diff --git a/3.4-rc/alpine3.18/Dockerfile b/3.4-rc/alpine3.18/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..9931b5bb1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/3.4-rc/alpine3.18/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,164 @@
+#
+# NOTE: THIS DOCKERFILE IS GENERATED VIA "apply-templates.sh"
+#
+# PLEASE DO NOT EDIT IT DIRECTLY.
+#
+
+FROM alpine:3.18
+
+RUN set -eux; \
+	apk add --no-cache \
+		bzip2 \
+		ca-certificates \
+		gmp-dev \
+		libffi-dev \
+		procps \
+		yaml-dev \
+		zlib-dev \
+	;
+
+# skip installing gem documentation
+RUN set -eux; \
+	mkdir -p /usr/local/etc; \
+	{ \
+		echo 'install: --no-document'; \
+		echo 'update: --no-document'; \
+	} >> /usr/local/etc/gemrc
+
+ENV LANG C.UTF-8
+
+# https://www.ruby-lang.org/en/news/2024/05/16/ruby-3-4-0-preview1-released/
+ENV RUBY_VERSION 3.4.0-preview1
+ENV RUBY_DOWNLOAD_URL https://cache.ruby-lang.org/pub/ruby/3.4/ruby-3.4.0-preview1.tar.xz
+ENV RUBY_DOWNLOAD_SHA256 4ee4ec44366050d4b2ee1d88034cc63e0b9174a1a6650285777f3d3447213a97
+
+# some of ruby's build scripts are written in ruby
+#   we purge system ruby later to make sure our final image uses what we just built
+RUN set -eux; \
+	\
+	apk add --no-cache --virtual .ruby-builddeps \
+		autoconf \
+		bzip2 \
+		bzip2-dev \
+		ca-certificates \
+		coreutils \
+		dpkg-dev dpkg \
+		g++ \
+		gcc \
+		gdbm-dev \
+		glib-dev \
+		libc-dev \
+		libffi-dev \
+		libxml2-dev \
+		libxslt-dev \
+		linux-headers \
+		make \
+		ncurses-dev \
+		openssl \
+		openssl-dev \
+		patch \
+		procps \
+		ruby \
+		tar \
+		xz \
+		yaml-dev \
+		zlib-dev \
+	; \
+	\
+	rustArch=; \
+	apkArch="$(apk --print-arch)"; \
+	case "$apkArch" in \
+		'x86_64') rustArch='x86_64-unknown-linux-musl'; rustupUrl='https://static.rust-lang.org/rustup/archive/1.26.0/x86_64-unknown-linux-musl/rustup-init'; rustupSha256='7aa9e2a380a9958fc1fc426a3323209b2c86181c6816640979580f62ff7d48d4' ;; \
+		'aarch64') rustArch='aarch64-unknown-linux-musl'; rustupUrl='https://static.rust-lang.org/rustup/archive/1.26.0/aarch64-unknown-linux-musl/rustup-init'; rustupSha256='b1962dfc18e1fd47d01341e6897cace67cddfabf547ef394e8883939bd6e002e' ;; \
+	esac; \
+	\
+	if [ -n "$rustArch" ]; then \
+		mkdir -p /tmp/rust; \
+		\
+		wget -O /tmp/rust/rustup-init "$rustupUrl"; \
+		echo "$rustupSha256 */tmp/rust/rustup-init" | sha256sum --check --strict; \
+		chmod +x /tmp/rust/rustup-init; \
+		\
+		export RUSTUP_HOME='/tmp/rust/rustup' CARGO_HOME='/tmp/rust/cargo'; \
+		export PATH="$CARGO_HOME/bin:$PATH"; \
+		/tmp/rust/rustup-init -y --no-modify-path --profile minimal --default-toolchain '1.74.1' --default-host "$rustArch"; \
+		\
+		rustc --version; \
+		cargo --version; \
+	fi; \
+	\
+	wget -O ruby.tar.xz "$RUBY_DOWNLOAD_URL"; \
+	echo "$RUBY_DOWNLOAD_SHA256 *ruby.tar.xz" | sha256sum --check --strict; \
+	\
+	mkdir -p /usr/src/ruby; \
+	tar -xJf ruby.tar.xz -C /usr/src/ruby --strip-components=1; \
+	rm ruby.tar.xz; \
+	\
+	cd /usr/src/ruby; \
+	\
+# https://github.com/docker-library/ruby/issues/196
+# https://bugs.ruby-lang.org/issues/14387#note-13 (patch source)
+# https://bugs.ruby-lang.org/issues/14387#note-16 ("Therefore ncopa's patch looks good for me in general." -- only breaks glibc which doesn't matter here)
+	wget -O 'thread-stack-fix.patch' 'https://bugs.ruby-lang.org/attachments/download/7081/0001-thread_pthread.c-make-get_main_stack-portable-on-lin.patch'; \
+	echo '3ab628a51d92fdf0d2b5835e93564857aea73e0c1de00313864a94a6255cb645 *thread-stack-fix.patch' | sha256sum --check --strict; \
+	patch -p1 -i thread-stack-fix.patch; \
