Apache Commons
Ranked 2 of 5 java libraries by recommenders
Widely used Java libraries that fill common gaps, seen as mature, well maintained and well documented. A few developers say they don't use them.
Widely used Java libraries that fill common gaps, seen as mature, well maintained and well documented. A few developers say they don't use them.
10 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 8
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 80%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 8 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 4 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Stdlib-style extras, like Boost
“C++ and Java have a bunch of stdlib extensions like boost, Guava, Apache Commons etc.”
Comment from 7 Nov 2025 in “Why I love OCaml (2023)” “desperately needs something along the lines of boost/apache commons”
Comment from 14 Feb 2026 in “Stoat removes all LLM-generated code following user criticism” “Good examples are Java's Apache Commons or C++'s Boost.”
Comment from 20 Aug 2026 in “Malicious Rust Crate Arrayref Runs a Build-Time Payload” Industry standard in Java projects
“Every non-trivial java codebase I've worked in has pulled in Guava and at least some of the Apache commons libraries.”
Comment from 23 Nov 2025 in “We should all be using dependency cooldowns” “Apache commons which is perceived as an industry standard nowadays”
Comment from 17 Nov 2025 in “The fate of "small" open source” Covers most common utility needs
“Two large libraries with everything the developers heart desired and well maintained by large organizations.”
Comment from 20 Aug 2026 in “Malicious Rust Crate Arrayref Runs a Build-Time Payload” “Anything else is probably in Apache Commons somewhere.”
Comment from 15 Sep 2026 in “Java 27” Mature with documented edge cases
“Two large libraries with everything the developers heart desired and well maintained by large organizations.”
Comment from 20 Aug 2026 in “Malicious Rust Crate Arrayref Runs a Build-Time Payload” “it's seasoned and has the edge cases documented”
Comment from 17 Nov 2025 in “The fate of "small" open source”
Other java libraries people recommend
The four most recommended other java libraries, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lombok | 9 | 13 | 41% | 4 | — | — |
| Apache CommonsThis page | 8 | 2 | 80% | 5 | — | — |
| Google Guava | 7 | 2 | 78% | 5 | — | — |
| LMAX Disruptor | 6 | 3 | 67% | 5 | — | — |
| Java Vector API | 5 | 3 | 63% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
All 11 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Anything else is probably in Apache Commons somewhere.”
“Good examples are Java's Apache Commons or C++'s Boost.”
“Two large libraries with everything the developers heart desired and well maintained by large organizations.”
“would probably come as aggregations of much smaller pieces if they could be started today”
“the drawbacks are outweighed by the benefits in convenience, quality, and security”
“I don't use apache commons or guava at all in java”
“desperately needs something along the lines of boost/apache commons”
“Every non-trivial java codebase I've worked in has pulled in Guava and at least some of the Apache commons libraries.”
“it's seasoned and has the edge cases documented”
“Apache commons which is perceived as an industry standard nowadays”
“C++ and Java have a bunch of stdlib extensions like boost, Guava, Apache Commons etc.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.