Oracle Java SE Support Roadmap

(Updated November 18, 2018)

Oracle provides this Oracle Java SE Support Roadmap, to help understand maintenance and support options and related timelines. If you are looking for the latest free JDK releases and updates from Oracle under an open source license, please see jdk.java.net.  We recommend you take some time to understand the new Java SE release cadence and OpenJDK builds from Oracle so that you can make the best decisions for your corporate and personal use. 
   
The guidance below applies to three types of Java users:

Oracle Customers. Oracle Customers are those Oracle customers with an active (1) Java SE Subscription and/or Java SE Desktop Subscription, (2) support contract for Oracle Java SE Advanced, Oracle Java SE Advanced Desktop, Oracle Java SE Suite, and/or Java SE Support, or (3) Java SE support entitlement for use of Java SE solely with another Oracle product (Visit My.Oracle Support Note 1439822.1 - All Java SE Downloads on MOS – Requires Support Login).

Commercial Users. Commercial Users are entities other than Oracle Customers that use Java SE for free for business, commercial or production purposes as part of a Java application delivered by a third party or developed internally. 

Personal Users. Personal Users are individuals who use Java SE for free on personal desktops or laptops. Personal users include individuals using Oracle Java SE to develop applications for hobby or educational purposes, play games or run consumer productivity applications.     
 

Oracle JDK and OpenJDK builds from Oracle

Since September 2017, Oracle provides JDK releases under a free open source license (similar to that of Linux).  Beginning with Java SE 11 (September 2018, "18.9 LTS"), not only does Oracle provide releases for free for all users under an open source license, but Oracle also provides releases which are commercially supported and included for use with Oracle products. For more information, see "Oracle JDK Releases for Java 11 and Later". 

Dates listed below for Public Updates and Java SE Support apply only to the commercially supported Oracle JDK releases included in Oracle Java SE binary products. Availability and community support of OpenJDK releases provided by Oracle is listed separately on jdk.java.net.
 

End of Public Updates of Java SE 8

Java SE 8 is going through the End of Public Updates process for legacy releases.  Oracle will continue to provide free public updates and auto updates of Java SE 8, until at least the end of December 2020 for Personal Users, and January 2019 for Commercial Users. Personal Users continue to get free Java SE 8 updates from Oracle at java.com (or via auto update), and Commercial Users continue to get free updates to Java SE 8 from OTN for free under the BCL license. Starting with the April 2019 scheduled quarterly critical patch update, Oracle Customers can access updates to Java SE 8 for commercial use from Oracle through My Oracle Support and via corporate auto update where applicable (Visit My.Oracle Support Note 1439822.1 - All Java SE Downloads on MOS – Requires Support Login).

Oracle does not plan to migrate desktops from Java SE 8 to later versions via the auto update feature. This includes the Java Plugin and Java Web Start. Instead of relying on a browser-accessible system JRE, we encourage application developers to use the packaging options introduced with Java SE 9 to repackage and deliver their Java applications as stand-alone applications that include their own custom runtimes.

Current releases remain free and open source for all users from jdk.java.net.
 

Oracle Java SE Product Releases

Oracle provides Customers with Oracle Premier Support on Oracle Java SE products as described in the Oracle Lifetime Support Policy. For product releases after Java SE 8, Oracle will designate a release, every three years, as a Long-Term-Support (LTS) release. Java SE 11 (18.9 LTS) is an LTS release. For the purposes of Oracle Premier Support, non‑LTS releases are considered a cumulative set of implementation enhancements of the most recent LTS release. Once a new feature release is made available, any previous non‑LTS release will be considered superseded. For example, Java SE 9 was a non‑LTS release and immediately superseded by Java SE 10 (also non‑LTS), Java SE 10 in turn is immediately superseded by Java SE 11. Java SE 11 however is an LTS release, and therefore Oracle Customers will receive Oracle Premier Support and periodic update releases, even after Java SE 12 is released.

Examples of some key product dates for Oracle Java SE product offerings include:

Web Deployment Technology and JavaFX

The Web Deployment Technology bundled with the JRE, consisting of the Java Plugin and Java Web Start has a shorter support lifecycle: only five years of Premier Support. The deployment stack was marked as deprecated and flagged for removal in Java SE 9 and Java SE 10. Oracle Java SE 11 and later versions do not include the Deployment Stack. As Java SE 8 will be the sunset release for the Deployment Stack Oracle extended support of Java Web Start on Java SE 8 until the end of Java SE 8 Extended Support (March 2025). Support for the Java Plugin (Java Applets) remains available until March 2019.

Java SE 8 is the recommended and only supported version of the deployment stack. The Java SE 8 deployment stack may be used to run Java SE 6, or Java SE 7 applications on Windows platforms. The Java deployment technology will not be supported beyond Java SE 8. See the Oracle Lifetime Support Policy for details.

JavaFX has been Open Sourced and redesigned to be available as a stand-alone library rather than being included with the JDK. Starting with Java SE 11 (18.9 LTS), JavaFX is not be included in the Oracle JDK. Support for JavaFX on Java SE 8 will continue through the Premier Support term (until March 2022).