Java 8 support in Selenium
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“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is a saying you may have heard, but sometimes it’s necessary to move on from our old favorites. That’s why we’re announcing that Selenium will stop supporting Java 8 on September 30, 2023. This applies for both the Java bindings and the Selenium Grid.
Selenium has long supported Java 8, but as technology evolves, so must we. One of the primary reasons for this change is that Java 8 reached the end of active support over a year ago. In addition, our default HTTP Client has not had a major release in several years, and a bug has been found that we can not fix. We have decided to move to the native Java HTTP Client, but it requires using Java 11 or greater. The sooner we make this change, the sooner we can avoid dealing with this issue.
Our new minimum version will be Java 11. September 30, 2023 is also the end of active support for Java 11. However, we want to take a cautious and conservative path forward, and not force our users to make the big jump from Java 8 to Java 17, as we understand the community might need longer to move to that version. We will revisit this topic in the future to announce the plan to support Java 17 as a minimum version.
We understand that this change may require some of our users to make adjustments, but we believe that it’s a necessary step for the continued growth of Selenium. Please take some time to check your infrastructure and ensure you’re running on Java 11 or higher. We understand that some may be hesitant or may find it difficult to make the switch, but we believe it will pay off in the long run.
Please let us know your questions, concerns, and feedback through our community chat.
Happy testing!
