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The original JVM class file structure established the binary contract for compiled Java code.
Java release: Java 1.0
Status: Historic baseline
Note: First class file format
- First format
- Major 45
- Original JVM era
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Java 1.1 kept the same major line but increased the minor version to reflect evolutionary changes.
Java release: Java 1.1
Status: Historic update
Note: Minor version increment
- 45.3
- Minor increment
- Early platform growth
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The move to class file version 46.0 aligned with the Java 2 platform era and the platform's broad expansion.
Java release: Java 1.2
Status: Historic milestone
Note: Java 2 platform
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Class file 47.0 belongs to the period where HotSpot and the runtime story became more stable and mainstream.
Java release: Java 1.3
Status: Historic milestone
Note: Stable HotSpot era
- 47.0
- HotSpot era
- Runtime maturity
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This version belongs to the Java 1.4 language and library era, when assertions and NIO became part of the story.
Java release: Java 1.4
Status: Historic milestone
Note: Assertions, NIO
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Class file 49.0 sits alongside the major Java 5 leap in generics, annotations, enums, and metadata-heavy programming.
Java release: Java 5
Status: Major shift
Note: Generics, annotations
- 49.0
- Generics era
- Annotations
-
Java 6 moved to class file 50.0 while focusing strongly on performance, tooling, and enterprise polish.
Java release: Java 6
Status: Historic milestone
Note: Performance improvements
- 50.0
- Performance
- Enterprise polish
-
Class file 51.0 is notable because the Java 7 era introduced invokedynamic, a major bytecode-level capability shift.
Java release: Java 7
Status: Bytecode milestone
Note: invokedynamic introduced
- 51.0
- invokedynamic
- JVM flexibility
-
Java 8's lambda and stream era maps to class file 52.0, a major anchor in modern Java history.
Java release: Java 8
Status: Major shift
Note: Lambdas, streams
-
Class file 53.0 belongs to the modular Java 9 era, where JPMS changed both tooling and platform structure.
Java release: Java 9
Status: Major shift
Note: Modules (JPMS)
-
Java 10 moved the class file line to 54.0 while introducing local-variable type inference with var.
Java release: Java 10
Status: Feature release
Note: var
-
Class file 55.0 is a practical production anchor because Java 11 became the first LTS in the new rapid-release cadence.
Java release: Java 11
Status: LTS anchor
Note: LTS
-
Class file 56.0 represents the normal feature-release rhythm after the platform cadence stabilized.
Java release: Java 12
Status: Feature release
Note: Feature release
- 56.0
- Feature cadence
- Steady evolution
-
Class file 57.0 continues the release-by-release progression through the modern delivery model.
Java release: Java 13
Status: Feature release
Note: Feature release
- 57.0
- Feature cadence
- Progressive updates
-
Class file 58.0 belongs to the stage where records entered the story in preview form.
Java release: Java 14
Status: Feature release
Note: Records (preview)
- 58.0
- Records preview
- Modern language wave
-
Class file 59.0 reflects another preview-heavy release as sealed classes and related type-model ideas advanced.
Java release: Java 15
Status: Feature release
Note: Sealed classes (preview)
- 59.0
- Sealed preview
- Feature refinement
-
Class file 60.0 sits at the point where records became a finalized part of the language.
Java release: Java 16
Status: Feature release
Note: Records final
- 60.0
- Records final
- Data-oriented Java
-
Class file 61.0 is another important production anchor because Java 17 became the next major LTS platform and a major migration target.
Java release: Java 17
Status: LTS anchor
Note: LTS
- 61.0
- LTS
- Spring Boot 3+ era
-
Class file 62.0 continues the clean one-step-per-release progression through the post-Java-17 era.
Java release: Java 18
Status: Feature release
Note: Feature release
- 62.0
- Feature release
- Cadence continuity
-
Class file 63.0 belongs to the release where Loom preview work made lightweight concurrency much more tangible.
Java release: Java 19
Status: Feature release
Note: Loom preview
- 63.0
- Loom preview
- Concurrency shift
-
Class file 64.0 represents another step in the modern feature cadence without breaking the steady numbering progression.
Java release: Java 20
Status: Feature release
Note: Feature release
- 64.0
- Feature release
- Modern cadence
-
Class file 65.0 sits at a highly important modern milestone: Java 21 and the arrival of stable virtual threads in the LTS line.
Java release: Java 21
Status: LTS anchor
Note: LTS, virtual threads
-
Class file 66.0 continues the release train and keeps the class file line synchronized with platform evolution.
Java release: Java 22
Status: Feature release
Note: Feature release
- 66.0
- Feature release
- Current era
-
Class file 67.0 marks an important non-LTS milestone in the modern cadence just before the Java 25 LTS cycle.
Java release: Java 23
Status: Feature release
Note: Non-LTS feature release
- 67.0
- Non-LTS
- Modern JVM line
-
Class file 68.0 represents the non-LTS Java 24 step immediately before the Java 25 LTS milestone.
Java release: Java 24
Status: Feature release
Note: Non-LTS feature release
- 68.0
- Non-LTS
- Pre-LTS waypoint
-
Class file 69.0 corresponds to Java 25, the current LTS milestone as of 2026 and the newest long-term production anchor.
Java release: Java 25
Status: LTS anchor
Note: LTS
- 69.0
- LTS
- Current production anchor
-
Class file 70.0 continues the sequence into Java 26, the active non-LTS feature release after Java 25.
Java release: Java 26
Status: Feature release
Note: Current feature release
- 70.0
- Non-LTS
- Current cadence
-
Class file 71.0 extends the sequence one step further to keep the future line visible beyond the current feature release.
Java release: Java 27
Status: Projected
Note: Projected
- 71.0
- Projected
- Forward look
-
Class file 73.0 is the next visible projected long-term anchor if Java 29 lands as the next LTS release in September 2027.
Java release: Java 29
Status: Future LTS horizon
Note: Planned LTS projection
- 73.0
- Planned LTS
- Bytecode horizon
-
Class file 77.0 keeps the future class-file sequence aligned with the projected Java 33 LTS horizon.
Java release: Java 33
Status: Future LTS horizon
Note: Projected LTS projection
- 77.0
- Projected LTS
- Long-range bytecode
-
Class file 81.0 extends the visible binary-compatibility horizon into the early 2030s.
Java release: Java 37
Status: Future LTS horizon
Note: Projected LTS projection
- 81.0
- Projected LTS
- Early-2030s view
-
Class file 85.0 marks the far edge of the currently visible future LTS cadence for bytecode planning.
Java release: Java 41
Status: Future LTS horizon
Note: Projected LTS projection
- 85.0
- Projected LTS
- Decade horizon