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Java

The "write once, run anywhere" language and JVM platform behind enterprise back ends, Android and big data tools. LTS releases come every two years.

  • Active project
  • Latest 27.0.1.0.3Oct 2026
  • Latest LTS 25 LTS
  • Supported 3 versions
Download Official site 83 Java guides
On this page

At a glance

Type
Programming language
Developer
Oracle and the OpenJDK community
First release
23 Jan 1996
Release cadence
Every 6 months (March, September); LTS every 2 years
Paradigm
Object-oriented, functional
Typing
Static, strong
Runtime
Java Virtual Machine (HotSpot)
Build tools
Maven, Gradle
Distributions
Oracle JDK, OpenJDK builds, Eclipse Temurin, Amazon Corretto and others
Release data
Oracle JDK support dates (other vendors differ)
License
GPLv2 with Classpath Exception (OpenJDK)
Website
openjdk.org

Newest release

Java 27

Released 15 Sep 2026 · latest update 27.0.1.0.3

Recommended for servers

Java 25 LTS

Supported until 30 Sep 2030

Support status

27 Supported

Until 31 Mar 2027 · in 4 months

25 LTS Supported

Until 30 Sep 2030 · in 3.5 years

21 LTS Supported

Until 30 Sep 2028 · in 1.5 years

17 LTS Extended support (paid)

Paid support until 30 Sep 2029 · in 2.5 years

11 LTS Extended support (paid)

Paid support until 31 Jan 2032 · in 5 years

8 LTS Extended support (paid)

Paid support until 31 Dec 2030 · in 4 years

26 End of life

Ended 18 Sep 2026 · 1 month ago

Release history

VersionReleasedLatestEnd of lifeExtendedStatus
2715 Sep 202627.0.1.0.331 Mar 2027—Supported
2617 Mar 202626.0.2.118 Sep 2026—End of life
25 LTS16 Sep 202525.0.5.0.330 Sep 203030 Sep 2033Supported
2418 Mar 202524.0.216 Sep 2025—End of life
2317 Sep 202423.0.218 Mar 2025—End of life
2219 Mar 202422.0.217 Sep 2024—End of life
21 LTS19 Sep 202321.0.13.0.330 Sep 202830 Sep 2031Supported
2021 Mar 202320.0.219 Sep 2023—End of life
1920 Sep 202219.0.221 Mar 2023—End of life
1822 Mar 202218.0.2.120 Sep 2022—End of life
17 LTS14 Sep 202117.0.21.0.330 Sep 202630 Sep 2029Extended support (paid)
1616 Mar 202116.0.214 Sep 2021—End of life
1515 Sep 202015.0.216 Mar 2021—End of life
1417 Mar 202014.0.216 Sep 2020—End of life
1317 Sep 201913.0.217 Mar 2020—End of life
1219 Mar 201912.0.217 Sep 2019—End of life
11 LTS25 Sep 201811.0.33.0.330 Sep 202331 Jan 2032Extended support (paid)
1020 Mar 201810.0.225 Sep 2018—End of life
921 Sep 20179.0.420 Mar 2018—End of life
8 LTS18 Mar 20148u511b3331 Mar 202231 Dec 2030Extended support (paid)
7 LTS11 Jul 20117u35131 Jul 201919 Jul 2022End of life
612 Dec 20066u21131 Dec 2018—End of life
530 Sep 20045.0u8530 Oct 2009—End of life
1.413 Feb 20021.4.2_4230 Oct 2008—End of life
1.38 May 20001.3.1_3231 Mar 2006—End of life
1.24 Dec 19981.2.2_1830 Nov 2003—End of life
1.118 Feb 19971.1.8_0109 Oct 2002—End of life
1.023 Jan 19961.0.27 May 1996—End of life

Release data: endoflife.date and vendor announcements, checked 13 Nov 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.

Support timeline

The 12 most recent releases, from release day to the end of support.

  • Active support
  • Extended (paid)
  • Today
27
26
25 LTS
24
23
22
21 LTS
20
19
18
17 LTS
16

History

Java was created at Sun Microsystems by James Gosling’s team and released in 1996. Its bytecode ran on any platform with a Java Virtual Machine. It became the dominant language for enterprise applications and later the original language of Android. Sun open-sourced it as OpenJDK in 2006, and Oracle took over when it bought Sun in 2010.

Since Java 10 (2018), a new version arrives every six months. Long-term support releases now come every two years: 17, 21, 25. Many vendors build OpenJDK, including Eclipse Temurin, Amazon Corretto, Azul and Microsoft, and their support dates differ. The table on this page shows Oracle JDK dates.

Milestones

  1. 1996Sun Microsystems releases JDK 1.0
  2. 2004Java 5 adds generics, annotations and enums
  3. 2006Sun open-sources Java as OpenJDK under the GPL
  4. 2010Oracle acquires Sun Microsystems
  5. 2014Java 8 adds lambdas and streams
  6. 2017Java 9 adds the module system; Oracle moves to a six-month release cadence
  7. 2019Oracle JDK requires a paid licence for commercial production use
  8. 2021Java 17 LTS; Oracle JDK becomes free again under the NFTC licence
  9. 2023Java 21 LTS adds virtual threads
  10. 2025Java 25 is the latest LTS release

Java guides

Browse all 83 Java guides →

Frequently asked questions

What is the latest version of Java?

The newest Java release is Java 27, released on 15 Sep 2026. Its latest update is 27.0.1.0.3 (24 Oct 2026).

What is the latest LTS version of Java?

Java 25 LTS is the newest long-term support release (released 16 Sep 2025), supported until 30 Sep 2030.

Which Java versions are still supported?

As of 13 Nov 2026, 3 versions are supported: Java 27 (until 31 Mar 2027); Java 25 LTS (until 30 Sep 2030); Java 21 LTS (until 30 Sep 2028).

Is Java 26 still supported?

No. Java 26 reached end of life on 18 Sep 2026 and no longer gets free security updates. Upgrade to Java 25 LTS.

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