Clarification on upgrading from SonarQube 8.9 Community Edition to Community Build (Java 17)

SonarQube Server / Community Build
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Versions

  • Current SonarQube version: SonarQube 8.9 Community Edition
  • Scanner: SonarScanner CLI (latest compatible version with SonarQube 8.9)
  • Plugins: No custom plugins (only bundled plugins)
  • Extensions: None

Deployment

  • Current deployment: ZIP installation (self-hosted)

What are you trying to achieve?

We are planning to upgrade from SonarQube 8.9 Community Edition to the latest free version.

Our environment uses:

  • Java compilation: Java 17
  • Java runtime: Java 17

We also plan to use the SonarQube MCP Server with the upgraded version.

While reviewing the available downloads, we noticed that the official download page only provides the latest SonarQube Server 2026.1 LTA download. We could not find any Community Build 25.x downloads on the official website.

However, we found the following official binary hosted on SonarSource’s binaries server:

https://binaries.sonarsource.com/Distribution/sonarqube/sonarqube-25.1.0.102122.zip

We would appreciate clarification on the following:

  1. Is there an LTA release for SonarQube Community Build, or are LTAs available only for SonarQube Server (commercial editions)?
  2. Is Community Build 25.1.0.102122 an officially supported Community Build release?
  3. Although this binary is hosted on the official binaries.sonarsource.com server, it is not listed on the official downloads page. Is it safe and recommended to use this version?
  4. Since our server runtime is Java 17, which Community Build version do you recommend? Should we use 25.1.0.102122, another 25.x release, or a different version?
  5. Is there a recommended upgrade path when migrating directly from SonarQube 8.9 Community Edition to Community Build?

What have you tried so far?

  • Reviewed the official SonarQube download page.
  • Read the Community Build release notes.
  • Verified that Community Build 25.1.0.102122 can be downloaded from the official SonarSource binaries server.
  • Confirmed that Community Build 26.x requires Java 21, whereas our environment currently uses Java 17.

We would appreciate your guidance on the recommended upgrade version and path.

Thank you!

2

Hi @Manikandan_M,

1. Does Community Build have an LTA?

No. LTA (Long-Term Active) releases are exclusive to SonarQube Server (the commercial editions). Community Build follows a rolling monthly release cadence, there is no LTA designation, and only the current/latest release is maintained. Once a new Community Build is out, the previous one is effectively end-of-life.

2. Is 25.1.0.102122 an officially supported release?

Can you clarify what you mean by ‘officially supported’? Community Build uses the version scheme YY.MM.0.BUILDNUMBER, so 25.1.0.102122 is the January 2025 release. That said, since Community Build releases monthly and it’s now July 2026, there are many newer 25.x releases available. The current release is: 26.7.0.124771.

3. Is it safe to download from binaries.sonarsource.com even though it’s not on the official downloads page?

Yes, binaries.sonarsource.com is SonarSource’s official distribution server, the binaries there are legitimate and safe. Historical downloads can be found on Download SonarQube | Sonar Scroll to the bottom of the page: direct link).

4. Which Community Build version should you use on Java 17?

Are you referring to the Java runtime for the Sonarscanner, the Java version for running the SonarQube Server or simply the version of Java used to compile your source code?

5. Upgrade path from SonarQube 8.9 Community Edition

You cannot jump directly from 8.9 to 25.x in one step. SonarQube enforces database migration checkpoints through each LTA. The required path is:

8.9 CE → 9.9 CE → Community Build 24.12→ Community Build 25.12→ Community Build 26.7 (latest)

You may be better off making a fresh start with the latest version, as v8.9 is quite an old version and would require several intermediate steps to upgrade.

The upgrade procedure at each step is: stop the server, replace the binaries, start the server, and let the automatic database migration complete. Reference: Overview | SonarQube Community Build | Sonar Documentation

Hope that helps.

Best regards,

Stevan