[VOTE] Release Candidate v4.0.0-rc.1

[lance-community]

Release Candidate: v4.0.0-rc.1

This is a release candidate for version 4.0.0-rc.1.

Release Information

• RC Tag: v4.0.0-rc.1
• Release Branch: release/v4.0
• Release Notes: https://github.com/lance-format/lance/releases/tag/v4.0.0-rc.1

Testing Instructions

Python

pip install --pre --extra-index-url https://pypi.fury.io/lance-format/pylance==4.0.0-rc.1

Java (Maven)

Add to your pom.xml:

<dependency>
  <groupId>org.lance</groupId>
  <artifactId>lance-core</artifactId>
  <version>4.0.0-rc.1</version>
</dependency>

Rust (Cargo)

Add to your Cargo.toml:

[dependencies]
lance = { version = "=4.0.0-rc.1", git = "https://github.com/lance-format/lance", tag = "v4.0.0-rc.1" }

Voting Instructions

Please test the RC artifacts and vote by commenting:

• +1 to approve
• 0 to abstain or neutral
• -1 if issues found (please include details)

Vote Duration: If there are enough binding votes and no vetoes, the vote will end at 2026-03-26 21:06:05 UTC (Pacific time: 2026-03-26 14:06:05 PDT).

Next Steps

• If approved: Approve RC using approve-rc workflow
• If issues found: Fix on release branch and create new RC using create-rc workflow

[esteban]

-1 non-binding, would be great to get #6203 part of an RC2. Thanks!