Jenkins Announces Minimum Java 11 Requirement Starting with Version 2.357 and Upcoming LTS Release

Open‑source DevOps tool Jenkins announced that, beginning with Jenkins 2.357 released on June 28 and the upcoming September LTS version, the platform will require at least Java 11.

Originally named Hudson, Jenkins has been a leading continuous‑integration solution for over a decade since its inception in 2005, and its Java version migrations have historically followed the evolution of the Java ecosystem; the current shift from Java 8 to Java 11 continues that pattern.

Developer Basil Crow explained in a blog that while Jenkins might temporarily remain on Java 8, doing so is more detrimental than beneficial because many critical third‑party libraries (e.g., Jetty, JGit, Spring Framework, Spring Security) already need newer Java releases, and staying on Java 8 would prevent the project from receiving essential security updates.

In addition, newer Java releases provide substantial runtime improvements: LinkedIn reported significant performance gains after moving to Java 11, Adoptium observed notable memory‑usage reductions (benefits that also apply to Jenkins), and recent Java runtimes introduce many garbage‑collection enhancements.

Maintaining a current Java version also helps Jenkins attract and retain developers.

The official Jenkins Docker image has been based on Java 11 for several months; Java 8 remains an optional fallback, and Java 17 is available in preview mode. However, starting with Jenkins 2.357 the Java 8 image will be retired, and the Java 17 image will transition from preview to general availability.

Jenkins’ support for Java 17 is new and has not yet reached widespread adoption within the community, but experience shows that Java 17 is a more reliable choice than Java 11, and migrating from Java 11 to Java 17 is less painful than the earlier jump from Java 8 to Java 11.