docs: add release 1.0.0-rc1 blog post

content/en/blog/20260907-version-1-rc1-release/index.md

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+---
+title: Eclipse Dataspace Components 1.0.0-RC1 Released
+date: 2026-09-07
+description: >
+  The Eclipse Dataspace Components project releases 1.0.0-RC1, a major milestone that consolidates the architecture, completes protocol support, and cleans up years of accumulated technical debt.
+---
+
+We are excited to announce the release of **Eclipse Dataspace Components 1.0.0-RC1** — the first release candidate on the road to a stable 1.0. This release represents a significant step forward in terms of architectural clarity, protocol alignment, and overall code quality across all the repositories.
+
+---
+
+## What's New Since 0.18.0
+
+### Architectural Consolidation
+
+One of the main themes of this release is simplification. A large number of structural changes have been made to create a leaner, more cohesive codebase:
+
+- The control-plane now can be used with multiple participants.
+- The `v5` management API version is now stable together with `v4`.
+- **Management API v3** has been fully removed, completing the migration path that was announced in earlier versions.
+- The **data-plane framework** has been removed from the EDC project in its entirety: adopters are now responsible for providing their own data plane implementation. The [DataPlane SDKs](https://github.com/eclipse-dataplane-core) offer ready-made building blocks to make this straightforward.
+- The control-plane now tracks **DPS (Data Plane Signaling) 1.0-RC4**, maintaining alignment with the latest version of the specification.
+
+These changes collectively reduce the footprint of the project and make it significantly easier to understand and extend.
+
+---
+
+### Dataspace Profile Management
+
+A dedicated **Dataspace Profile management vertical** has been added to the Connector. This covers the full lifecycle of dataspace profile configuration:
+
+- A new management API and storage layer for **DataspaceProfile** objects, including trusted issuer registration.
+- Trusted issuers can now be **validated at runtime** against the registered profile, and also configured declaratively via settings.
+- Profile-based **policy definition validation** ensures that policies are compliant with the active dataspace profile before being persisted.
+
+---
+
+## IdentityHub
+
+IdentityHub has received several important improvements in this release:
+
+- **DCP conformance gaps** in the issuance and presentation flows have been closed, improving interoperability with other DCP implementations.
+- **DID capabilityInvocation** is now properly set on DID documents generated by IdentityHub, aligning with the W3C DID specification.
+- The API surface has been updated to **v1**.
+- **Dynamic scope mapping** has been introduced, allowing scopes to be resolved at runtime rather than statically configured.
+
+---
+
+## What This Means for Adopters
+
+The 1.0.0-RC1 release is **not yet production-stable** — it is a release candidate intended for early adopters, integration testing, and community feedback. Breaking changes may still occur before the final 1.0.0 release.
+
+That said, the scope of breaking changes between RC1 and the final release is expected to be minimal. If you are currently running 0.18.0 or earlier, the main migration work involves:
+
+- Adapting to the consolidated SPI and lib module names.
+- Migrating off Management API v3 (now fully removed).
+- Updating any references to the old data-plane modules.
+- Removing usage of the deprecated EDR classes.
+
+---
+
+## Next Steps
+
+We encourage the community to test 1.0.0-RC1 against their integration scenarios and report any issues on the respective GitHub repositories. Feedback gathered during the RC phase will directly shape the final 1.0.0 release.
+
+You can find the release artifacts on Maven Central under the `org.eclipse.edc` group. Discussions and issue reports are welcome on the [EDC GitHub organisation](https://github.com/eclipse-edc).