# Java virtual threads

21 Hacker News commenters recommended Java virtual threads and 6 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 8 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Lets developers write simple blocking-style code that scales under load, without async/await, and shares the native thread interface. Critics point to carrier thread pinning.

## Why people recommend it

- Avoids async/await complexity (4 comments): "I did not think the benefits of better performance under load is worth the mental overhead of doing async everywhere." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49671549)) "With Java 25 virtual threads, async definitely is no longer required" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45782786)) "Loom reduces the need to use them as the default application model" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48260507))
- Avoids function coloring (4 comments): "I think green threads (Java Virtual Threads, Go to an extent) are strictly superior to async/await." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45786384)) "Java Virtual Threads are a superior paradigm to C#'s async/await and function coloring." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48255717)) "Look at Go or Java virtual threads. Async I/O doesn't need function coloring." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46148047))
- Cheap threads that scale under load (4 comments): "I did not think the benefits of better performance under load is worth the mental overhead of doing async everywhere." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49671549)) "Java is achieving that goal waaay better with virtual threads and structured concurrency" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50144544)) "simply asked why they have to be expensive and then made them not expensive" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49669824))
- Sequential code, hidden implementation (2 comments): "you have straightforward sequential code in the process and the actual implementation is invisible to the user" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48025480)) "They share the same interface with native threads and free developers from the burdens of async programming." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47919524))

## What people warn about

- Slow, rocky adoption (2 comments): "being 10 years late to the party is pretty bad" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49865182)) "Java's rocky adoption of virtual threads" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50213927))

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Java virtual threads", https://hackerapproved.com/p/java-virtual-threads/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).