apache · alamb · Mar 17, 2026 · Mar 17, 2026 · alamb · Mar 17, 2026
diff --git a/dev/release/README.md b/dev/release/README.md
@@ -19,59 +19,11 @@
 
 # Release Process
 
-DataFusion typically has major releases around once per month, including breaking API changes.
+For contributor-facing guidance on release branches and backports, see the
+[Contributor Guide Release Management page](../../docs/source/contributor-guide/release_management.md).
 
-Patch releases are made on an adhoc basis, but we try and avoid them given the frequent major releases.
-
-## Release Process Overview
-
-New development happens on the `main` branch.
-Releases are made from branches, e.g. `branch-50` for the `50.x.y` release series.
-
-To prepare for a new release series, we:
-
-- Create a new branch from `main`, such as `branch-50` in the Apache repository (not in a fork)
-- Continue merging new features changes to `main` branch
-- Prepare the release branch for release:
-  - Update version numbers in `Cargo.toml` files and create `CHANGELOG.md`
-  - Add additional changes to the release branch as needed
-- When the code is ready, create GitHub tags release candidate (rc) artifacts from the release branch.
-- After the release is approved, publish to [crates.io], the ASF distribution servers, and GitHub tags.
-
-To add changes to the release branch, depending on the change we either:
-
-- Fix the issue on `main` and then backport the change to the release branch (e.g. [#18129])
-- Fix the issue on the release branch and then forward-port the change back to `main` (e.g.[#18057])
-
-[crates.io]: https://crates.io/crates/datafusion
-[#18129]: https://github.com/apache/datafusion/pull/18129
-[#18057]: https://github.com/apache/datafusion/pull/18057
-
-## Backporting (add changes) to `branch-*` branch
-
-If you would like to propose your change for inclusion in a patch release, the
-change must be applied to the relevant release branch. To do so please follow
-these steps:
-
-1. Find (or create) the issue for the incremental release ([example release issue]) and discuss the proposed change there with the maintainers.
-2. Follow normal workflow to create PR to `main` branch and wait for its approval and merge.
-3. After PR is squash merged to `main`, branch from most recent release branch (e.g. `branch-50`), cherry-pick the commit and create a PR targeting the release branch [example backport PR].
-
-For example, to backport commit `12345` from `main` to `branch-50`:
-
-```shell
-git checkout branch-50
-git checkout -b backport_to_50
-git cherry-pick 12345 # your git commit hash
-git push -u <your fork>
-# make a PR as normal targeting branch-50, prefixed with [branch-50]
-```
-
-It is also acceptable to fix the issue directly on the release branch first
-and then cherry-pick the change back to `main` branch in a new PR.
-
-[example release issue]: https://github.com/apache/datafusion/issues/18072
-[example backport pr]: https://github.com/apache/datafusion/pull/18131
+The rest of this guide contains the commands for maintainers to create release
+candidates and run the release process.
 
 ## Release Prerequisites
 

diff --git a/docs/source/contributor-guide/index.md b/docs/source/contributor-guide/index.md
@@ -99,6 +99,11 @@ If you are concerned that a larger design will be lost in a string of small PRs,
 
 Note all commits in a PR are squashed when merged to the `main` branch so there is one commit per PR after merge.
 
+## Release Management and Backports
+
+Contributor-facing guidance for release branches, patch releases, and backports
+is documented in the [Release Management](release_management.md) guide.
+
 ## Conventional Commits & Labeling PRs
 