+	rm thread-stack-fix.patch; \
+	\
+# the configure script does not detect isnan/isinf as macros
+	export ac_cv_func_isnan=yes ac_cv_func_isinf=yes; \
+	\
+# hack in "ENABLE_PATH_CHECK" disabling to suppress:
+#   warning: Insecure world writable dir
+	{ \
+		echo '#define ENABLE_PATH_CHECK 0'; \
+		echo; \
+		cat file.c; \
+	} > file.c.new; \
+	mv file.c.new file.c; \
+	\
+	autoconf; \
+	gnuArch="$(dpkg-architecture --query DEB_BUILD_GNU_TYPE)"; \
+	./configure \
+		--build="$gnuArch" \
+		--disable-install-doc \
+		--enable-shared \
+		${rustArch:+--enable-yjit} \
+	; \
+	make -j "$(nproc)"; \
+	make install; \
+	\
+	rm -rf /tmp/rust; \
+	runDeps="$( \
+		scanelf --needed --nobanner --format '%n#p' --recursive /usr/local \
+			| tr ',' '\n' \
+			| sort -u \
+			| awk 'system("[ -e /usr/local/lib/" $1 " ]") == 0 { next } { print "so:" $1 }' \
+	)"; \
+	apk add --no-network --virtual .ruby-rundeps $runDeps; \
+	apk del --no-network .ruby-builddeps; \
+	\
+	cd /; \
+	rm -r /usr/src/ruby; \
+# verify we have no "ruby" packages installed
+	if \
+		apk --no-network list --installed \
+			| grep -v '^[.]ruby-rundeps' \
+			| grep -i ruby \
+	; then \
+		exit 1; \
+	fi; \
+	[ "$(command -v ruby)" = '/usr/local/bin/ruby' ]; \
+# rough smoke test
+	ruby --version; \
+	gem --version; \
+	bundle --version
+
+# don't create ".bundle" in all our apps
+ENV GEM_HOME /usr/local/bundle
+ENV BUNDLE_SILENCE_ROOT_WARNING=1 \
+	BUNDLE_APP_CONFIG="$GEM_HOME"
+ENV PATH $GEM_HOME/bin:$PATH
+# adjust permissions of a few directories for running "gem install" as an arbitrary user
+RUN mkdir -p "$GEM_HOME" && chmod 1777 "$GEM_HOME"
+
+CMD [ "irb" ]
diff --git a/3.4-rc/alpine3.19/Dockerfile b/3.4-rc/alpine3.19/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..9eb48f142
--- /dev/null
+++ b/3.4-rc/alpine3.19/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,164 @@
+#
+# NOTE: THIS DOCKERFILE IS GENERATED VIA "apply-templates.sh"
+#
+# PLEASE DO NOT EDIT IT DIRECTLY.
+#
+
+FROM alpine:3.19
+
+RUN set -eux; \
+	apk add --no-cache \
+		bzip2 \
+		ca-certificates \
+		gmp-dev \
+		libffi-dev \
+		procps \
+		yaml-dev \
+		zlib-dev \
+	;
+
+# skip installing gem documentation
+RUN set -eux; \
+	mkdir -p /usr/local/etc; \
+	{ \
+		echo 'install: --no-document'; \
+		echo 'update: --no-document'; \
+	} >> /usr/local/etc/gemrc
+
+ENV LANG C.UTF-8
+
+# https://www.ruby-lang.org/en/news/2024/05/16/ruby-3-4-0-preview1-released/
+ENV RUBY_VERSION 3.4.0-preview1
+ENV RUBY_DOWNLOAD_URL https://cache.ruby-lang.org/pub/ruby/3.4/ruby-3.4.0-preview1.tar.xz
+ENV RUBY_DOWNLOAD_SHA256 4ee4ec44366050d4b2ee1d88034cc63e0b9174a1a6650285777f3d3447213a97
+
+# some of ruby's build scripts are written in ruby
+#   we purge system ruby later to make sure our final image uses what we just built
+RUN set -eux; \
+	\
+	apk add --no-cache --virtual .ruby-builddeps \
+		autoconf \
+		bzip2 \
+		bzip2-dev \
+		ca-certificates \
+		coreutils \
+		dpkg-dev dpkg \
+		g++ \
+		gcc \
+		gdbm-dev \
+		glib-dev \
+		libc-dev \
+		libffi-dev \
+		libxml2-dev \
+		libxslt-dev \
+		linux-headers \
+		make \
+		ncurses-dev \
+		openssl \
+		openssl-dev \
+		patch \
+		procps \
+		ruby \
+		tar \
+		xz \
+		yaml-dev \
+		zlib-dev \
+	; \
+	\
+	rustArch=; \
+	apkArch="$(apk --print-arch)"; \
+	case "$apkArch" in \
+		'x86_64') rustArch='x86_64-unknown-linux-musl'; rustupUrl='https://static.rust-lang.org/rustup/archive/1.26.0/x86_64-unknown-linux-musl/rustup-init'; rustupSha256='7aa9e2a380a9958fc1fc426a3323209b2c86181c6816640979580f62ff7d48d4' ;; \
