javax vs jakarta Servlet Compatibility

Lucee supports both javax.servlet and jakarta.servlet APIs, allowing it to run on older servlet engines (e.g., Tomcat 9, Jetty 10) as well as modern Jakarta-based engines (e.g., Tomcat 11, Jetty 12).

Overview

Recommendation: Always prefer running Lucee with its native servlet API. Emulation adds an unnecessary layer and should only be used when you cannot match your servlet engine to Lucee's native API. For best performance and reliability, pair Lucee 6.x with a javax engine and Lucee 7.x with a Jakarta engine.

Classpath Requirement

A javax-based server does not provide jakarta interfaces and vice versa. When using emulation, you must add the missing interfaces to the server's classpath:

• Lucee 6.2 on a Jakarta engine (e.g., Tomcat 11): add javax.servlet-api to the classpath
• Lucee 7.0 on a javax engine (e.g., Tomcat 9): add jakarta.servlet-api to the classpath

Servlet Classes

Lucee 6.1 / 6.2

Lucee 7.0+

Deprecation Notice: lucee.loader.servlet.CFMLServlet and lucee.loader.servlet.RestServlet (without namespace qualifier) are deprecated in Lucee 7. They currently behave as javax-emulated servlets but will be removed or changed to Jakarta-native in Lucee 8. Use the explicit javax or jakarta namespaced variants instead.

Configuration

web.xml Examples

Lucee 6.2 on a javax Servlet Engine (e.g., Tomcat 9) — Native

<servlet>
    <servlet-name>CFMLServlet</servlet-name>
    <servlet-class>lucee.loader.servlet.CFMLServlet</servlet-class>
</servlet>
<servlet>
    <servlet-name>RESTServlet</servlet-name>
    <servlet-class>lucee.loader.servlet.RestServlet</servlet-class>
</servlet>

Lucee 6.2 on a Jakarta Servlet Engine (e.g., Tomcat 11) — Emulated

<servlet>
    <servlet-name>CFMLServlet</servlet-name>
    <servlet-class>lucee.loader.servlet.jakarta.CFMLServlet</servlet-class>
</servlet>
<servlet>
    <servlet-name>RESTServlet</servlet-name>
    <servlet-class>lucee.loader.servlet.jakarta.RestServlet</servlet-class>
</servlet>

Lucee 7.0 on a Jakarta Servlet Engine (e.g., Tomcat 11) — Native

<servlet>
    <servlet-name>CFMLServlet</servlet-name>
    <servlet-class>lucee.loader.servlet.jakarta.CFMLServlet</servlet-class>
</servlet>
<servlet>
    <servlet-name>RESTServlet</servlet-name>
    <servlet-class>lucee.loader.servlet.jakarta.RestServlet</servlet-class>
</servlet>

Lucee 7.0 on a javax Servlet Engine (e.g., Tomcat 9) — Emulated

<servlet>
    <servlet-name>CFMLServlet</servlet-name>
    <servlet-class>lucee.loader.servlet.javax.CFMLServlet</servlet-class>
</servlet>
<servlet>
    <servlet-name>RESTServlet</servlet-name>
    <servlet-class>lucee.loader.servlet.javax.RestServlet</servlet-class>
</servlet>

See also

• Lucee Server related Tags, Functions and Guides