javax-to-jakarta-migration

javax → jakarta Migration Skill

When to Use

• Upgrading to Tomcat 11 / Jakarta EE 10+
• Code review detects javax.* imports
• Migrating an existing project to the jakarta namespace

Procedure

Step 1 — Scan for javax Usage

Search the codebase for all javax.* imports that need migration:

javax.servlet.*      → jakarta.servlet.*
javax.persistence.*  → jakarta.persistence.*
javax.validation.*   → jakarta.validation.*
javax.annotation.*   → jakarta.annotation.*
javax.inject.*       → jakarta.inject.*
javax.enterprise.*   → jakarta.enterprise.*
javax.faces.*        → jakarta.faces.*
javax.ws.rs.*        → jakarta.ws.rs.*
javax.el.*           → jakarta.el.*
javax.json.*         → jakarta.json.*
javax.mail.*         → jakarta.mail.*
javax.websocket.*    → jakarta.websocket.*

Do NOT migrate these (they remain in javax.*):

• javax.sql.* — part of JDK
• javax.naming.* — part of JDK (JNDI)
• javax.crypto.* — part of JDK
• javax.net.* — part of JDK
• javax.security.auth.* — part of JDK
• javax.swing.*, javax.xml.parsers.* — JDK packages

Step 2 — Update pom.xml

Replace dependency coordinates:

Old	New
javax.servlet:javax.servlet-api	jakarta.servlet:jakarta.servlet-api:6.0.0
javax.persistence:javax.persistence-api	jakarta.persistence:jakarta.persistence-api:3.1.0
javax.validation:validation-api	jakarta.validation:jakarta.validation-api:3.0.2
javax.annotation:javax.annotation-api	jakarta.annotation:jakarta.annotation-api:2.1.1

Step 3 — Update web.xml (if present)

<!-- Old namespace -->
<web-app xmlns="http://xmlns.jcp.org/xml/ns/javaee" version="4.0">

<!-- New namespace -->
<web-app xmlns="https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/jakartaee" version="6.0">

Step 4 — Update Java Source Files

Replace all javax. imports with jakarta. equivalents in .java files.

Step 5 — Verify

1. Run mvn clean compile or gradlew build — fix any compilation errors
2. Run mvn test or gradlew test — ensure all tests pass
3. Search for any remaining javax.* imports (excluding JDK packages)