diff --git a/README.template b/README.template
index 11c97fd10622..175397b3f767 100644
--- a/README.template
+++ b/README.template
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ Build from Source
 You can build Apache Druid directly from source.
 
 Prerequisites:
-  JDK 8, 8u92+
+  JDK 21 or JDK 25
   Maven version 3.x
 
 
diff --git a/dev/intellij-sdk-config.jpg b/dev/intellij-sdk-config.jpg
deleted file mode 100644
index 6a451b522af4..000000000000
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diff --git a/dev/intellij-sdk-config.png b/dev/intellij-sdk-config.png
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..00dda46dcbfc
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diff --git a/dev/intellij-setup.md b/dev/intellij-setup.md
index 966c6c81920d..d1cbd7174bcc 100644
--- a/dev/intellij-setup.md
+++ b/dev/intellij-setup.md
@@ -23,13 +23,13 @@ setups of Druid.
 
 ## Project SDK
 
-The "SDK", configured for the Druid project, *must* be called `1.8`, to avoid annoying changes of
-[`.idea/misc.xml`](/.idea/misc.xml) file, that you shouldn't check into your commits. If you don't have an SDK on your
-dev machine with this name, you should either rename one of the existing SDKs to `1.8`, or create another one with this
-name, and it could point to the same files as some other existing SDK, even if it's actually JDK 9+. `1.8` is just
-an alias name. You can do this in Using `File` -> `Project Structure...` -> `Platform Settings` -> `SDKs`
-(see also [IntelliJ help page about this](https://www.jetbrains.com/help/idea/configuring-intellij-platform-plugin-sdk.html)):
-![IntelliJ SDK Config](intellij-sdk-config.jpg)
+Druid requires JDK 21 or JDK 25. Add a supported JDK using
+`File` -> `Project Structure...` -> `Platform Settings` -> `SDKs`. The SDK name can reflect the JDK distribution and
+version, such as `zulu-21`.
+
+![IntelliJ SDK configuration](intellij-sdk-config.png)
+
+Then select the JDK as the project SDK under `Project Settings` -> `Project`.
 
 ## Code Style
 The Code Style is available in XML format at [druid_intellij_formatting.xml](druid_intellij_formatting.xml) and can be [imported into IntelliJ](https://www.jetbrains.com/help/idea/2017.1/copying-code-style-settings.html).
@@ -96,8 +96,6 @@ You can configure application definitions in XML for import into IntelliJ. Below
     <option name="VM_PARAMETERS" value="-server -Duser.timezone=UTC -Dfile.encoding=UTF-8 -Xmx2G -XX:MaxJavaStackTraceDepth=9999 -XX:+UseG1GC -XX:+PrintGCDetails -XX:+PrintGCTimeStamps -XX:+PrintAdaptiveSizePolicy -XX:+PrintReferenceGC -verbose:gc -XX:+PrintFlagsFinal -Djava.util.logging.manager=org.apache.logging.log4j.jul.LogManager -Dorg.jboss.logging.provider=slf4j -Dlog4j.configurationFile=$PROJECT_DIR$/core/src/main/resources/log4j2.debug.xml -Ddruid.host=localhost -Ddruid.service=historical -Ddruid.processing.buffer.sizeBytes=100000000 -Ddruid.extensions.directory=$PROJECT_DIR$/distribution/target/extensions/ -Ddruid.extensions.loadList=[\&quot;druid-s3-extensions\&quot;,\&quot;druid-histogram\&quot;,\&quot;mysql-metadata-storage\&quot;] -Ddruid.historical.cache.useCache=false -Ddruid.historical.cache.populateCache=false -Ddruid.segmentCache.locations=&quot;[{\&quot;path\&quot;:\&quot;/tmp/druid/indexCache\&quot;,\&quot;maxSize\&quot;:10000000000}]&quot; -Ddruid.zk.service.host=localhost -Ddruid.processing.numThreads=1 -Ddruid.server.http.numThreads=50 -Ddruid.serverview.type=http -Ddruid.emitter=logging" />
     <option name="PROGRAM_PARAMETERS" value="server historical" />
     <option name="WORKING_DIRECTORY" value="file://$PROJECT_DIR$" />
-    <option name="ALTERNATIVE_JRE_PATH_ENABLED" value="false" />
-    <option name="ALTERNATIVE_JRE_PATH" value="1.8" />
     <option name="ENABLE_SWING_INSPECTOR" value="false" />
     <option name="ENV_VARIABLES" />
     <option name="PASS_PARENT_ENVS" value="true" />
@@ -117,8 +115,6 @@ You can configure application definitions in XML for import into IntelliJ. Below
     <option name="VM_PARAMETERS" value="-server -Duser.timezone=UTC -Dfile.encoding=UTF-8 -Xmx256M -Xmx256M -XX:+UseG1GC -XX:+PrintGCDetails -XX:+PrintGCTimeStamps -XX:+PrintAdaptiveSizePolicy -XX:+PrintReferenceGC -verbose:gc -XX:+PrintFlagsFinal -Djava.util.logging.manager=org.apache.logging.log4j.jul.LogManager -Dorg.jboss.logging.provider=slf4j -Ddruid.host=localhost -Ddruid.service=coordinator -Ddruid.extensions.directory=$PROJECT_DIR$/distribution/target/extensions/ -Ddruid.extensions.loadList=[\&quot;druid-s3-extensions\&quot;,\&quot;druid-histogram\&quot;,\&quot;mysql-metadata-storage\&quot;] -Ddruid.zk.service.host=localhost -Ddruid.metadata.storage.type=mysql -Ddruid.metadata.storage.connector.connectURI=&quot;jdbc:mysql://localhost:3306/druid&quot; -Ddruid.metadata.storage.connector.user=druid -Ddruid.metadata.storage.connector.password=diurd -Ddruid.serverview.type=http -Ddruid.emitter=logging -Ddruid.coordinator.period=PT10S -Ddruid.coordinator.startDelay=PT5S" />
     <option name="PROGRAM_PARAMETERS" value="server coordinator" />
     <option name="WORKING_DIRECTORY" value="file://$PROJECT_DIR$" />
-    <option name="ALTERNATIVE_JRE_PATH_ENABLED" value="false" />
-    <option name="ALTERNATIVE_JRE_PATH" value="1.8" />
     <option name="ENABLE_SWING_INSPECTOR" value="false" />
     <option name="ENV_VARIABLES" />
     <option name="PASS_PARENT_ENVS" value="true" />
diff --git a/docs/development/build.md b/docs/development/build.md
index 3bfaca192d4d..283c97cdc3b6 100644
--- a/docs/development/build.md
+++ b/docs/development/build.md
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ make sure it has `/master/` in the URL.
 
