faces-migrate

Version 1.6.0

Migrate the current project to Jakarta Faces $ARGUMENTS (if no argument, ask the developer for the target version).

Step 1: Detect Current Version

Determine the current Faces version from:

• pom.xml or build.gradle dependencies (look for javax.faces, jakarta.faces, jsf-api, myfaces-api).
• faces-config.xml version attribute.
• XML namespaces in XHTML files (java.sun.com = JSF 1.0+, xmlns.jcp.org = JSF 2.2+, jakarta.faces = Faces 4.0+).
• Package imports in Java files (javax.faces = JSF 1.x/2.x vs jakarta.faces = Faces 3.0+).

Also determine the runtime type:

• Full EE server (WildFly, GlassFish, TomEE, Payara, WebSphere, Liberty, etc.): Faces, CDI, BV, EJB, JPA, JAX-RS, etc. are all provided by the runtime; the project should depend on the Java EE / Jakarta EE API artifact with <scope>provided</scope>, not on standalone implementations.
• Barebones servlet container (Tomcat, Jetty, Undertow, etc.) or framework (Spring Boot): Tomcat only provides Servlet, JSP, EL, WebSocket, and JASIC; everything else (Faces, CDI, BV, JSTL, etc.) must be installed/bundled separately with the application.

When updating dependencies in migration steps, update the appropriate artifact:

• On a full EE server: update the EE API version and ensure the target server version supports the target Faces version.
  • Java EE 8 (JSF 2.3): javax:javaee-web-api:8.0 with <scope>provided</scope>
  • Jakarta EE 9 (Faces 3.0): jakarta.platform:jakarta.jakartaee-web-api:9.0.0 with <scope>provided</scope>
  • Jakarta EE 10 (Faces 4.0): jakarta.platform:jakarta.jakartaee-web-api:10.0.0 with <scope>provided</scope>
  • Jakarta EE 11 (Faces 4.1): jakarta.platform:jakarta.jakartaee-web-api:11.0.0 with <scope>provided</scope>
• On a barebones servlet container: update the standalone Faces implementation version directly (e.g. org.glassfish:jakarta.faces for Mojarra, org.apache.myfaces.core:myfaces-impl for MyFaces); do NOT use javaee-api or jakarta.jakartaee-api as a substitute because it will allow compiling against APIs that the servlet container doesn't actually provide.

Report the detected version and runtime type, and confirm with the developer before proceeding.

Step 2: Determine Migration Path

Based on source → target version, apply the relevant steps below. Multiple steps may apply for multi-version jumps (e.g. JSF 2.0 → Faces 4.1 requires all intermediate steps).

Migration Steps

JSF 1.x → JSF 2.0+ (major rewrite)

This is a significant migration; confirm scope with developer before proceeding.

• Replace JSP files with Facelets (XHTML).
• Replace <f:view>, <f:subview> with Facelets templating (<ui:composition>, <ui:define>).
• Replace <managed-bean> entries in faces-config.xml with @ManagedBean + scope annotations (will be migrated to @Named in later step).
• Replace <navigation-rule> entries in faces-config.xml with return values from action methods or ?faces-redirect=true.
• Replace javax.faces.webapp.FacesServlet URL pattern /faces/* or *.faces or *.jsf with *.xhtml.

JSF 2.x → JSF 2.3 (incremental)

• Update pom.xml to JSF 2.3 dependency.
• Replace @ManagedBean + @javax.faces.bean.*Scoped with @Named + @javax.enterprise.context.*Scoped.
• @ViewScoped: replace javax.faces.bean.ViewScoped with javax.faces.view.ViewScoped.
• Replace @javax.faces.bean.ManagedProperty on managed beans with @Inject.
• Replace @javax.faces.bean.ManagedProperty on unmanaged variables with @javax.faces.annotation.ManagedProperty.
• FacesServlet: ensure URL pattern is *.xhtml; remove legacy *.jsf, *.faces, /faces/* mappings.
• Update faces-config.xml version to 2.3.

  <faces-config
      xmlns="http://xmlns.jcp.org/xml/ns/javaee"
      xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
      xsi:schemaLocation="http://xmlns.jcp.org/xml/ns/javaee http://xmlns.jcp.org/xml/ns/javaee/web-facesconfig_2_3.xsd"
      version="2.3"
  >
  

• Update *.taglib.xml version to 2.3.

