Versions compatibility

The table below shows the versions that are necessary to make Ancestris work depending on the version you choose to install.

Ancestris relies on Java and Netbeans platforms

Java versions: Java can be installed separately and you need to know which version of java is necessary for each version of Ancestris. The oldest java version to have is indicated under "Minimum Java version". The latest Java version Ancestris can work with is indicated under "Maximum Java version".

Java exists in two different modes: with a graphical user interface (GUI) or without GUI (headless). Ancestris needs a GUI java installation. See the notes below to know which one you have.

Netbeans version: The netbeans version is provided for information only.  Netbeans is packaged with Ancestris and you should not worry about it, but this explains the Java version prerequisite.

Table of versions compatibility 

Ancestris version type	Ancestris version number	Release date	Last updated	Minimum Java version	Maximum Java version	Netbeans version
Daily	14	Daily	Daily	17	25	26
Stable	13	29 Nov 2025	April 2026	17	25	26
Obsolete	12	8 June 2024	Novembre 2025	8	24	12.5
Obsolete	11	29 May 2021	April 2024	8	17	11.3

Note to Windows users

The Ancestris installer for Windows for the stable version automatically installs Java. You do not need to install it yourself.

• Java 25 for Windows 64 bits
• Java 17 for Windows 32 bits

To identify if your installed java version is headless or not, you can use the following commands, if you have a JDK package, run:

java --list-modules | findstr java.desktop

If you see:

java.desktop@21.0.8

then the Java installation includes the desktop (GUI) module.

If java.desktop is absent, you're using a custom runtime (created with jlink) that doesn't include GUI support.

Note to macOS users

Ancestris comes with a native macOS launcher which requires macOS version 10.14.4 at a minimum.

For users with a previous version of macOS, refer to this procedure to launch Ancestris.

To identify if your installed java version is headless or not, check the modules.

java --list-modules | grep java.desktop

If you get:

java.desktop@21.0.8

then GUI support is included.

Note to Linux users

To identify if your installed java version is headless or not, you can use the following commands.

On Debian/Ubuntu, display installed packages:

dpkg -l | grep -i openjdk

or

dpkg -l | grep -i java

You may get a headless version

ii  openjdk-21-jre-headless
ii  openjdk-21-jdk-headless

or else a GUI version

ii  openjdk-21-jre
ii  openjdk-21-jdk

If the package name includes -headless, then you have the headless version and you will need to install a GIU version for Ancestris to display the application.