+		'aarch64') rustArch='aarch64-unknown-linux-musl'; rustupUrl='https://static.rust-lang.org/rustup/archive/1.26.0/aarch64-unknown-linux-musl/rustup-init'; rustupSha256='b1962dfc18e1fd47d01341e6897cace67cddfabf547ef394e8883939bd6e002e' ;; \
+	esac; \
+	\
+	if [ -n "$rustArch" ]; then \
+		mkdir -p /tmp/rust; \
+		\
+		wget -O /tmp/rust/rustup-init "$rustupUrl"; \
+		echo "$rustupSha256 */tmp/rust/rustup-init" | sha256sum --check --strict; \
+		chmod +x /tmp/rust/rustup-init; \
+		\
+		export RUSTUP_HOME='/tmp/rust/rustup' CARGO_HOME='/tmp/rust/cargo'; \
+		export PATH="$CARGO_HOME/bin:$PATH"; \
+		/tmp/rust/rustup-init -y --no-modify-path --profile minimal --default-toolchain '1.74.1' --default-host "$rustArch"; \
+		\
+		rustc --version; \
+		cargo --version; \
+	fi; \
+	\
+	wget -O ruby.tar.xz "$RUBY_DOWNLOAD_URL"; \
+	echo "$RUBY_DOWNLOAD_SHA256 *ruby.tar.xz" | sha256sum --check --strict; \
+	\
+	mkdir -p /usr/src/ruby; \
+	tar -xJf ruby.tar.xz -C /usr/src/ruby --strip-components=1; \
+	rm ruby.tar.xz; \
+	\
+	cd /usr/src/ruby; \
+	\
+# https://github.com/docker-library/ruby/issues/196
+# https://bugs.ruby-lang.org/issues/14387#note-13 (patch source)
+# https://bugs.ruby-lang.org/issues/14387#note-16 ("Therefore ncopa's patch looks good for me in general." -- only breaks glibc which doesn't matter here)
+	wget -O 'thread-stack-fix.patch' 'https://bugs.ruby-lang.org/attachments/download/7081/0001-thread_pthread.c-make-get_main_stack-portable-on-lin.patch'; \
+	echo '3ab628a51d92fdf0d2b5835e93564857aea73e0c1de00313864a94a6255cb645 *thread-stack-fix.patch' | sha256sum --check --strict; \
+	patch -p1 -i thread-stack-fix.patch; \
+	rm thread-stack-fix.patch; \
+	\
+# the configure script does not detect isnan/isinf as macros
+	export ac_cv_func_isnan=yes ac_cv_func_isinf=yes; \
+	\
+# hack in "ENABLE_PATH_CHECK" disabling to suppress:
+#   warning: Insecure world writable dir
+	{ \
+		echo '#define ENABLE_PATH_CHECK 0'; \
+		echo; \
+		cat file.c; \
+	} > file.c.new; \
+	mv file.c.new file.c; \
+	\
+	autoconf; \
+	gnuArch="$(dpkg-architecture --query DEB_BUILD_GNU_TYPE)"; \
+	./configure \
+		--build="$gnuArch" \
+		--disable-install-doc \
+		--enable-shared \
+		${rustArch:+--enable-yjit} \
+	; \
+	make -j "$(nproc)"; \
+	make install; \
+	\
+	rm -rf /tmp/rust; \
+	runDeps="$( \
+		scanelf --needed --nobanner --format '%n#p' --recursive /usr/local \
+			| tr ',' '\n' \
+			| sort -u \
+			| awk 'system("[ -e /usr/local/lib/" $1 " ]") == 0 { next } { print "so:" $1 }' \
+	)"; \
+	apk add --no-network --virtual .ruby-rundeps $runDeps; \
+	apk del --no-network .ruby-builddeps; \
+	\
+	cd /; \
+	rm -r /usr/src/ruby; \
+# verify we have no "ruby" packages installed
+	if \
+		apk --no-network list --installed \
+			| grep -v '^[.]ruby-rundeps' \
+			| grep -i ruby \
+	; then \
+		exit 1; \
+	fi; \
+	[ "$(command -v ruby)" = '/usr/local/bin/ruby' ]; \
+# rough smoke test
+	ruby --version; \
+	gem --version; \
+	bundle --version
+
+# don't create ".bundle" in all our apps
+ENV GEM_HOME /usr/local/bundle
+ENV BUNDLE_SILENCE_ROOT_WARNING=1 \
+	BUNDLE_APP_CONFIG="$GEM_HOME"
+ENV PATH $GEM_HOME/bin:$PATH
+# adjust permissions of a few directories for running "gem install" as an arbitrary user
+RUN mkdir -p "$GEM_HOME" && chmod 1777 "$GEM_HOME"
+
+CMD [ "irb" ]
diff --git a/3.4-rc/bookworm/Dockerfile b/3.4-rc/bookworm/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4b736cbbf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/3.4-rc/bookworm/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,119 @@
+#
+# NOTE: THIS DOCKERFILE IS GENERATED VIA "apply-templates.sh"
+#
+# PLEASE DO NOT EDIT IT DIRECTLY.