 We generate change logs for each release using an automated process that will categorize PRs based on the title

diff --git a/docs/source/contributor-guide/release_management.md b/docs/source/contributor-guide/release_management.md
@@ -0,0 +1,123 @@
+<!---
+  Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+  or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+  distributed with this work for additional information
+  regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+  to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+  "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+  with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+  Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+  software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+  "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+  KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+  specific language governing permissions and limitations
+  under the License.
+-->
+
+# Release Management
+
+This page describes DataFusion release branches and backports. For the
+maintainer release guide, including release candidate artifacts, voting, and
+publication, see [the release process README in `dev/release`].
+
+## Overview
+
+DataFusion typically has a major release about once per month, including
+breaking API changes. Patch releases are made on an ad hoc basis, but we try to
+avoid them because major releases are frequent.
+
+New development happens on the [`main` branch]. Releases are made from release
+branches named `branch-NN`, such as [`branch-50`] for the `50.x.y` release
+series.
+
+In general:
+
+- New features land on [`main`]
+- Patch releases are cut from the corresponding `branch-NN`
+- Only targeted, low-risk fixes should be added to a release branch
+
+Changes reach a release branch in one of two ways:
+
+- (Most common) Fix the issue on `main` and then backport the merged change to the release branch
+- Fix the issue on the release branch and then forward-port the change to `main`
+
+Releases are coordinated in a GitHub issue, such as the
+[release issue for 50.3.0]. If you think a fix should be included in a patch
+release, discuss it on the relevant tracking issue first. You can also open the
+backport PR first and then link it from the tracking issue.
+
+To prepare for a new release series, maintainers:
+
+- Create a new branch from `main`, such as `branch-50`, in the Apache repository
+- Continue merging new features to `main`
+- Prepare the release branch for release by updating versions, changelog content,
+  and any additional release-specific fixes via the
+  [Backport Workflow](#backport-workflow)
+- Create release candidate artifacts from the release branch
+- After approval, publish to crates.io, ASF distribution servers, and Git tags
+
+## Backport Workflow
+
+The usual workflow is:
+
+1. Fix on `main` first, and merge the fix via a normal PR workflow.
+2. Cherry-pick the merged commit onto the release branch.
+3. Open a backport PR targeting the release branch (examples below).
+
+- [Example backport PR]
+- [Additional backport PR example]
+
+### Inputs
+
+To backport a change, gather the following information:
+
+- Target branch, such as `apache/branch-52`
+- The release tracking issue URL, such as https://github.com/apache/datafusion/issues/19692
+- The original PR URL, such as https://github.com/apache/datafusion/pull/20192
+- Optional explicit commit SHA to backport
+
+### Apply the Backport
+
+Start from the target release branch, create a dedicated backport branch, and
+use `git cherry-pick`. For example, to backport PR #1234 to `branch-52` when
+the commit SHA is `abc123`, run:
+
+```bash
+git checkout apache/branch-52
+git checkout -b alamb/backport_1234
+git cherry-pick abc123
+```
+
+### Test
+
+Run tests as described in the [testing documentation].
+
+### Open the PR
+
+Create a PR against the release branch, not `main`, and prefix it with
+`[branch-NN]` to show which release branch the backport targets. For example:
+
+- `[branch-52] fix: validate inter-file ordering in eq_properties() (#20329)`
+
+Use a PR description that links the tracking issue, original PR, and target
+branch, for example:
+
+```markdown
+- Part of <tracking-issue-url>
+- Closes <backport-issue-url> on <branch-name>
+
+This PR:
+
+- Backports <original-pr-url> from @<author> to the <branch-name> line
+```
+
+[`main` branch]: https://github.com/apache/datafusion/tree/main
+[`branch-50`]: https://github.com/apache/datafusion/tree/branch-50
+[the release process readme in `dev/release`]: https://github.com/apache/datafusion/blob/main/dev/release/README.md
+[release issue for 50.3.0]: https://github.com/apache/datafusion/issues/18072
+[example backport pr]: https://github.com/apache/datafusion/pull/18131
+[additional backport pr example]: https://github.com/apache/datafusion/pull/20792
+[testing documentation]: testing.md
diff --git a/docs/source/index.rst b/docs/source/index.rst
@@ -163,6 +163,7 @@ To get started, see
    contributor-guide/testing
    contributor-guide/api-health
    contributor-guide/howtos
+   contributor-guide/release_management
    contributor-guide/roadmap
    contributor-guide/governance
    contributor-guide/inviting