Introduction

This section explains how to install and setup your SonarQube Server 2026.5.

Installing SonarQube Server from the ZIP file is deprecated. It's still supported, but support will be removed in a future release, so consider the Docker image or the Helm chart instead. See the deprecation policy for details.

The agentic features run as containers, so they have no ZIP equivalent. You can keep SonarQube Server on the ZIP file and deploy their containers alongside it. See Deploying AI agents.

Developer and Enterprise editions

• Server components

• Server host requirements

• Networking requirements

• Pre-installation steps:

  • On Linux systems

  • On Unix-based systems

  • On macOS systems

• Installing:

  • From Docker image To add the AI features, see Deploying with Docker Compose.
  • On Kubernetes or OpenShift To add the AI features, see Deploying with the Helm chart. On OpenShift, the agent runtimes are sandboxed with Kata Containers.
  • From ZIP file (deprecated) The AI features run as containers, so they have no ZIP equivalent. You can run SonarQube Server from the ZIP file and deploy their containers alongside it.
• AI features (optional, Enterprise and Data Center editions) The Agent Orchestrator, the agent runtimes, and Vortex analysis run as containers alongside SonarQube Server, and they need shared storage that you provision. Each agent requires a separate subscription. See Deploying AI agents.
• Post-installation By default, the sonar-users group has the Execute Analysis global permission, which means that its users can see the branch status of any project, even if they don’t have explicit permissions for it. We recommend that after your trial, you review all global permissions and ensure they comply with your company policy. See Setting the global permissions for more information.
• Network security:

  • Reverse proxy and network security

  • Network rules

• Reference architectures:

  • Up to 10 M LOC

  • Up to 50 M LOC

  • Agentic features architecture

Data Center Edition

• DCE topology

• Installation requirements

• Pre-installation steps

• Installing:

  • From Docker image

  • Installing on Kubernetes or Openshift

  • Installing from ZIP file (deprecated)
• Network security:

  • Securing behind a proxy

  • Elasticsearch security features

  • Network rules

Database

• Installing database

Next steps

After your server is up and running, you’ll need to install one or more Sonar scanners on the machines where the analysis will be performed. See Project analysis setup.

Related online learning

• Getting started with Sonar: Onboarding essentials