+#
+
+FROM buildpack-deps:bookworm
+
+# skip installing gem documentation
+RUN set -eux; \
+	mkdir -p /usr/local/etc; \
+	{ \
+		echo 'install: --no-document'; \
+		echo 'update: --no-document'; \
+	} >> /usr/local/etc/gemrc
+
+ENV LANG C.UTF-8
+
+# https://www.ruby-lang.org/en/news/2024/05/16/ruby-3-4-0-preview1-released/
+ENV RUBY_VERSION 3.4.0-preview1
+ENV RUBY_DOWNLOAD_URL https://cache.ruby-lang.org/pub/ruby/3.4/ruby-3.4.0-preview1.tar.xz
+ENV RUBY_DOWNLOAD_SHA256 4ee4ec44366050d4b2ee1d88034cc63e0b9174a1a6650285777f3d3447213a97
+
+# some of ruby's build scripts are written in ruby
+#   we purge system ruby later to make sure our final image uses what we just built
+RUN set -eux; \
+	\
+	savedAptMark="$(apt-mark showmanual)"; \
+	apt-get update; \
+	apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
+		dpkg-dev \
+		libgdbm-dev \
+		ruby \
+	; \
+	rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*; \
+	\
+	rustArch=; \
+	dpkgArch="$(dpkg --print-architecture)"; \
+	case "$dpkgArch" in \
+		'amd64') rustArch='x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu'; rustupUrl='https://static.rust-lang.org/rustup/archive/1.26.0/x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu/rustup-init'; rustupSha256='0b2f6c8f85a3d02fde2efc0ced4657869d73fccfce59defb4e8d29233116e6db' ;; \
+		'arm64') rustArch='aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu'; rustupUrl='https://static.rust-lang.org/rustup/archive/1.26.0/aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu/rustup-init'; rustupSha256='673e336c81c65e6b16dcdede33f4cc9ed0f08bde1dbe7a935f113605292dc800' ;; \
+	esac; \
+	\
+	if [ -n "$rustArch" ]; then \
+		mkdir -p /tmp/rust; \
+		\
+		wget -O /tmp/rust/rustup-init "$rustupUrl"; \
+		echo "$rustupSha256 */tmp/rust/rustup-init" | sha256sum --check --strict; \
+		chmod +x /tmp/rust/rustup-init; \
+		\
+		export RUSTUP_HOME='/tmp/rust/rustup' CARGO_HOME='/tmp/rust/cargo'; \
+		export PATH="$CARGO_HOME/bin:$PATH"; \
+		/tmp/rust/rustup-init -y --no-modify-path --profile minimal --default-toolchain '1.74.1' --default-host "$rustArch"; \
+		\
+		rustc --version; \
+		cargo --version; \
+	fi; \
+	\
+	wget -O ruby.tar.xz "$RUBY_DOWNLOAD_URL"; \
+	echo "$RUBY_DOWNLOAD_SHA256 *ruby.tar.xz" | sha256sum --check --strict; \
+	\
+	mkdir -p /usr/src/ruby; \
+	tar -xJf ruby.tar.xz -C /usr/src/ruby --strip-components=1; \
+	rm ruby.tar.xz; \
+	\
+	cd /usr/src/ruby; \
+	\
+# hack in "ENABLE_PATH_CHECK" disabling to suppress:
+#   warning: Insecure world writable dir
+	{ \
+		echo '#define ENABLE_PATH_CHECK 0'; \
+		echo; \
+		cat file.c; \
+	} > file.c.new; \
+	mv file.c.new file.c; \
+	\
+	autoconf; \
+	gnuArch="$(dpkg-architecture --query DEB_BUILD_GNU_TYPE)"; \
+	./configure \
+		--build="$gnuArch" \
+		--disable-install-doc \
+		--enable-shared \
+		${rustArch:+--enable-yjit} \
+	; \
+	make -j "$(nproc)"; \
+	make install; \
+	\
+	rm -rf /tmp/rust; \
+	apt-mark auto '.*' > /dev/null; \
+	apt-mark manual $savedAptMark > /dev/null; \
+	find /usr/local -type f -executable -not \( -name '*tkinter*' \) -exec ldd '{}' ';' \
+		| awk '/=>/ { so = $(NF-1); if (index(so, "/usr/local/") == 1) { next }; gsub("^/(usr/)?", "", so); printf "*%s\n", so }' \
+		| sort -u \
+		| xargs -r dpkg-query --search \
+		| cut -d: -f1 \
+		| sort -u \
+		| xargs -r apt-mark manual \
+	; \
+	apt-get purge -y --auto-remove -o APT::AutoRemove::RecommendsImportant=false; \
+	\
+	cd /; \
+	rm -r /usr/src/ruby; \
+# verify we have no "ruby" packages installed
+	if dpkg -l | grep -i ruby; then exit 1; fi; \
+	[ "$(command -v ruby)" = '/usr/local/bin/ruby' ]; \
+# rough smoke test
+	ruby --version; \
+	gem --version; \
+	bundle --version
+
+# don't create ".bundle" in all our apps
+ENV GEM_HOME /usr/local/bundle
+ENV BUNDLE_SILENCE_ROOT_WARNING=1 \
+	BUNDLE_APP_CONFIG="$GEM_HOME"
+ENV PATH $GEM_HOME/bin:$PATH
+# adjust permissions of a few directories for running "gem install" as an arbitrary user
+RUN mkdir -p "$GEM_HOME" && chmod 1777 "$GEM_HOME"
+
+CMD [ "irb" ]
diff --git a/3.4-rc/bullseye/Dockerfile b/3.4-rc/bullseye/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..bc900b2d0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/3.4-rc/bullseye/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,119 @@
+#
+# NOTE: THIS DOCKERFILE IS GENERATED VIA "apply-templates.sh"
+#
+# PLEASE DO NOT EDIT IT DIRECTLY.
