Gantry 5.6 has been released

[gteigland]

Gantry 5.6.0 has been released!
(February 24, 2026)

Hey Gantry community,

After a quieter period focused on behind-the-scenes work, we're excited to announce the immediate availability of Gantry 5.6.0 — our first major compatibility and stability update under Tiger12.

Key Highlights in 5.6.0

• Full native Joomla 5 support — Joomla 5.0+ is now officially supported with updated APIs, namespaces, routing, and child template handling.
• Joomla 4 (and earlier) support dropped — This is a breaking change; upgrade to Joomla 5 before installing 5.6.0.
• PHP requirement tightened to 8.1.0 – 8.3.x (PHP 8.4+ not supported in this release for validation reasons).
• Platform-specific improvements:
  • Joomla: Enhanced admin compatibility checker and proactive warnings.
  • WordPress: Compatibility tested up to 6.9.1; fixed deprecation warnings (e.g., $types events) and page assignment issues.
  • Grav: Minimum versions bumped to Grav 1.7.25+ and Admin 1.10.25+ (tested up to 1.7.49.5 / Admin 1.10.48).
• Updated release compatibility matrix (visible in admin About pages and docs) for clearer upgrade guidance.

Download links and platform packages are now live on:

• https://gantry.org/downloads
• GitHub Releases: https://github.com/gantry/gantry5/releases/tag/5.6.0

Full details in the CHANGELOG.md (or check the platform-specific changelogs in your package).

Quick Notes on Recent Activity

We've been heads-down prioritizing these big compatibility lifts (Joomla 5 was a heavy lift!), which is why public updates slowed after last fall. With 5.6.0 out the door, expect more frequent communication—GitHub discussions, gantry.org/blog posts, and progress notes.

Looking Ahead

• Gantry remains 100% free and open-source forever.
• Current focus: developer tools, AI-assisted features (smarter particles/outlines), and optional premium add-ons.
• Working on a legacy RocketTheme theme migration tool to convert older RT Gantry themes (e.g., Quasar, Dominion, Galatea, Versla) to modern Gantry/Helium while preserving designs—plus adapters for legacy addons like RokSprocket, RokGallery, RokNavMenu, RokCandy, RokQuickCart, RokFeatureTable, etc. (No guarantees on perfect fidelity yet, but aiming high for common cases.)
• Gantry 6.0 planning is underway (MCP integration and more)—detailed feature/roadmap coming soon.

Thanks for your patience and continued support. If you're upgrading, please test in a staging environment first (especially Joomla 5 migrations). Report any issues here or in the issue tracker—we're actively watching and merging backlog PRs now.

What do you think of 5.6.0? Any feedback, upgrade stories, or priorities for the next updates? Drop them below!

— Gene Teigland (@gteigland)
Tiger12

[equenda]

First of all, I want to thank everyone who worked on the new version of Gantry 5.6. Many of the sites I've built are still based on Rockettheme templates. A proven and simple method to migrate a site with a Rockettheme template to a new Gantry 6 site with a new template (i.e., Helium) would be truly wonderful.

Thanks again.

Ettore

[gteigland]

@Rod-H-007 can you give me the specs that effect most of your 75 sites. Thanks!

[Rod-H-007]

One Issue is My Server... I will Need to Migrate to a new one that can run MySQL 8.0.13 to update to J5 But that can be done last

• All sites Run On Gantry v5.5.25
• Joomla 4.4.14
• MySQL 5.7.44
• PHP 8.2.30
• Rocket Theme: Fluent (v1.5.1 / rt_fluent)

I know I could take any Gantry Theme and customize it to match what I have now.. from say Joomleed Or can I use a default Gantry like Helium?.. But there has to be a better way..

all of themes I've customized with custom CSS most are built the same with different colors and background images.. and all using a few default Gantry 5 Particles that came with fluent..

Would be nice to update their themes on my current server.. then move them over and update to J5..
I'll have to do what it takes one by one.. Or this would be a slow death for my 70+ Clients that count on me.. I just don't know where to start.. I have a few Dev sites I can practice on..

Thank You for your time with this.. been researching for months and have gotten nowhere.. I have time to do whatever it takes.. I just need to know what it will take and the most efficient path... : 0

[gteigland]

@Rod-H-007
Your setup is very common: Gantry 5.5.25 on Joomla 4.4.14 with RocketTheme Fluent, MySQL 5.7.44, and PHP 8.2.30. The server move for MySQL 8.0.13 can happen last.

What we are developing is a process that exports the template folder, all Gantry outlines and layout XML files, particle configurations, custom SCSS and CSS overrides, module positions, assignments, and menu structures. In the future we plan to run that export through a conversion kit we're developing that maps old template structures (like Fluent) to our new Gantry 6 + Helium while trying to keep your custom CSS, colors, backgrounds, and default particles intact.

