which versions are you using (SonarQube Server / Community Build, Scanner, Plugin, and any relevant extension): 8.9.6
sonarlint: 6.2.0
IBM RAD IDE: 9.7.0.6
how is SonarQube deployed: zip
Hello SonarQube Support Team,
We are currently running SonarQube version 8.9.6 along with SonarLint version 6.2.0 in our development environment.
The reason we have not yet upgraded to SonarQube 9.x or 10.x is due to compatibility issues: the newer SonarLint plugin versions (7.x), which require Java 11, were not compatible with our previous IDE, IBM RAD (Rational Application Developer 9.7.0.6), which only supported Java 8.
Recently, IBM RAD was upgraded to version 10, which supports Java 17. This now allows us to consider upgrading SonarQube to version 10.x. However, we would appreciate your input on a couple of questions before proceeding:
Upgrade Path:
Can we upgrade directly from SonarQube 8.9.6 to 10.x, or is an incremental upgrade required (e.g., from 8.9.6 → 9.x → 10.x)?
Java Version Compatibility:
Our application code is still compiled and run using Java 8. After upgrading SonarQube and SonarLint to the latest versions, will they continue to support analysis of Java 8 code, or are there limitations we should be aware of?
We would appreciate your guidance on the best way to proceed with the upgrade while ensuring compatibility and continued support for Java 8 code analysis.
both SonarQube Server and SonarQube for IDE (formerly known as SonarLint) can work on Java 8 code. For the IDE plug-in, always use the latest one, please. Since 6.2 there were many changes, you might have to get used to.
Based on the documentation about upgrading, you have to incrementally upgrade: 8.9.6 → 9.9.6 → 24.12 (only if you have SonarQube Community Build, formerly known as SonarQube Community Edition) → 2025.1.4 (latest LTA) → 2025.5 (optionally when you want to move further than the latest LTA).
Depending on which Database you use, you have to upgrade it as well (or migrate).
There are also changes regarding the rules, mainly the new mode “Multi Quality Rules” (see here). This changes the rules and the way they are displayed, completely. If this is too confusing, when upgrading, there is a mode “Standard Experience” which uses the old terminology.
Thank you for the reply. Can you please look into below
Can we upgrade RAD first and then SonarQube and Sonalint parallely? Will RAD 10.0 works with Current sonarlint plugin 6.2.0? We have installed it successfully but just want to make we don’t get any surprises also what is the recommended Sonarlint plugin version if we are going for SonarQube version 9?
You should be able to update RAD first and still use the same SonarLint version. I can only guess here, as I have no idea how far this commercial IDE and the API differ from the main Eclipse IDE, so please test yourself.
The latest SonarQube for IDE version from the marketplace / Eclipse Update Site should be still working with SonarQube Server 9.9.6 LTA. And with every other version afterwards, it does not work with SonarQube Server pre 9.9 anymore Tho.