+#
+
+FROM buildpack-deps:bullseye
+
+# skip installing gem documentation
+RUN set -eux; \
+	mkdir -p /usr/local/etc; \
+	{ \
+		echo 'install: --no-document'; \
+		echo 'update: --no-document'; \
+	} >> /usr/local/etc/gemrc
+
+ENV LANG C.UTF-8
+
+# https://www.ruby-lang.org/en/news/2024/05/16/ruby-3-4-0-preview1-released/
+ENV RUBY_VERSION 3.4.0-preview1
+ENV RUBY_DOWNLOAD_URL https://cache.ruby-lang.org/pub/ruby/3.4/ruby-3.4.0-preview1.tar.xz
+ENV RUBY_DOWNLOAD_SHA256 4ee4ec44366050d4b2ee1d88034cc63e0b9174a1a6650285777f3d3447213a97
+
+# some of ruby's build scripts are written in ruby
+#   we purge system ruby later to make sure our final image uses what we just built
+RUN set -eux; \
+	\
+	savedAptMark="$(apt-mark showmanual)"; \
+	apt-get update; \
+	apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
+		dpkg-dev \
+		libgdbm-dev \
+		ruby \
+	; \
+	rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*; \
+	\
+	rustArch=; \
+	dpkgArch="$(dpkg --print-architecture)"; \
+	case "$dpkgArch" in \
+		'amd64') rustArch='x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu'; rustupUrl='https://static.rust-lang.org/rustup/archive/1.26.0/x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu/rustup-init'; rustupSha256='0b2f6c8f85a3d02fde2efc0ced4657869d73fccfce59defb4e8d29233116e6db' ;; \
+		'arm64') rustArch='aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu'; rustupUrl='https://static.rust-lang.org/rustup/archive/1.26.0/aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu/rustup-init'; rustupSha256='673e336c81c65e6b16dcdede33f4cc9ed0f08bde1dbe7a935f113605292dc800' ;; \
+	esac; \
+	\
+	if [ -n "$rustArch" ]; then \
+		mkdir -p /tmp/rust; \
+		\
+		wget -O /tmp/rust/rustup-init "$rustupUrl"; \
+		echo "$rustupSha256 */tmp/rust/rustup-init" | sha256sum --check --strict; \
+		chmod +x /tmp/rust/rustup-init; \
+		\
+		export RUSTUP_HOME='/tmp/rust/rustup' CARGO_HOME='/tmp/rust/cargo'; \
+		export PATH="$CARGO_HOME/bin:$PATH"; \
+		/tmp/rust/rustup-init -y --no-modify-path --profile minimal --default-toolchain '1.74.1' --default-host "$rustArch"; \
+		\
+		rustc --version; \
+		cargo --version; \
+	fi; \
+	\
+	wget -O ruby.tar.xz "$RUBY_DOWNLOAD_URL"; \
+	echo "$RUBY_DOWNLOAD_SHA256 *ruby.tar.xz" | sha256sum --check --strict; \
+	\
+	mkdir -p /usr/src/ruby; \
+	tar -xJf ruby.tar.xz -C /usr/src/ruby --strip-components=1; \
+	rm ruby.tar.xz; \
+	\
+	cd /usr/src/ruby; \
+	\
+# hack in "ENABLE_PATH_CHECK" disabling to suppress:
+#   warning: Insecure world writable dir
+	{ \
+		echo '#define ENABLE_PATH_CHECK 0'; \
+		echo; \
+		cat file.c; \
+	} > file.c.new; \
+	mv file.c.new file.c; \
+	\
+	autoconf; \
+	gnuArch="$(dpkg-architecture --query DEB_BUILD_GNU_TYPE)"; \
+	./configure \
+		--build="$gnuArch" \
+		--disable-install-doc \
+		--enable-shared \
+		${rustArch:+--enable-yjit} \
+	; \
+	make -j "$(nproc)"; \
+	make install; \
+	\
+	rm -rf /tmp/rust; \
+	apt-mark auto '.*' > /dev/null; \
+	apt-mark manual $savedAptMark > /dev/null; \
+	find /usr/local -type f -executable -not \( -name '*tkinter*' \) -exec ldd '{}' ';' \
+		| awk '/=>/ { so = $(NF-1); if (index(so, "/usr/local/") == 1) { next }; gsub("^/(usr/)?", "", so); printf "*%s\n", so }' \
+		| sort -u \
+		| xargs -r dpkg-query --search \
+		| cut -d: -f1 \
+		| sort -u \
+		| xargs -r apt-mark manual \
+	; \
+	apt-get purge -y --auto-remove -o APT::AutoRemove::RecommendsImportant=false; \
+	\
+	cd /; \
+	rm -r /usr/src/ruby; \
+# verify we have no "ruby" packages installed
+	if dpkg -l | grep -i ruby; then exit 1; fi; \
+	[ "$(command -v ruby)" = '/usr/local/bin/ruby' ]; \
+# rough smoke test
+	ruby --version; \
+	gem --version; \
+	bundle --version
+
+# don't create ".bundle" in all our apps
+ENV GEM_HOME /usr/local/bundle
+ENV BUNDLE_SILENCE_ROOT_WARNING=1 \
+	BUNDLE_APP_CONFIG="$GEM_HOME"
+ENV PATH $GEM_HOME/bin:$PATH
+# adjust permissions of a few directories for running "gem install" as an arbitrary user
+RUN mkdir -p "$GEM_HOME" && chmod 1777 "$GEM_HOME"
+
+CMD [ "irb" ]
diff --git a/3.4-rc/slim-bookworm/Dockerfile b/3.4-rc/slim-bookworm/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b74c10f52
--- /dev/null
+++ b/3.4-rc/slim-bookworm/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,145 @@
+#
+# NOTE: THIS DOCKERFILE IS GENERATED VIA "apply-templates.sh"
+#
+# PLEASE DO NOT EDIT IT DIRECTLY.
