Skip to main content
NVDA follows a structured development process that balances innovation with stability. While there isn’t a detailed public roadmap with specific features and dates, understanding NVDA’s release cycle and priority system helps you know what to expect.

​
Development Philosophy

NVDA development is guided by the Product Vision and 16 guiding principles that prioritize accessibility, stability, and user needs.
Key aspects of NVDA’s development approach:
  • User-driven: Features are prioritized based on user needs and community feedback
  • Frequency-based releases: Releases occur on a schedule of roughly 3-4 months rather than targeting specific calendar dates
  • Community contributions: Open source model allows community members to contribute features
  • API stability: Breaking changes are limited to once per year (in .1 releases)

​
Release Cycle

NVDA follows a predictable release cycle with four major releases per year:

​
Release Schedule

1

Alpha Phase (~7 weeks)

Active development of new features. The add-on API is unstable during this phase. Add-ons should use the “dev” channel.
2

Beta Phase (~4 weeks)

Feature freeze - focus shifts to testing and refinement. Beta releases occur weekly. Translations and add-on API become relatively stable. Add-ons can use “dev” or “beta” channels.
3

Release Candidate Phase (~3 weeks)

Translation freeze for 2 weeks, followed by release candidate builds. The add-on API is stable. Add-ons can use the “stable” channel.
4

Final Release

Stable release after one week of no reported issues with the release candidate.
The first release each year (20XX.1) may take slightly longer due to API breaking changes being managed during that cycle.

​
How Features Are Prioritized

Feature prioritization is based on several factors:

User Impact

Features that benefit a significant proportion of users or are essential for a subset of users

Alignment with Vision

How well the feature aligns with NVDA’s guiding principles

Technical Feasibility

Available development resources and technical complexity

OS Changes

Critical changes needed to support Windows updates

​
GitHub Milestones

If priority should be given to an issue for inclusion in a specific release, its milestone is set to the appropriate release milestone (e.g., 2026.2).

View Current Milestones

See what’s planned for upcoming releases on GitHub

​
What Gets Into Each Release

​
Regular Releases (20XX.2, 20XX.3, 20XX.4)

  • New features and enhancements
  • Bug fixes
  • Compatibility updates
  • Performance improvements
  • No breaking API changes

​
.1 Releases (20XX.1)

Compatibility Breaking ReleaseThe first release of each year may include:
  • Breaking API changes for add-ons
  • Deprecated feature removals
  • Major architectural changes
  • Support for new major Windows versions
  • Minimum Windows version changes
Add-on developers need to update their add-ons for these releases.

​
Patch Releases (20XX.X.1)

Under rare circumstances, patch releases are made from the RC branch:
  • Only for critical crashes
  • Security vulnerabilities
  • Major issues that significantly impact usability

​
Current Focus Areas

Based on recent releases, ongoing focus areas include:
Ensuring NVDA works seamlessly with the latest Windows features and applications, including Windows 11 enhancements, modern UI frameworks (WinUI 3), and system integration.
Improving support for complex web applications in Chrome, Edge, and Firefox, including better handling of dynamic content and modern web standards.
Enhancing braille display support, adding new device drivers, and improving braille output quality and performance.
Expanding speech synthesizer support, improving responsiveness, and adding features like automatic language switching and rate boost.
Improving the built-in remote access feature for supporting users and collaborating remotely.
Enhancing the Add-on Store, improving automatic updates, and maintaining a stable API for developers.

​
How to Influence the Roadmap

While NV Access makes final decisions about priorities, the community has significant influence:

​
1. Submit Feature Requests

Submit a Feature Request

Well-documented feature requests help NV Access understand user needs

​
2. Contribute Code

Contributing Guide

Developers can implement features and submit pull requests

​
3. Participate in Discussions

GitHub Discussions

Share ideas and discuss features with the community

​
4. Test Early Builds

Alpha Snapshots

Test cutting-edge features

Beta Releases

Help stabilize upcoming releases

​
Long-term Direction

While specific features aren’t announced far in advance, NVDA’s long-term direction focuses on:
  • Keeping pace with Windows evolution
  • Improving performance and efficiency
  • Expanding multimodal support (speech, braille, touch)
  • Enhancing compatibility with modern applications
  • Strengthening security and privacy
  • Maintaining free availability for all users
For the most up-to-date information about upcoming features, monitor the GitHub repository, subscribe to release announcements, and participate in the developer mailing list.

​
Deprecated and Removed Features

NVDA periodically removes support for outdated technologies:
  • Features are deprecated well in advance (typically one year before removal)
  • Deprecation notices appear in the changelog
  • Users are given time to transition to alternatives
  • Decisions are documented with clear rationale

View Changelog

See what’s changing in each release

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get started for freeTalk to us