SonarSource/sonarqube · error · GradleException

JDK 21+ is required to perform this build. It's currently ${

Error message

JDK 21+ is required to perform this build. It's currently ${java.home}.

What it means

The root build.gradle enforces a minimum JDK version: if the JVM running Gradle (JavaVersion.current()) is not compatible with Java 21, the build fails fast with a GradleException before configuring projects. This guards use of Java 21 language features/toolchains required by the SonarQube build.

Source

Thrown at build.gradle:20

import org.sonar.build.BlackBoxTest

import static org.gradle.api.JavaVersion.VERSION_21

plugins {
  // Ordered alphabetically
  id 'com.diffplug.spotless' version '8.10.1'
  id 'com.gradleup.shadow' version '9.2.2' apply false
  id 'com.google.protobuf' version '0.8.19' apply false
  id 'com.jfrog.artifactory' version '6.0.4'
  id 'com.ljarocki.parallel-zip' version '1.4.1' apply false
  id "de.undercouch.download" version "5.7.0" apply false
  id 'io.spring.dependency-management' version '1.1.7'
  id "org.cyclonedx.bom" version "3.4.1" apply false
  id 'org.sonarqube' version '7.4.0.8496'
}

if (!JavaVersion.current().isCompatibleWith(VERSION_21)) {
  throw new GradleException("JDK 21+ is required to perform this build. It's currently " + System.getProperty("java.home") + ".")
}

/**
 * The BOM related tasks are disabled by default, activated by:
 * - running in the CI and being on a main branch or a nightly build,
 * - or using '-Dbom' project property
 * - or by explicit call to 'cyclonedxBom' Gradle task
 */
// Full-string regex (Groovy String.matches): must cover cyclonedxBom, cyclonedxDirectBom, and mergeCyclonedxBom.
def bomTasks = "cyclonedx(Bom|DirectBom)|mergeCyclonedxBom"
def ghBranch = System.getenv()["GITHUB_REF_NAME"]
def isMainBranch = ghBranch in ['master'] || ghBranch ==~ 'branch-[\\d.]+'

boolean enableBom = System.getenv('CI') == "true" && (isMainBranch) ||
  System.getProperty("bom") != null ||
  gradle.startParameter.taskNames.findAll({ it.matches(".*:($bomTasks)") })

allprojects {

View on GitHub (pinned to 184c821202)

Solutions

1. Install JDK 21+ and set JAVA_HOME to it before running Gradle
2. Stop stale daemons with ./gradlew --stop so the new JVM is picked up
3. In IntelliJ, set Settings > Build Tools > Gradle > Gradle JVM to JDK 21
4. In CI, use a setup step (e.g. actions/setup-java with java-version: 21)

Example fix

// before
export JAVA_HOME=/usr/lib/jvm/java-17-openjdk
// after
export JAVA_HOME=/usr/lib/jvm/java-21-openjdk
./gradlew --stop && ./gradlew build

// shell: verify JDK before building
java -version  # must be 21+
echo "$JAVA_HOME"  # must point to a JDK 21+ installation

When it happens

Trigger: Running ./gradlew (any task) with JAVA_HOME or the Gradle daemon JVM pointing to JDK 17, JDK 11, or any pre-21 runtime.

Common situations: Stale JAVA_HOME after upgrading JDKs; IDE (IntelliJ) Gradle JVM configured to an older JDK; Gradle daemon started under an old JVM and reused; CI runner image without JDK 21.

Related errors

• Invalid artifactoryUrl
• ${propName} is enabled but the sonarqube-unification path is
• sonar.properties file by default must not provide any user c
• JRE files in ${jresDir} do not match jres-metadata.json (mis
• ${destinationDirectory.get()}/${archiveFileName.get()} size

AI-assisted analysis of SonarSource/sonarqube@184c821202 (2026-09-09). Data as JSON: /api/errors/9b081b7c211d3633. Report an issue: GitHub.