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Apache Geode returns with 2.0 modernization push, moves to Java 17 and Jakarta EE 10

• By John K. Waters
• March 3, 2026

Apache Geode, a distributed in-memory data management platform used for low-latency, fault-tolerant applications, has resurfaced with a new major release after the Apache Software Foundation project was effectively headed toward retirement in 2024, according to an Apache blog post by Geode 2.0 release manager Jinwoo Hwang.

In a February 18 post titled “Apache Geode 2.0: Revival, Reinvention, and the Road Ahead,” Hwang said the project’s contributor base thinned after 2019 and development stopped by mid-2023. He wrote that the project management committee voted to terminate the project in 2024, before work resumed the following year.

Geode traces its roots to GemFire, a commercial technology introduced by GemStone Systems in 2002 and later acquired by a series of companies before being open-sourced and donated to the Apache Software Foundation in 2015, Hwang wrote. The Apache Geode project describes the technology as first deployed in the financial sector as a transactional, low-latency data engine used in Wall Street trading platforms.

Hwang’s post frames Geode’s 2.0 cycle as a reset driven by drift between the project and the modern Java ecosystem, including moves to Jakarta EE, updates in major server stacks, and security practices that evolved while Geode “stood still.” He said unpatched vulnerabilities had become a risk to user trust, and argued the project needed a fundamental technical and cultural overhaul rather than incremental changes.

The Apache Software Foundation announced the availability of Apache Geode 2.0 on January 12, describing it as a modernization effort spanning the Java platform, build system, enterprise APIs, and integrations. The foundation said the release upgrades Geode to Java 17, migrates the project to Jakarta EE 10, and updates the build system to Gradle 7.

In that announcement, Hwang said the release aligns Geode with today’s enterprise Java ecosystem and restores ongoing security support, positioning the platform for long-term sustainability.

On GitHub, the Geode project tagged Apache Geode 2.0.0 on December 18, 2025, and summarized the release as a “major modernization” that includes security work such as module system compliance and removing unsafe reflection usage. The release notes also highlight the Java 17 baseline, Jakarta EE 10 readiness, updates to Spring Framework and Spring Security, and dependency refreshes that include Jetty 12 and support for newer Tomcat versions.

Hwang’s February post also offers a plain-language refresher on what Geode does. He describes it as a distributed in-memory platform built for scalable and consistent access to data with dynamic partitioning or replication across a cluster, built-in fault tolerance, and optional persistence to disk. The project’s GitHub documentation similarly describes Geode as pooling memory, CPU, and network resources across multiple processes, using replication and partitioning to deliver high availability and fault tolerance across widely distributed architectures.

The revival, Hwang says, was driven by a mix of personal commitment and a return of community activity. He wrote that he began upstreaming an internal fork in 2025 and that the community produced Apache Geode 1.15.2 in September, followed by Apache Geode 2.0 in December.

He also emphasized the volunteer nature of the effort, writing that he did not receive additional compensation for nights and weekends spent on the project, and that the work did not replace his day job.

The blog post is the first installment of a three-part series. Hwang said later sections will cover how Geode was modernized and what comes next, including lessons learned and ways for contributors to help shape the project’s direction.