You're probably using JavaParser without knowing it.
If your company relies on OpenAPI Generator, Swagger Codegen, Quarkus,
or any of the 11,000+ Maven components that depend on it — your build
pipeline runs on a project maintained by volunteers, for free.
JavaParser parses, analyzes, and transforms Java source code. It's been
around for over 10 years. Embedded in Android (AOSP) by Google, in Azure
SDK tools by Microsoft, in Quarkus and Drools by Red Hat. Downloaded
dozens of times every month.
And yet.
What "free" really costs
Every new Java release — records, sealed classes, pattern matching,
unnamed variables, Java 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 — means significant
investment in time and availability from unpaid volunteers:
- Grammar updates to support new language constructs
- Symbol solver fixes for new type inference rules
- Backward compatibility across thousands of downstream projects
- Around 400 ongoing issues, with a few new ones each month
- PR reviews, CI maintenance, releases, documentation
All of this invisible work — done on evenings and weekends.
Why this is a business risk
JavaParser is what we call "boring infrastructure." Nobody notices when
it works. Everyone would notice if it stopped.
We've seen what happens when critical invisible projects break:
- Log4Shell — Log4j, downloaded billions of times, maintained by volunteers
- Heartbleed — OpenSSL, securing half the internet, chronically underfunded
- core-js — powering most JavaScript builds, maintained by one person
JavaParser isn't in crisis. Yet.
But if a critical CVE is discovered tomorrow, how long would it take
unpaid volunteers to patch it? Do you know the answer for every
dependency in your build pipeline?
We're not asking for charity
Your company extracts value from JavaParser. We're offering a way to
secure it.
Sponsoring JavaParser means:
- ✅ Fast support for Java 24, 25, 26 as they ship
- ✅ Priority channel for critical bug fixes
- ✅ Advisory Board seat to shape the roadmap
- ✅ Reduced supply chain risk on a critical dependency
- ✅ Public recognition of your open source commitment
How to act
Companies:
- GitHub Sponsors: https://github.com/sponsors/javaparser
- Enterprise support or Advisory Board: open a discussion on https://github.com/javaparser/javaparser/discussions
Individual developers:
- Star the project ⭐
- Share this post
- Bring it up internally — become the champion at your company
A question for the community
How does your company handle open source sustainability for critical
dependencies?
Do you have a policy? A budget? Or does the topic simply never come up
until something breaks?
I'm genuinely curious — and the answers might help other maintainers
in the same situation.
I'm Jean-Pierre Lerbscher, lead maintainer of JavaParser and founder
of JavaPerf Consulting. 359 merged PRs and counting. If you'd like to
discuss sponsoring or enterprise support, open a discussion on GitHub
or reach out directly.
→ https://github.com/javaparser/javaparser
→ https://github.com/sponsors/javaparser
