Build Cache Node end of life: what happens and your options
The free Develocity Build Cache Node will no longer be distributed or supported after December 31, 2026. Here is what that means for your builds, and your three options: stay, pay the vendor, or self-host.
What stops on December 31
Gradle Inc. says the free standalone Build Cache Node "will no longer be distributed, supported or available after December 31, 2026."
Source: the vendor's official notice.
What keeps working
What happens to a node you already run is for the vendor to say, so read their notice. What holds for any build cache: if it is slow, empty or down, the worst case is a slower build, not a wrong one.
What changes is that the vendor says it will no longer support it.
Your three options
1. Stay on the old node - it costs nothing, but keeping it and keeping it safe is on you.
2. Move to the vendor's paid platform
Check the vendor's own notice, linked above, for what it offers and what it costs.
3. Self-host a replacement
Same protocol, your servers, no subscription. FosterStack Cache is one such replacement.
What FosterStack Cache is today
- A self-hosted remote build cache for Gradle. It speaks Gradle's own
HttpBuildCacheprotocol, so moving is mostly a URL change. - Maven too, through the Apache Maven Build Cache Extension.
- MIT licensed. One static binary or one container image on GitHub's registry.
- Releases are signed, and the evidence (SBOM, build provenance, vulnerability statements) is public.
The paid tiers are not built. Everything you can download today is the free core.
More than kept patched.
- Signed releases you can verify in minutes.
- Build record, parts list (SBOM) and vulnerability statements published with every release.
- Two different scanners, with different vulnerability databases, check each release candidate before it ships, and the current release's images are scanned again every day.
- Images assembled twice on separate machines; the results must match.
- Minimal image, with one static program and no shell. No telemetry. FIPS variant available.
- Vulnerable dependencies fixed fast — our target is 48 hours from disclosure (the scope is in SECURITY.md).
How we build · Security policy · Verify a release
Build Cache Node replacement: questions and answers
Do I have to move my cached data?
No. A build cache only holds results your build can always rebuild. Start the new server empty and your first builds fill it. If the cache is down or empty, builds are slower, not wrong.
Does it work with Gradle?
Yes. Gradle talks to it with its normal remote build cache setting, so moving from the old node is mostly a URL change. Our CI builds a real multi-module Gradle project against it on every change and checks that a second build gets real cache hits. See the setup page.
Does it work with Maven?
Yes, through the Apache Maven Build Cache Extension. The Maven client is Apache's Build Cache Extension, not ours.
Is it free?
Yes. Everything you can download today is the free MIT core, including eviction, size limits and metrics. The paid tiers are not built or sold.
Is it ready for production?
Nobody is running it in a real build pipeline yet except us. A cache fails safe, since a missing cache means slower builds, so decide for yourself with that in mind. The README lists what has shipped and what has not.
Who can write to the cache?
Anyone holding the read-write password. Turn on Basic Auth anywhere untrusted people could reach the port, and share that password only with CI and developers you trust to change your code. You can also set an optional read-only login for everyone else: it can read but any write is refused. Telling Gradle not to upload is a client choice, not a server rule. Per-person identity is not built.
Does it have a web page like the old node?
No settings page, on purpose. You configure it with flags and environment variables. A read-only status page shows version, size, entries and hit counts, and metrics are available for Prometheus. To empty the cache, remove its volume and start again.
How do I check a release is the real one?
The commands are under "Verifying a release" in RELEASING.md. No account is needed for the signature check.
Does the server send anything out?
No. The server sends no telemetry and needs no connection to FosterStack. It can run on a network with no route to the internet; see the disconnected network guide.
Can it store its data in S3 or other object storage?
No. It stores cache entries on a local file system volume, with a small index file beside them. It runs as a single instance, so object storage is not used or supported today. Size the volume from the cache size cap. See server sizing.
Can I run it on Kubernetes?
Yes, with plain manifests in the Kubernetes guide. There is no Helm chart.
Does it work with Jenkins and other CI?
It is a plain web server, so any runner that can reach it can use it. See Jenkins and CI build cache.
Where do I report a problem or ask for something?
Open an issue on GitHub. There is no signup, form or mailing list.
Next step
Read the migration guide or the source on GitHub. There is no signup and no form.