  <facelet-taglib
      xmlns="http://xmlns.jcp.org/xml/ns/javaee"
      xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
      xsi:schemaLocation="http://xmlns.jcp.org/xml/ns/javaee http://xmlns.jcp.org/xml/ns/javaee/web-facelettaglibrary_2_3.xsd"
      version="2.3"
  >
  

• Update XML namespaces from java.sun.com to xmlns.jcp.org (if on JSF 2.2+).
• Use HTML5 doctype <!DOCTYPE html> (if on JSF 2.2+).
• If the project has a web.xml and its declared version lags behind Servlet 4.0 (Java EE 8), update it. If it still carries a legacy DTD-based DOCTYPE declaration (pre-Servlet 2.4), drop it entirely — the XML Schema xmlns/xsi:schemaLocation form below replaces it.

  <web-app
      xmlns="http://xmlns.jcp.org/xml/ns/javaee"
      xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
      xsi:schemaLocation="http://xmlns.jcp.org/xml/ns/javaee http://xmlns.jcp.org/xml/ns/javaee/web-app_4_0.xsd"
      version="4.0"
  >
  

• Ensure beans.xml exists in WEB-INF/, and update it to CDI 2.0 (Java EE 8) when it lags behind. Once a version attribute is present, bean-discovery-mode is required alongside it. Prefer annotated: @Named plus a CDI scope is a bean defining annotation, so Faces beans are discovered either way.

  <beans
      xmlns="http://xmlns.jcp.org/xml/ns/javaee"
      xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
      xsi:schemaLocation="http://xmlns.jcp.org/xml/ns/javaee http://xmlns.jcp.org/xml/ns/javaee/beans_2_0.xsd"
      version="2.0"
      bean-discovery-mode="annotated"
  >
  

• Review for new 2.3 features to adopt: https://arjan-tijms.omnifaces.org/p/jsf-23.html

JSF 2.3 → Faces 3.0 (Jakarta EE 9, namespace rename)

This is purely a package rename; no behavioral changes.

• Update pom.xml to Jakarta Faces 3.0 dependency.
• Rename ALL javax.faces.* imports to jakarta.faces.* in Java files.
• Rename ALL javax.servlet.* to jakarta.servlet.*.
• Rename ALL javax.inject.* to jakarta.inject.*.
• Rename ALL javax.enterprise.* to jakarta.enterprise.*.
• Rename ALL javax.annotation.* to jakarta.annotation.*.
• Rename ALL javax.validation.* to jakarta.validation.*.
• Rename ALL javax.persistence.* to jakarta.persistence.* (if JPA is used).
• Rename ALL javax.ejb.* to jakarta.ejb.* (if EJB is used).
• Rename ALL javax.ws.rs.* to jakarta.ws.rs.* (if JAX-RS is used).
• Update web.xml context param names from javax.faces.* to jakarta.faces.*.
• Move any javax/faces/Messages*.properties from the project's own resources to jakarta/faces/, keeping the locale suffixes (Messages_it.properties, Messages_nl_BE.properties, etc.).
• Rename the keys inside that bundle from javax.faces.* to jakarta.faces.* (e.g. javax.faces.component.UIInput.REQUIRED → jakarta.faces.component.UIInput.REQUIRED).
• Rename the same keys in the bundle declared by <message-bundle> in faces-config.xml and in all its locale variants, if any. The declared name is a base name; the file names are project-chosen and stay as-is, only the keys change.
• Rename javax.validation.constraints.*.message keys to jakarta.validation.constraints.*.message in ValidationMessages*.properties, if present.
• NOTE: bundles declared by <resource-bundle> in faces-config.xml hold application-defined keys and need no key rename.
• FacesServlet: ensure URL pattern is *.xhtml; remove legacy *.jsf, *.faces, /faces/* mappings.
• Update faces-config.xml namespace and version to 3.0.

  <faces-config
      xmlns="https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/jakartaee"
      xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
      xsi:schemaLocation="https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/jakartaee https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/jakartaee/web-facesconfig_3_0.xsd"
      version="3.0"
  >
  

• Update *.taglib.xml namespace and version to 3.0.