 ### Installing Java and Maven
 
-- See our [Java documentation](../operations/java.md) for information about obtaining a supported JDK
+- See the [Java documentation](../operations/java.md) for information about obtaining a supported JDK
 - [Maven version 3.x](http://maven.apache.org/download.cgi)
 
 ### Other Dependencies
diff --git a/docs/operations/java.md b/docs/operations/java.md
index c6117e1f4263..4687134e019b 100644
--- a/docs/operations/java.md
+++ b/docs/operations/java.md
@@ -31,9 +31,9 @@ Druid officially supports Java 21 and 25.
 
 The project team recommends using an OpenJDK-based Java distribution. There are many free and actively-supported
 distributions available, including
-[Amazon Corretto](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/corretto/latest/corretto-17-ug/what-is-corretto-17.html),
-[Azul Zulu](https://www.azul.com/downloads/?version=java-17-lts&package=jdk), and
-[Eclipse Temurin](https://adoptium.net/temurin/releases?version=17).
+[Amazon Corretto](https://aws.amazon.com/corretto/),
+[Azul Zulu](https://www.azul.com/downloads/), and
+[Eclipse Temurin](https://adoptium.net/temurin/releases/).
 The project team does not recommend any specific distribution over any other.
 
 Druid relies on the environment variables `JAVA_HOME` or `DRUID_JAVA_HOME` to find Java on the machine. You can set
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ Druid relies on the environment variables `JAVA_HOME` or `DRUID_JAVA_HOME` to fi
 ## Garbage collection
 
 In general, the project team recommends using the G1 collector with default settings. This is the default collector in
-Java 17.
+the supported Java versions.
 
 Garbage collector selection and tuning is a form of sport in the Java community. There may be situations where adjusting
 garbage collection configuration improves or worsens performance. The project team's guidance is that most people do
@@ -51,11 +51,11 @@ not need to stray away from G1 with default settings.
 
 ## Strong encapsulation
 
-Java 9 and beyond (including Java 17) include the capability for
+The supported Java versions include the capability for
 [strong encapsulation](https://dev.java/learn/strong-encapsulation-\(of-jdk-internals\)/) of internal JDK APIs. Druid
 uses certain internal JDK APIs, which must be added to `--add-exports` and `--add-opens` on the Java command line.
 
-On Java 17, if these parameters are not included, you will see errors on startup like the following:
+If these parameters are not included, you will see errors on startup like the following:
 
 ```
 Exception in thread "main" java.lang.ExceptionInInitializerError