You would then upgrade your joomla version, php, etc and then load the converted gantry theme (Helium) that should maintain your old designs, particles layout etc.

We're still in the early stages of building this out and testing so nothing is ready yet. Our realistic goal is probably in the 1-3 month range - depends on use cases or any unkowns we weren't expecting.

[Rod-H-007]

Wow.. Best news I've heard In a while.. I will sleep better tonight. I'm in no rush.. If you need me to test any of it.. let me know . I have full sites on Dev Sites.. You will have a Dinner On me if you pull this off... I am sure I'm not alone... I think I just happened to find the right place and Person to bring this up to..

[Rod-H-007]

Gene, Thinking For Now... I am still building sites on what I have. Is there a place I can Download the Helium theme that will work with my Gantry 5 Version 5.525 and Joomla 4 That I can customize for any new site I do so I'm not just adding to my problems.. and I would be able to update the Joomla when the time comes. Just wondering about the particles I use.. Swiper / Case Studies / Image Grid / Social / Video

This way My Dev Build sites I use for new sites are good to go.. I'm not that knowledgeable in all this but learned a lot over the years.. MrT Taut me a lot... : (

[gteigland]

@equenda Thanks for the thoughtful feedback and for highlighting this need — it's spot on and exactly the kind of real-world use case that helps drive improvements.

We’ve been actively exploring ways to make migrations from older RocketTheme/Gantry templates to Gantry 6 + Helium smoother and more reliable. The goal is a structured approach that preserves as much of the original design/layout as possible — particle mappings, overrides, custom configs, etc. — without requiring a full rebuild.

We’re still gathering input and testing different scenarios to get it right, so community examples like yours are incredibly valuable.

If you’re open to it, could you share a little more about your current setup? Things like:

• Which specific RocketTheme template(s) you’re on?
• Current Gantry version (4 or 5)?
• How many sites are affected (just curious about scale — 1, a handful, or more)?
• The biggest things you’d want to keep intact (e.g., layout grids, particle styles, custom SCSS, menus/navigation)?

No need to post sensitive details publicly — feel free to DM or email if that’s easier. The more concrete examples we have, the better we can shape this migration path to actually solve the pain points people are facing.

Appreciate you keeping the conversation going — it’s feedback like this that keeps Gantry useful for folks still running those solid older sites!

[equenda]

Hi.
I've been using Joomla for work since 2009 and have created many sites based on various versions of Joomla and Gantry.
From 2008 to 2024, I paid an annual subscription to Rockettheme, and most of my sites were and are composed of Joomla + Gantry + Rockettheme Templates.

The closure of Rockettheme was (and still is) a big disappointment for me. For the new sites I'm creating now, I use Gridbox, which is very versatile and easy to use... but it has rather poor support compared to the old Rockettheme Forum, which was truly fantastic.

I currently manage 28 sites I've built with Joomla.

One site is based on Joomla 1.5.22
One site is based on Joomla 2.5.28
Twelve sites are based on Joomla 3.x.x
Eleven sites are based on Joomla 4.x.x
Three sites are based on Joomla 5.x.x

PHP versions range from 5.5.38 to 8.4.16.
I've used many Rockettheme templates:
Fresco, Zenith, Versla (6 sites), Citadel, Audacity, Phoenix, Studius (3 sites), Clarity (2 sites), Callisto, Sienna, Metropolis, Chimera, Modulus, Clarion, Callisto, Myriad (2), Kraken, and Xenon.

I'm aware that older versions of Joomla and PHP are vulnerable and unsafe, but in over twenty years, I've never suffered a hacker attack. I also frequently make backups with Akeeba Backup, and if necessary, I can erase ALL the content on my web space and restore the site with minimal effort.

At this point, it's clear that if there were a simple and effective way to replace old Rockettheme templates with a new template based on Joomla 6.x + Gantry 6, it would be truly fantastic for me and my clients. Thanks again for your work.

[Rod-H-007]

A known and simplest approach to this issue would be a gift from God.. Just knowing I'm not alone.. helps..

[gteigland]

Thanks for sending the details. This will help us. We understand the need for this and working to find a solution.

[bayareajenn]

Starting to do some testing of Gantry 5.6.0. On update, we get a warning that the extension doesn't provide a checksum for validation. Not a huge deal but thought you should know about it.

[gteigland]

@bayareajenn thanks for letting us know. We'll get to this soon.

[monikat12titans]

Hi @bayareajenn I have fixed the checksum warning. It is no longer appearing, and the package now updates successfully without any issues.

[teddy-mere]

Hi @gteigland !

Do you plan to update the target platform of the update server ?
Indeed, Gantry 5.6.1 is still showed as an update on Joomla 3.x and Joomla 4.x, even if not compatible.

I thought the problem may be fixed in next release (as you need to update the XML file on each update), but it wasn't 🙁

I've opened an issue #3353.

Thanks !