Understanding Moodle Workplace versions

Moodle Workplace versions are based on the releases of standard Moodle, so Moodle Workplace 3.9.2 is based on standard Moodle 3.9.2. Minor versions of Workplace are released the day after their standard Moodle counterparts, which typically takes place on the second Monday of odd months (January, March, May, July, September, and November). The same applies to unscheduled releases in the case of a severe security issue or serious regression being fixed. Major versions of Workplace are released 1-2 weeks after the respective major version of standard Moodle. The release frequency is twice a year (the second Mondays of May and November).

Important note

Moodle Workplace is always based on the official update (minor version) that does not have a "+" sign.

Currently, backporting to older releases is not supported by Workplace, even if the standard Moodle counterpart is still under support. However, this is likely to change in the future. The following timeline diagram demonstrates the interdependence between standard Moodle and Moodle Workplace releases:

Figure 1.3 – Release timeline for standard Moodle versus Moodle Workplace

Version 3.7 was the first (mostly internal) version of Moodle Workplace. This book is based on version 3.9.2, which is the most up-to-date release at the time of writing. Standard Moodle 3.5 and 3.9 are Long-Term Support (LTS) releases that will be supported for 3 and 5 years respectively. The next major release of standard Moodle will be version 4.0, to be released in November 2021.

For more information on standard Moodle releases, check out docs.moodle.org/dev/Releases. You can find the release notes of Moodle Workplace at docs.moodle.org/en/Moodle_Workplace_Release_notes.

Each Moodle Workplace release is a full distribution that contains standard Moodle, all Workplace plugins including the Workplace theme, and several core modifications that can be either future core fixes or Workplace-only patches that allow Workplace plugins to hook into the Core functionality. That is, when installing Moodle Workplace, you do not have to install standard Moodle first and then add plugins or apply Core patches.

This section has provided you with an overview of the Moodle Workplace release schedule and its relationship with the standard Moodle releases. This timetable should be taken into account when planning updates and upgrades, as this is likely to involve maintenance work as well as some downtime.