The International Conference on Automata and Formal Languages (AFL) has a long tradition, dating back to the 1980s. Initiated in Hungary by the late Professor István Peák, the AFL conferences cover all aspects of automata and formal languages, including theory and applications. The previous three conferences of the series were held in Eger (2023), Debrecen (2017) and Szeged (2014). In 2026, the conference is organized for the first time in Slovakia by the Faculty of Science, P. J. Šafárik University in Košice and the Mathematical Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences.