Release DataFusion `52.0.0` (Dec 2025 / Jan 2026)

[alamb]

Is your feature request related to a problem or challenge?

Tracking ticket for next release, also a place to track desired inclusions

Previous release will be #17558 (Nov, 2025) so next major release would be approximately late Dec 2025 / early Jan 2026

Steps:

• Create a branch-52 branch:
• Update version and changelog:
• Test with DataFusion Python
• Test with DataFusion Comet DataFusion 52 migration datafusion-comet#3046
• Test with DataFusion Ballista
• Test with delta.rs:
• Test vortex:
• Test with iceberg-rust:
• Test with LakeSail:
• Test with parquet viewer
• Test with datafusion-materialized-views
• Voting Thread:
• Publish to crates.io
• Create ticket for next release: Release DataFusion 53.0.0 (Feb 2026 / Mar 2026) #19692
• Create blog post: Blog post for the DataFusion 52.0.0 release #19691

Features to mention in the blog (if they make it)

• Support Arrow IPC Stream Files #18457
• [EPIC] A collection of items to improve CASE performance #18075
• Examples of extending SQL syntax #17824 from the @theirix / Add relation planner extension support to customize SQL planning #17843 from @geoffreyclaude
• [EPIC] ListingTable object store usage improvements #17214
• [EPIC] Statistics Cache Improvements #19051
• feat: change Expr OuterReferenceColumn and Alias to Box type for reducing expr struct size #16771
• Support Push down expression evaluation in TableProviders #14993 / Plan to replace SchemaAdapter with PhysicalExprAdapter #16800 from @adriangb
• Push down entire hash table from HashJoinExec into scans #17171 (comment)
• Add push down sort to the source (table provider) #10433 / Establish the high level API for sort pushdown and the optimizer rule and support reverse files and row groups  #19064 from @zhuqi-lucas
• feat: Add DELETE/UPDATE hooks to TableProvider trait and to MemTable implementation #19142
• [EPIC] Remove CoalesceBatchesExec operator #18779
• Reworked examples from @cj-zhukov (highlight their existence)

Bugs that should be fixed

• Regression: error planning TPC-DS query: input schema nullability mismatch #17801
• Add upgrade guide for PhysicalOptimizerRule::optimize_plan #19029
• Add force_filter_selections to restore pushdown_filters behavior prior to parquet 57.1.0 upgrade #19003 (review)
• Restore IN_LIST performance -- Implement specialized StaticFilters for different data types #18824
• Intermittent CI failures in cache::list_files_cache::tests::test_cache_with_ttl_and_lru ( seems flaky) #19114
• Allow log/pow on negative scale decimals #19250
• Confusing behavior now required to to refresh the files of a listing table #19573
• DynamicFilterPhysicalExpr violates Hash/Eq contract #19641

Community Wishlist

• Streaming Aggregate operator not being used in deduplication of pre-sorted Parquet files #16919
• Regression: DataFrameWriteOptions::with_single_file_output produces a directory #13323
• fix(parquet): converting parquet schema with backward compatible repeated struct/primitive with provided arrow schema arrow-rs#8496
• Respect execution timezone in to_timestamp and related functions #18025
• Row group limit pruning for row groups that entirely match predicates #18868
• [branch-52] Split BatchPartitioner::try_new into hash and round-robin constructors #19681

[milenkovicm]

@alamb is it ok if I add "test with ballista" checkbox to the list ?

[alamb]

@alamb is it ok if I add "test with ballista" checkbox to the list ?

of course -- please do!

[alamb]

TLDR / Ask

If you have things you would like to include in the 52 release (including issues that are already completed) please add them to the "Community Wishlist" item above.

Background

@brancz asked about the status of this release this morning in discord (link) and it came up on the sync meeting this mrining too

One thing @brancz referenced as a motivation for the release are the changes for schema evolution of structs, for example

• Cut Parquet over to PhysicalExprAdapter, remove SchemaAdapter #18998

In my mind there is also some follow on work in this area we probably should include in 52:

• Push down projection expressions into ParquetOpener #19111

@timsaucer mentioned he would like to try and get in some FFI things. Perhaps these (but I don't know)

• Support user defined functions as expressions in FFI calls #18671
• expose TableProviderFactory via FFI #17942
• Stabilize FFI Boundary #17374

I think @milenkovicm @timsaucer also may have some thought / ideas as well

p.s. Note we have been talking about a 51.1.0 patch release too:

• Release DataFusion 51.1.0 (Minor) #18843

[xudong963]

I think we're very close to the release. How about starting testing next early week?

Also, let us know the PRs you're looking forward to including in the release!

[shehabgamin]

I think we're very close to the release. How about starting testing next early week?

Works with me!

[alamb]

I think many people are on reduced time / vacation this week due to the holidays at this time of year. Not sure if that effects the release schedule. Given how much we have queued up in the 52 release we should probably start stabalizing things sooner rather than later

any thoughts @adriangb or @zhuqi-lucas ?

[xudong963]

I think many people are on reduced time / vacation this week

Yeah, the Chinese holiday is also this week (From Thu). And I'm here next week, so I can take this release

[adriangb]

I'll be around as normal from now on

[zhuqi-lucas]

I'm available for next week as normal.

[milenkovicm]

Ballista tested with 9a9ff8d looks ok