. Named after the structure previously located on it that housed the city's only source of ice, it stretches from Lower Albert Road to Connaught Road. The street is noted for several historical landmarks situated on it, most notably the Club Lusitano and the Old Dairy Farm Depot.” - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_House_Street

Looking To The Future

Version 25 is a landmark release for Gibbon, representing 12 years of development, 100 code releases and over 18,000 installations across the globe, all driven by a small but committed team of volunteer developers. In reflecting on where we have been, we are excited to let you know a little more about where we are going next:

• Over the past few years we have been working with lawyers, accountants and advisors to set up the Gibbon Foundation, a non-profit entity incorporated in Hong Kong. Although this work remains underway, our hope is that within 6 months it will be ready to provide a secure legal framework for the ongoing development of Gibbon, with a focus on community development, intellectual property, advocacy and fundraising. This marks a major landmark in Gibbon’s transition from a “two-person band” (Sandra and Ross) to a sustainable, global project.

• After many years of January/June releases, we will be adjusting our release roadmap from v26 onward, to begin releasing in November/April instead. This means v26 will be an extended development cycle, releasing November 20, 2023.

• For Gibbon v26 (Joss House Bay), rather than adding new features, we will be focusing our spotlight on stablising the Gibbon codebase, improving our documentation, and supporting our growing community. In the same way that an agricultural field requires fallow time to maintain its fruitfulness, so do open source projects!

IMPORTANT NOTES FOR v25.0.00

• Gibbon v25 requires a minimum PHP version of 7.3. Please check to ensure your server supports this requirement before upgrading. Gibbon v25 supports PHP 8.1 and MySQL 8.0, which are the highest recommended versions.

• Always backup your files and database before upgrading. This is especially important this release, as there are a number of structural changes to the database.

• If you are upgrading, please read the Changes With Important Notices section of /CHANGELOG.txt before you install, to see if your upgrade requires any manual intervention.

• Our Gibbon Development Road Map, will be updated shortly, and will include our GitHub branch and project board for v26 and future release dates. Take a look at https://docs.gibbonedu.org/developers/getting-started/gibbon-road-map