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LONG-TERM ACTIVE

SonarQube Server Long-Term Active (LTA)

Enabling customers with the best experience, innovative capabilities, and world-class support for continued business success.


What is Long-term Active (LTA)

LTA refers to the version of SonarQube Server that is released every 6 months (previously referred to as Long-Term Support or LTS). It is a functionally complete version of the product that will stay active for a longer period of time. Large organizations sometimes prefer to stay on LTA as they are not able to update frequently and choose to update every 6 months instead.

Frequently asked questions

How long is the SonarQube Server LTA cycle?

A SonarQube Server LTA release happens every 6 months. The more frequent regular releases of SonarQube Server, where the product progressively introduces new features and enhancements occur every 2 months.

What's the current LTA version?

The current LTA is SonarQube Server 2026.5. For more information, check the downloads page.

What are SonarQube Server active versions?

Active versions are defined as the following:

  • Latest version of SonarQube Server
  • Latest version -1 (the previous version) of SonarQube Server
  • Latest Long-Term Active (LTA) version
  • Latest LTA -1 (the previous LTA); for up to 6 months after the new LTA is released. 


Below are a few example scenarios.


SonarQube Server regular release example

When SonarQube Server 2027.3 becomes available, the following will be considered active versions:

  • SonarQube Server 2027.3 (latest)
  • SonarQube Server 2027.2 (latest -1)
  • SonarQube Server 2027.1 LTA (latest LTA)
  • SonarQube Server 2026.5 LTA (LTA still active within 6 months of the latest LTA release)


SonarQube Server LTA release example

When SonarQube Server 2027.1 LTA becomes available, the following will be considered active versions:

  • SonarQube Server 2027.1 LTA (latest)
  • SonarQube Server 2026.6  (latest -1)
  • SonarQube Server 2026.5 LTA (for 6 months after the release of SonarQube Server 2027.1 LTA)

What are the benefits of staying on active versions?

Organizations on an active version of SonarQube Server receive several benefits from an operational efficiency, risk management, and strategic standpoint:

  • Access to new functionality: Immediate benefits from new capabilities released and continuous product improvements to ensure code delivery meets the highest quality standard – helping organizations stay innovative while improving development productivity and experience. 
  • Updating is easier: The process of updating is simpler and smoother, so less time is spent troubleshooting issues related to compatibility, versioning, etc., and more time deploying new capabilities in production.
  • Patch fixes and security updates: LTA and the latest version of SonarQube Server receive bug fixes and necessary security patches. Issues reported internally or externally that need immediate fixes are promptly addressed and rolled out by the product team via patch releases. Non-active versions don’t receive patch fixes or updates leaving known bugs or security issues unfixed and increasing overall operational risks as a result. 
  • Technical Support: Active versions receive technical assistance and troubleshooting support from Sonar team of engineers (some examples include: rapid issue resolution, help with updates, onboarding, health checks etc.). This ensures that problems are addressed promptly, minimizing downtime and keeping business operations running smoothly.
  • Compliance: To meet the regulatory and compliance requirements, organizations require the use of product versions that are actively supported. Sonar provides all the support and assistance needed on active SonarQube Server versions.  
  • Cost savings: Running a non-active version of SonarQube Server in production can be costly in the long run since problems encountered (e.g. incompatibility, security loopholes, lower performance) are harder to remediate retroactively. Staying on an active version can avoid such scenarios and save potential costs in the long term.

If I am on the LTA version, will I receive all the new capabilities that Sonar just released?

Unfortunately, no. New features are progressively introduced in our cadence of regular releases every 2 months. The features of the regular releases will roll up into the next LTA release (which happens every 6 months). If you would like access to a specific new product capability, we recommend you update to the latest version instead of waiting for the next LTA release.

I need a feature that was added after the LTA. Will it be backported?

Product functionality such as new features or enhancements to existing capabilities e.g. improvements in speed of analysis, the addition of new static analysis rules, UX improvements, programming language versions, or frameworks are not backported to the LTA version. We recommend you update your instance to the latest version of SonarQube Server to take advantage of the released product capabilities.

Which version of SonarQube Server would bug fixes or security patches be released on?

Issues reported by customers or found internally that require immediate fixes as determined by our engineering team are addressed and released via patch updates. 

All active versions including the latest LTA and the latest regular release of the SonarQube Server receive these patch updates. 

If I am on a non-active version of SonarQube Server (older than the current LTA), what steps should I follow to get back on an active version of the product?

We recommend you get on an active version by following the instructions in this update guide and check out the before you update section prior to starting the process. If you have commercial support included, you can directly get help from our team of technical experts who are ready to assist you or the Sonar Community is a great place to ask questions as well.

Download the latest LTA

SonarQube Server downloads