+#
+
+FROM debian:bookworm-slim
+
+RUN set -eux; \
+	apt-get update; \
+	apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
+		bzip2 \
+		ca-certificates \
+		libffi-dev \
+		libgmp-dev \
+		libssl-dev \
+		libyaml-dev \
+		procps \
+		zlib1g-dev \
+	; \
+	rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+
+# skip installing gem documentation
+RUN set -eux; \
+	mkdir -p /usr/local/etc; \
+	{ \
+		echo 'install: --no-document'; \
+		echo 'update: --no-document'; \
+	} >> /usr/local/etc/gemrc
+
+ENV LANG C.UTF-8
+
+# https://www.ruby-lang.org/en/news/2024/05/16/ruby-3-4-0-preview1-released/
+ENV RUBY_VERSION 3.4.0-preview1
+ENV RUBY_DOWNLOAD_URL https://cache.ruby-lang.org/pub/ruby/3.4/ruby-3.4.0-preview1.tar.xz
+ENV RUBY_DOWNLOAD_SHA256 4ee4ec44366050d4b2ee1d88034cc63e0b9174a1a6650285777f3d3447213a97
+
+# some of ruby's build scripts are written in ruby
+#   we purge system ruby later to make sure our final image uses what we just built
+RUN set -eux; \
+	\
+	savedAptMark="$(apt-mark showmanual)"; \
+	apt-get update; \
+	apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
+		dpkg-dev \
+		libgdbm-dev \
+		ruby \
+		autoconf \
+		g++ \
+		gcc \
+		libbz2-dev \
+		libgdbm-compat-dev \
+		libglib2.0-dev \
+		libncurses-dev \
+		libxml2-dev \
+		libxslt-dev \
+		make \
+		wget \
+		xz-utils \
+	; \
+	rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*; \
+	\
+	rustArch=; \
+	dpkgArch="$(dpkg --print-architecture)"; \
+	case "$dpkgArch" in \
+		'amd64') rustArch='x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu'; rustupUrl='https://static.rust-lang.org/rustup/archive/1.26.0/x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu/rustup-init'; rustupSha256='0b2f6c8f85a3d02fde2efc0ced4657869d73fccfce59defb4e8d29233116e6db' ;; \
+		'arm64') rustArch='aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu'; rustupUrl='https://static.rust-lang.org/rustup/archive/1.26.0/aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu/rustup-init'; rustupSha256='673e336c81c65e6b16dcdede33f4cc9ed0f08bde1dbe7a935f113605292dc800' ;; \
+	esac; \
+	\
+	if [ -n "$rustArch" ]; then \
+		mkdir -p /tmp/rust; \
+		\
+		wget -O /tmp/rust/rustup-init "$rustupUrl"; \
+		echo "$rustupSha256 */tmp/rust/rustup-init" | sha256sum --check --strict; \
+		chmod +x /tmp/rust/rustup-init; \
+		\
+		export RUSTUP_HOME='/tmp/rust/rustup' CARGO_HOME='/tmp/rust/cargo'; \
+		export PATH="$CARGO_HOME/bin:$PATH"; \
+		/tmp/rust/rustup-init -y --no-modify-path --profile minimal --default-toolchain '1.74.1' --default-host "$rustArch"; \
+		\
+		rustc --version; \
+		cargo --version; \
+	fi; \
+	\
+	wget -O ruby.tar.xz "$RUBY_DOWNLOAD_URL"; \
+	echo "$RUBY_DOWNLOAD_SHA256 *ruby.tar.xz" | sha256sum --check --strict; \
+	\
+	mkdir -p /usr/src/ruby; \
+	tar -xJf ruby.tar.xz -C /usr/src/ruby --strip-components=1; \
+	rm ruby.tar.xz; \
+	\
+	cd /usr/src/ruby; \
+	\
+# hack in "ENABLE_PATH_CHECK" disabling to suppress:
+#   warning: Insecure world writable dir
+	{ \
+		echo '#define ENABLE_PATH_CHECK 0'; \
+		echo; \
+		cat file.c; \
+	} > file.c.new; \
+	mv file.c.new file.c; \
+	\
+	autoconf; \
+	gnuArch="$(dpkg-architecture --query DEB_BUILD_GNU_TYPE)"; \
+	./configure \
+		--build="$gnuArch" \
+		--disable-install-doc \
+		--enable-shared \
+		${rustArch:+--enable-yjit} \
+	; \
+	make -j "$(nproc)"; \
+	make install; \
+	\
+	rm -rf /tmp/rust; \
+	apt-mark auto '.*' > /dev/null; \
+	apt-mark manual $savedAptMark > /dev/null; \
+	find /usr/local -type f -executable -not \( -name '*tkinter*' \) -exec ldd '{}' ';' \
+		| awk '/=>/ { so = $(NF-1); if (index(so, "/usr/local/") == 1) { next }; gsub("^/(usr/)?", "", so); printf "*%s\n", so }' \
+		| sort -u \
+		| xargs -r dpkg-query --search \
+		| cut -d: -f1 \
+		| sort -u \
+		| xargs -r apt-mark manual \
+	; \
+	apt-get purge -y --auto-remove -o APT::AutoRemove::RecommendsImportant=false; \
+	\
+	cd /; \
+	rm -r /usr/src/ruby; \
+# verify we have no "ruby" packages installed
+	if dpkg -l | grep -i ruby; then exit 1; fi; \
+	[ "$(command -v ruby)" = '/usr/local/bin/ruby' ]; \
+# rough smoke test
+	ruby --version; \
+	gem --version; \
+	bundle --version
+
+# don't create ".bundle" in all our apps
+ENV GEM_HOME /usr/local/bundle
+ENV BUNDLE_SILENCE_ROOT_WARNING=1 \
+	BUNDLE_APP_CONFIG="$GEM_HOME"
+ENV PATH $GEM_HOME/bin:$PATH
+# adjust permissions of a few directories for running "gem install" as an arbitrary user
+RUN mkdir -p "$GEM_HOME" && chmod 1777 "$GEM_HOME"
+
+CMD [ "irb" ]
diff --git a/3.4-rc/slim-bullseye/Dockerfile b/3.4-rc/slim-bullseye/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c7a484607
--- /dev/null
+++ b/3.4-rc/slim-bullseye/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,145 @@
+#
+# NOTE: THIS DOCKERFILE IS GENERATED VIA "apply-templates.sh"
+#
+# PLEASE DO NOT EDIT IT DIRECTLY.