  <facelet-taglib
      xmlns="https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/jakartaee"
      xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
      xsi:schemaLocation="https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/jakartaee https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/jakartaee/web-facelettaglibrary_3_0.xsd"
      version="3.0"
  >
  

• NOTE: XHTML namespaces stay the same (xmlns.jcp.org) in Faces 3.0; they only change in 4.0.
• Use HTML5 doctype <!DOCTYPE html> (if not already).
• If the project has a web.xml and its declared version lags behind Servlet 5.0 (Jakarta EE 9), update it.

  <web-app
      xmlns="https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/jakartaee"
      xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
      xsi:schemaLocation="https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/jakartaee https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/jakartaee/web-app_5_0.xsd"
      version="5.0"
  >
  

• Update beans.xml namespace and version to CDI 3.0 (Jakarta EE 9), keeping the existing bean-discovery-mode, which stays required next to version.

  <beans
      xmlns="https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/jakartaee"
      xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
      xsi:schemaLocation="https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/jakartaee https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/jakartaee/beans_3_0.xsd"
      version="3.0"
      bean-discovery-mode="annotated"
  >
  

Faces 3.0 → Faces 4.0+ (Jakarta EE 10+, spec overhaul)

• Update pom.xml to Jakarta Faces 4.0 dependency.
• Update XHTML namespaces from xmlns.jcp.org to jakarta.faces URNs:
  • http://xmlns.jcp.org/jsf/html → jakarta.faces.html
  • http://xmlns.jcp.org/jsf/core → jakarta.faces.core
  • http://xmlns.jcp.org/jsf/facelets → jakarta.faces.facelets
  • http://xmlns.jcp.org/jsf/composite → jakarta.faces.composite
  • http://xmlns.jcp.org/jsf/passthrough → jakarta.faces.passthrough
  • http://xmlns.jcp.org/jsf → jakarta.faces
  • http://xmlns.jcp.org/jsp/jstl/core → jakarta.tags.core
• Remove xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" from XHTML files; since Faces 4.0 it is always implied.
• Remove any remaining @ManagedBean usage (removed in Faces 4.0); replace with @Named + CDI scope.
• Remove any javax.faces.bean.* imports (package removed entirely).
• FacesServlet: ensure URL pattern is *.xhtml; remove legacy *.jsf, *.faces, /faces/* mappings.
• Update faces-config.xml version to 4.0.

  <faces-config
      xmlns="https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/jakartaee"
      xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
      xsi:schemaLocation="https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/jakartaee https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/jakartaee/web-facesconfig_4_0.xsd"
      version="4.0"
  >
  

• Update *.taglib.xml version to 4.0.

  <facelet-taglib
      xmlns="https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/jakartaee"
      xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
      xsi:schemaLocation="https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/jakartaee https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/jakartaee/web-facelettaglibrary_4_0.xsd"
      version="4.0"
  >
  

• Use HTML5 doctype <!DOCTYPE html> (if not already).
• If the project has a web.xml and its declared version lags behind Servlet 6.0 (Jakarta EE 10), update it.

  <web-app
      xmlns="https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/jakartaee"
      xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
      xsi:schemaLocation="https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/jakartaee https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/jakartaee/web-app_6_0.xsd"
      version="6.0"
  >
  

• Make bean-discovery-mode explicit in beans.xml BEFORE bumping it to CDI 4.0. Up to CDI 3.0 an empty or version-less beans.xml meant all; since CDI 4.0 the attribute is optional and defaults to annotated. Every bean without a bean defining annotation then stops being discovered at runtime, and nothing fails at build time. Report the choice: keep all to preserve current behavior, or move to annotated and annotate the beans that need it.
• Update beans.xml version to CDI 4.0 (Jakarta EE 10), keeping the bean-discovery-mode decided above.

  <beans
      xmlns="https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/jakartaee"
      xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
      xsi:schemaLocation="https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/jakartaee https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/jakartaee/beans_4_0.xsd"
      version="4.0"
      bean-discovery-mode="annotated"
  >
  

• Review for new 4.0 features to adopt: https://balusc.omnifaces.org/2021/11/whats-new-in-faces-40.html

Faces 4.0 → Faces 4.1 (Jakarta EE 11, incremental)

• Update pom.xml to Jakarta Faces 4.1 dependency.
• Update faces-config.xml version to 4.1.

