Development and testing releases
Test the current JEM development releases
JEM 5.0.2 RC 1 is a maintenance release candidate, while JEM 5.1.0 Beta 5 previews the next feature release. The planned final-release windows below are indicative and may change as testing progresses.
Beta and RC packages are not intended for production websites
Install these testing packages only on a test website or a complete clone of your production installation. Always create a full backup of the files and database before installing or updating JEM.
Available for testing
Choose the package that matches your test
Use JEM 5.0.2 RC 1 to validate maintenance fixes for JEM 5.0.1. Use JEM 5.1.0 Beta 5 to test the new functionality planned for the JEM 5.1 line.
JEM 5.0.2 RC 1
For Joomla 5.4 and Joomla 6.x
Package date: 25 October 2026, 00:00 (Europe/Madrid)
JEM 5.0.2 RC 1 is the maintenance release candidate for websites currently using JEM 5.0.1.
It includes the earlier timezone-display, recurrence-link, mobile Day Timeline and legacy-image corrections, plus improvements to category-aware publishing, import reliability, iCalendar daylight-saving exports and RSS/Atom feeds.
The new timezone option provides a global default and an individual Use Global, Show or Hide override for each event. See issue #2356 for the design and usage details.
- Version
- 5.0.2
- Status
- RC 1
- Release type
- Maintenance
- Planned release
- Late October 2026
- Joomla
- 5.4 and 6.x
- PHP
- 8.3 or later
- Package
- Full JEM
JEM 5.1.0 Beta 5
For Joomla 5.4 and Joomla 6.x
Package date: 25 October 2026, 00:00 (Europe/Madrid)
JEM 5.1.0 Beta 5 previews the next feature release in the JEM 5 line.
It includes the shared JEM 5.0.2 maintenance corrections together with category-aware custom fields, delegated resource permissions, configurable age access, Advanced Events & Venues and the admission-pricing foundation. This beta also adds image captions and credits, improved language-package management and Control Panel shortcuts for donations and JED reviews.
Testers should review both existing JEM workflows and the new JEM 5.1 functionality. The event-timezone display controls described in issue #2356 are also included.
- Version
- 5.1.0
- Status
- Beta 5
- Release type
- New features
- Planned release
- Late December 2026 or January 2027
- Joomla
- 5.4 and 6.x
- PHP
- 8.3 or later
- Package
- Full JEM
Community testing
Who should test these packages?
Different installation and update scenarios help identify maintenance, migration and compatibility problems before a stable release is published.
Existing JEM 5.0.1 users
Test the update to JEM 5.0.2 RC 1 on a cloned website and verify existing events, venues, categories, registrations, modules and layouts.
JEM 5.1.0 beta testers
Update a previous JEM 5.1.0 beta to Beta 5 and test the Advanced profile, custom fields, delegated permissions, age access, image attribution and admission-pricing configuration.
New test installations
Test a clean installation, sample data, initial configuration, event creation and the main frontend and administrator views with either package.
Choose your test path
Install the package that matches your objective
Test the maintenance update
Install JEM 5.0.2 RC 1 to verify the focused corrections planned for the next stable maintenance release.
Pay particular attention to existing events, recurrence links, images, mobile timelines and the new timezone visibility setting.
Test the next feature release
Install JEM 5.1.0 Beta 5 to test the shared maintenance fixes together with the new JEM 5.1.0 functionality.
Review the selected JEM operating profile and test the features enabled for that profile.
Use the documented migration path
Installations older than the supported JEM 4 migration baseline should not update directly to either beta.
Follow the documented upgrade route and test the complete migration on a cloned website.
Read the migration guideTest checklist
What should be checked?
Test the functions that are important for your website and report any differences from the previous JEM version.
- Installation and database update
- Existing events, venues and categories
- Global and per-event timezone display
- Registrations and attendee information
- Recurring events and their links
- iCalendar exports, RSS/Atom feeds and data import
- Day Timeline on narrow mobile screens
- Event images, thumbnails and legacy oversized images
- Menu items and frontend views
- JEM modules and plugins
- Multilingual websites
- Template overrides and custom CSS
- Image captions, credits and JEM 5.1 Advanced features when testing Beta 5
Before installing a testing package
- Create a complete backup of the website files and database.
- Restore or clone the website in a separate testing environment.
- Record the Joomla, JEM, PHP and database versions.
- Choose JEM 5.0.2 RC 1 or JEM 5.1.0 Beta 5 according to the purpose of the test.
- Check whether the website uses JEM template overrides.
- Install the selected package using the Joomla extension installer.
- Clear the Joomla and browser caches before testing the frontend and administrator.
Important notice about template overrides
Older JEM template overrides may not be compatible with current JEM layouts.
When a frontend problem appears after the update, temporarily rename or disable the JEM override and test the original JEM layout. Report whether the problem also occurs without the override.
Feedback
Report a testing-package problem
Clear and reproducible reports help the development team identify and correct problems more quickly.
Include the following information:
- Beta package and exact version tested
- Joomla version
- Previous JEM version
- PHP and database versions
- Fresh installation, update or migration
- Exact steps required to reproduce the problem
- Expected and actual result
- Complete error message or relevant log entry
- Whether JEM template overrides are enabled
Where to report
Use the JEM forum for testing discussions and GitHub for confirmed, reproducible software issues.
Need a production-ready version?
Use JEM 5.0.1 on live Joomla websites. JEM 5.0.2 RC 1 and JEM 5.1.0 Beta 5 should only be used for testing.
Download the stable JEM release