+#
+
+FROM debian:bullseye-slim
+
+RUN set -eux; \
+	apt-get update; \
+	apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
+		bzip2 \
+		ca-certificates \
+		libffi-dev \
+		libgmp-dev \
+		libssl-dev \
+		libyaml-dev \
+		procps \
+		zlib1g-dev \
+	; \
+	rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+
+# skip installing gem documentation
+RUN set -eux; \
+	mkdir -p /usr/local/etc; \
+	{ \
+		echo 'install: --no-document'; \
+		echo 'update: --no-document'; \
+	} >> /usr/local/etc/gemrc
+
+ENV LANG C.UTF-8
+
+# https://www.ruby-lang.org/en/news/2024/05/16/ruby-3-4-0-preview1-released/
+ENV RUBY_VERSION 3.4.0-preview1
+ENV RUBY_DOWNLOAD_URL https://cache.ruby-lang.org/pub/ruby/3.4/ruby-3.4.0-preview1.tar.xz
+ENV RUBY_DOWNLOAD_SHA256 4ee4ec44366050d4b2ee1d88034cc63e0b9174a1a6650285777f3d3447213a97
+
+# some of ruby's build scripts are written in ruby
+#   we purge system ruby later to make sure our final image uses what we just built
+RUN set -eux; \
+	\
+	savedAptMark="$(apt-mark showmanual)"; \
+	apt-get update; \
+	apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
+		dpkg-dev \
+		libgdbm-dev \
+		ruby \
+		autoconf \
+		g++ \
+		gcc \
+		libbz2-dev \
+		libgdbm-compat-dev \
+		libglib2.0-dev \
+		libncurses-dev \
+		libxml2-dev \
+		libxslt-dev \
+		make \
+		wget \
+		xz-utils \
+	; \
+	rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*; \
+	\
+	rustArch=; \
+	dpkgArch="$(dpkg --print-architecture)"; \
+	case "$dpkgArch" in \
+		'amd64') rustArch='x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu'; rustupUrl='https://static.rust-lang.org/rustup/archive/1.26.0/x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu/rustup-init'; rustupSha256='0b2f6c8f85a3d02fde2efc0ced4657869d73fccfce59defb4e8d29233116e6db' ;; \
+		'arm64') rustArch='aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu'; rustupUrl='https://static.rust-lang.org/rustup/archive/1.26.0/aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu/rustup-init'; rustupSha256='673e336c81c65e6b16dcdede33f4cc9ed0f08bde1dbe7a935f113605292dc800' ;; \
+	esac; \
+	\
+	if [ -n "$rustArch" ]; then \
+		mkdir -p /tmp/rust; \
+		\
+		wget -O /tmp/rust/rustup-init "$rustupUrl"; \
+		echo "$rustupSha256 */tmp/rust/rustup-init" | sha256sum --check --strict; \
+		chmod +x /tmp/rust/rustup-init; \
+		\
+		export RUSTUP_HOME='/tmp/rust/rustup' CARGO_HOME='/tmp/rust/cargo'; \
+		export PATH="$CARGO_HOME/bin:$PATH"; \
+		/tmp/rust/rustup-init -y --no-modify-path --profile minimal --default-toolchain '1.74.1' --default-host "$rustArch"; \
+		\
+		rustc --version; \
+		cargo --version; \
+	fi; \
+	\
+	wget -O ruby.tar.xz "$RUBY_DOWNLOAD_URL"; \
+	echo "$RUBY_DOWNLOAD_SHA256 *ruby.tar.xz" | sha256sum --check --strict; \
+	\
+	mkdir -p /usr/src/ruby; \
+	tar -xJf ruby.tar.xz -C /usr/src/ruby --strip-components=1; \
+	rm ruby.tar.xz; \
+	\
+	cd /usr/src/ruby; \
+	\
+# hack in "ENABLE_PATH_CHECK" disabling to suppress:
+#   warning: Insecure world writable dir
+	{ \
+		echo '#define ENABLE_PATH_CHECK 0'; \
+		echo; \
+		cat file.c; \
+	} > file.c.new; \
+	mv file.c.new file.c; \
+	\
+	autoconf; \
+	gnuArch="$(dpkg-architecture --query DEB_BUILD_GNU_TYPE)"; \
+	./configure \
+		--build="$gnuArch" \
+		--disable-install-doc \
+		--enable-shared \
+		${rustArch:+--enable-yjit} \
+	; \
+	make -j "$(nproc)"; \
+	make install; \
+	\
+	rm -rf /tmp/rust; \
+	apt-mark auto '.*' > /dev/null; \
+	apt-mark manual $savedAptMark > /dev/null; \
+	find /usr/local -type f -executable -not \( -name '*tkinter*' \) -exec ldd '{}' ';' \
+		| awk '/=>/ { so = $(NF-1); if (index(so, "/usr/local/") == 1) { next }; gsub("^/(usr/)?", "", so); printf "*%s\n", so }' \
+		| sort -u \
+		| xargs -r dpkg-query --search \
+		| cut -d: -f1 \
+		| sort -u \
+		| xargs -r apt-mark manual \
+	; \
+	apt-get purge -y --auto-remove -o APT::AutoRemove::RecommendsImportant=false; \
+	\
+	cd /; \
+	rm -r /usr/src/ruby; \