  <faces-config
      xmlns="https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/jakartaee"
      xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
      xsi:schemaLocation="https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/jakartaee https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/jakartaee/web-facesconfig_4_1.xsd"
      version="4.1"
  >
  

• Update *.taglib.xml version to 4.1.

  <facelet-taglib
      xmlns="https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/jakartaee"
      xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
      xsi:schemaLocation="https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/jakartaee https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/jakartaee/web-facelettaglibrary_4_1.xsd"
      version="4.1"
  >
  

• If the project has a web.xml and its declared version lags behind Servlet 6.1 (Jakarta EE 11), update it.

  <web-app
      xmlns="https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/jakartaee"
      xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
      xsi:schemaLocation="https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/jakartaee https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/jakartaee/web-app_6_1.xsd"
      version="6.1"
  >
  

• Update beans.xml version to CDI 4.1 (Jakarta EE 11), keeping the existing bean-discovery-mode.

  <beans
      xmlns="https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/jakartaee"
      xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
      xsi:schemaLocation="https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/jakartaee https://jakarta.ee/xml/ns/jakartaee/beans_4_1.xsd"
      version="4.1"
      bean-discovery-mode="annotated"
  >
  

• When the project overrides the standard message bundle (jakarta/faces/Messages*.properties) or declares a <message-bundle>, report the keys that Faces 4.1 adds so the developer can supply translations. Faces 4.1 adds two, for the new UUIDConverter:
  • jakarta.faces.converter.UUIDConverter.UUID
  • jakarta.faces.converter.UUIDConverter.UUID_detail
• Full state saving is deprecated for removal since 4.1 and is removed in Faces 5.0, along with both its context params in web.xml. Migrating them off now is what makes the next jump a version bump rather than a rewrite:
  • jakarta.faces.PARTIAL_STATE_SAVING: remove it when set to true, which is the default since 2.0. When set to false, report it rather than removing it; the application is running on full state saving and removing the param flips it onto partial state saving, which surfaces any custom component that does not save its state correctly; fix those first.
  • jakarta.faces.FULL_STATE_SAVING_VIEW_IDS: report the listed view IDs, which need the same treatment per view.
• Replace the ActionSource2 types, all deprecated for removal since 4.1; their members moved to the ActionSource counterpart:
  • jakarta.faces.component.ActionSource2 → jakarta.faces.component.ActionSource
  • jakarta.faces.view.ActionSource2AttachedObjectHandler → jakarta.faces.view.ActionSourceAttachedObjectHandler
  • jakarta.faces.view.ActionSource2AttachedObjectTarget → jakarta.faces.view.ActionSourceAttachedObjectTarget
• Review for new 4.1 features to adopt: https://balusc.omnifaces.org/2024/06/whats-new-in-faces-41.html

Step 3: Execute

For each applicable migration step:

1. Show the developer what will change (file count, type of changes).
2. Confirm before proceeding.
3. Apply changes file by file.
4. After all changes, report a summary.

Step 4: Verify

After migration:

• Check for any remaining old-version references (grep for old package names, old namespaces, old annotations).
• Check for any remaining javax. keys in *.properties files and for a leftover javax/faces/ resource directory; these fail silently rather than at build time.
• Check that faces-config.xml, web.xml and beans.xml each declare a version no higher than the Faces, Servlet resp. CDI API the runtime supplies, and no lower than needed for the descriptor features in use.
• Verify pom.xml/build.gradle has no conflicting dependency versions.
• Suggest running /faces-review to catch any remaining issues.

Important

• ALWAYS confirm with the developer before making changes.
• For large projects, offer to do a dry run first (report only, no changes).
• When migrating across multiple versions (e.g. JSF 2.0 → Faces 4.1), apply steps in order; do NOT skip intermediate steps.
• Preserve existing code style (indentation, line endings, import ordering).
• Third-party libraries (PrimeFaces, OmniFaces, etc.) may also need version upgrades; flag these but let the developer decide.