October CMS version 4 is here. This release focuses on stability, modern tooling, and a better experience for developers and users alike. Below are the key highlights and changes you'll find in this major update.

Powered by Laravel 12

October CMS is now powered by Laravel 12, bringing the latest features and improvements from the Laravel ecosystem. We've worked to keep October-specific breaking changes to a minimum, so upgrading from v3 should be as smooth as possible.

This version also raises the minimum PHP requirement to 8.2. The update lets us take advantage of newer language features and keeps October aligned with Laravel's direction. We've made internal improvements as well to better accommodate future Laravel versions.

New Dashboard

Version 4 introduces the new dashboard we previewed last year. After several rounds of code review and refactoring, it's now ready for release. The new dashboard is fully compatible with your existing report widgets and is shipped as an optional module, so you can opt in when you're ready.

We're planning further improvements, including support for embedding dashboards directly into other parts of the backend UI.

This is a major update, so if you have feedback or run into any issues, please let us know by submitting a report on the GitHub Issues page.

New Settings Navigation

The Settings area has long been a weak point in the October CMS admin panel, often making it hard to find what you need quickly. While search and collapsible panels helped, they weren't enough.

For this release, we reworked the experience from the ground up. The result is a fresh sidebar-based layout that makes navigation faster, clearer, and more intuitive.

We hope the new design improves your workflow—and as always, feedback is welcome.

Rebranded Logo

After 11 years, the October CMS logo has been refreshed. We reached out to the original designer to help reimagine the brand while staying true to its roots.

Source Code on GitHub

With the 4.0 release, October CMS is now publicly available on GitHub. After five years of keeping the source code private, we're making it open again to improve accessibility and encourage community collaboration.

We'll be publishing regular snapshots of the codebase for public review. Pull requests are now open, so if you'd like to propose a change, you're welcome to contribute.

A private workspace will remain in place for partner collaboration and priority development, but the public repository will be actively maintained and open to all.

Simpler Pricing

We've completed a full rewrite of the billing system to make things easier to understand and manage. Over the years, multiple pricing models were introduced, which led to confusion. These have now been unified into a single, consistent offering.

You can still choose between Pay As You Go licenses or unlimited licensing through the Partner Program. With this change, pricing may be different for your account, so feel free to contact us if you'd like us to take a look.

Upgrade Guide

This release includes many under-the-hood fixes and improvements. To upgrade your project, follow the steps in the Upgrade Guide.

With the framework upgrade complete, we're shifting focus to feature updates in version 4.1 and beyond. We hope you enjoy this release, and as always, your feedback is welcome. Stay tuned for what's next.