+# verify we have no "ruby" packages installed
+	if dpkg -l | grep -i ruby; then exit 1; fi; \
+	[ "$(command -v ruby)" = '/usr/local/bin/ruby' ]; \
+# rough smoke test
+	ruby --version; \
+	gem --version; \
+	bundle --version
+
+# don't create ".bundle" in all our apps
+ENV GEM_HOME /usr/local/bundle
+ENV BUNDLE_SILENCE_ROOT_WARNING=1 \
+	BUNDLE_APP_CONFIG="$GEM_HOME"
+ENV PATH $GEM_HOME/bin:$PATH
+# adjust permissions of a few directories for running "gem install" as an arbitrary user
+RUN mkdir -p "$GEM_HOME" && chmod 1777 "$GEM_HOME"
+
+CMD [ "irb" ]
diff --git a/versions.json b/versions.json
index 0fd1fe446..7bbdeaa5f 100644
--- a/versions.json
+++ b/versions.json
@@ -214,5 +214,82 @@
       },
       "version": "1.26.0"
     }
+  },
+  "3.4": null,
+  "3.4-rc": {
+    "version": "3.4.0-preview1",
+    "date": "2024-05-16",
+    "post": "/en/news/2024/05/16/ruby-3-4-0-preview1-released/",
+    "tag": "v3_4_0_preview1",
+    "stats": {
+      "files_changed": 3283,
+      "insertions": 107449,
+      "deletions": 115380
+    },
+    "url": {
+      "gz": "https://cache.ruby-lang.org/pub/ruby/3.4/ruby-3.4.0-preview1.tar.gz",
+      "zip": "https://cache.ruby-lang.org/pub/ruby/3.4/ruby-3.4.0-preview1.zip",
+      "xz": "https://cache.ruby-lang.org/pub/ruby/3.4/ruby-3.4.0-preview1.tar.xz"
+    },
+    "size": {
+      "gz": 22507726,
+      "zip": 27731060,
+      "xz": 16709536
+    },
+    "sha1": {
+      "gz": "1619cbe06b5a8c774711b3351d18bb0f84f1d017",
+      "zip": "5d79834050369ea9241d86467bf93e9e89e2ab7a",
+      "xz": "6041ad2651527d01c36106de3d3cdab680ed3132"
+    },
+    "sha256": {
+      "gz": "1a3c322e90cb22e5fba0b5d257bb2be9988affa3867eba7642ed981fdde895bb",
+      "zip": "bd2a6c0e8396698e6f6768c00b0f155510859bb6fb92420f7b7abec610e71dbb",
+      "xz": "4ee4ec44366050d4b2ee1d88034cc63e0b9174a1a6650285777f3d3447213a97"
+    },
+    "sha512": {
+      "gz": "29c0e32179f7b823b6708f5328e495cd333fe8dd88f7df7d9051deab47add67b14d899bba565bba1a77e1b04c9693d9708541445c112925777bb6891cb7b2b62",
+      "zip": "36ea6897e6ad769141516f4c1bb18989fbde27a76f0f3abcce947f8b6b79639846ba93907e085181f7d305ab06ad73f1bbb37928049c8c951d33176ee444abbf",
+      "xz": "4ce306b9beb1e2d88c76d7f809724b66bed17e354c07a2b54aa050fc2035652e4d83deadc8dbf7a375bbdb1c816f2996334bb8e7ff5e6c24b71a858bf6b0cb7c"
+    },
+    "variants": [
+      "bookworm",
+      "slim-bookworm",
+      "bullseye",
+      "slim-bullseye",
+      "alpine3.19",
+      "alpine3.18"
+    ],
+    "rust": {
+      "version": "1.74.1"
+    },
+    "rustup": {
+      "arches": {
+        "amd64": {
+          "glibc": {
+            "arch": "x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu",
+            "sha256": "0b2f6c8f85a3d02fde2efc0ced4657869d73fccfce59defb4e8d29233116e6db",
+            "url": "https://static.rust-lang.org/rustup/archive/1.26.0/x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu/rustup-init"
+          },
+          "musl": {
+            "arch": "x86_64-unknown-linux-musl",
+            "sha256": "7aa9e2a380a9958fc1fc426a3323209b2c86181c6816640979580f62ff7d48d4",
+            "url": "https://static.rust-lang.org/rustup/archive/1.26.0/x86_64-unknown-linux-musl/rustup-init"
+          }
+        },
+        "arm64v8": {
+          "glibc": {
+            "arch": "aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu",
+            "sha256": "673e336c81c65e6b16dcdede33f4cc9ed0f08bde1dbe7a935f113605292dc800",
+            "url": "https://static.rust-lang.org/rustup/archive/1.26.0/aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu/rustup-init"
+          },
+          "musl": {
+            "arch": "aarch64-unknown-linux-musl",
+            "sha256": "b1962dfc18e1fd47d01341e6897cace67cddfabf547ef394e8883939bd6e002e",
+            "url": "https://static.rust-lang.org/rustup/archive/1.26.0/aarch64-unknown-linux-musl/rustup-init"
+          }
+        }
+      },
+      "version": "1.26.0"
+    }
   }
 }