spring-projects/spring-boot · error · GradleException

Spring Boot plugin requires Gradle 8.x (8.14 or later) or…

Error message

Spring Boot plugin requires Gradle 8.x (8.14 or later) or 9.x. The current version is {}

What it means

Thrown by SpringBootPlugin.verifyGradleVersion during plugin application. It compares GradleVersion.current() against 8.14 and throws a GradleException if the running Gradle is older than 8.14. This is a hard version gate — the plugin refuses to load on incompatible Gradle versions. The message indicates support for Gradle 8.x (8.14+) and 9.x.

Solutions

1. Upgrade the Gradle wrapper: run 'gradle wrapper --gradle-version 8.14' (or newer, e.g. 8.14.2 or 9.x).
2. If you cannot upgrade Gradle, downgrade the Spring Boot plugin to a version compatible with your Gradle (check the plugin's compatibility matrix).
3. Ensure CI uses the wrapper (./gradlew) rather than a system Gradle install so the version gate is satisfied.
4. Verify the version in gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties after upgrading.

Example fix

// before: gradle-wrapper.properties
distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-8.10-bin.zip
// after
distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-8.14.2-bin.zip

// In the root build.gradle or settings.gradle, verify Gradle version at configuration time.
import org.gradle.util.GradleVersion
if (GradleVersion.current().compareTo(GradleVersion.version("8.14")) < 0) {
    throw new GradleException("This build requires Gradle 8.14+. Current: " + GradleVersion.current())
}

When it happens

Trigger: Applying the 'org.springframework.boot' Gradle plugin in a project whose Gradle wrapper or installed Gradle is below version 8.14. The check runs at apply() time, before any task executes.

Common situations: Upgrading the Spring Boot dependency/plugin version without upgrading the Gradle wrapper. A CI environment with an older system Gradle that bypasses the wrapper. A new developer whose local Gradle install is outdated. Forking or pinning an old Gradle version for stability.

Related errors

• Main class name has not been configured and it could not be…
• Each image building cache can be configured only once
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• Failed to get dir mode from CopySpec
• Failed to get file mode from CopySpec

AI-assisted analysis of spring-projects/spring-boot@270dfe353f (2026-08-11). Data as JSON: /api/errors/a56e1a4f23eb225c. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at build-plugin/spring-boot-gradle-plugin/src/main/java/org/springframework/boot/gradle/plugin/SpringBootPlugin.java:129

	/**
	 * The coordinates {@code (group:name:version)} of the
	 * {@code spring-boot-dependencies} bom.
	 */
	public static final String BOM_COORDINATES = "org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-dependencies:"
			+ SPRING_BOOT_VERSION;

	@Override
	public void apply(Project project) {
		verifyGradleVersion();
		createExtension(project);
		Configuration bootArchives = createBootArchivesConfiguration(project);
		registerPluginActions(project, bootArchives);
	}

	private void verifyGradleVersion() {
		GradleVersion currentVersion = GradleVersion.current();
		if (currentVersion.compareTo(GradleVersion.version("8.14")) < 0) {
			throw new GradleException("Spring Boot plugin requires Gradle 8.x (8.14 or later) or 9.x. "
					+ "The current version is " + currentVersion);
		}
	}

	private void createExtension(Project project) {
		project.getExtensions().create("springBoot", SpringBootExtension.class, project);
	}

	private Configuration createBootArchivesConfiguration(Project project) {
		Configuration bootArchives = project.getConfigurations().create(BOOT_ARCHIVES_CONFIGURATION_NAME);
		bootArchives.setDescription("Configuration for Spring Boot archive artifacts.");
		bootArchives.setCanBeResolved(false);
		return bootArchives;
	}

	private void registerPluginActions(Project project, Configuration bootArchives) {
		SinglePublishedArtifact singlePublishedArtifact = new SinglePublishedArtifact(bootArchives,
				project.getArtifacts());

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