Elasticsearch 8.17 has been tested and added to the compatibility matrix.

Liferay Self-Hosted deployments can update the Elastic stack to this version. For Liferay PaaS projects, as usual, a new Elasticsearch image will be provided under Liferay Cloud’s Docker Hub account.

As it was first highlighted in the Release Notes of 2024.Q3, per Elastic’s product lifecycle, Elasticsearch 7.17.x versions are supported and maintained until Elasticsearch version 9 is released.

While Elastic does not provide specific release dates for future releases, for Elasticsearch 9.0.0, the new release is anticipated in early calendar year 2025.

Compatibility with Elasticsearch 8 is available on Liferay DXP 7.4 U81+: Operating Liferay 7.4 GA/Update 81+ with Elasticsearch 8 - Liferay.

Note: The Elasticsearch 8.x compatibility is provided through the bundled Elasticsearch 7 connector and the REST API Compatibility of Elasticsearch 8.

Official release of Liferay Data Sets, moving from Beta to Release! Data Sets are a powerful and flexible way to retrieve, manage, visualize, and interact with structured data in Liferay DXP. Built on top of Objects and leveraging Liferay’s robust ecosystem, Data Sets exemplify the “build Liferay with Liferay” philosophy. With seamless integration with compatible Headless APIs, administrators can easily configure Data Sets and empower end-users with a rich, customizable experience for consuming and interacting with data.

Key benefits:

• Retrieve Data: Fetch information from any compatible Headless API to use as a Data Set source.

• Manage Flexibility: Administrators can customize what parts of the API response are included, along with filters, sorting options, and available actions.

• Visualize Data: Multiple visualization options make it easier than ever for end-users to consume data meaningfully.

• Enable Interaction: End-users can interact dynamically with data using the filters, actions, and tools configured by administrators.

To ensure the quality, stability, and modernity of Liferay DXP, we've updated to React 18, bringing significant benefits in security, performance, and compatibility. This update is critical to maintaining DXP's status as a robust and future-proof platform.

Key benefits:

• Security Enhancements: Older library versions can expose vulnerabilities. Upgrading to React 18 mitigates these risks by incorporating the latest security patches.

• Performance Improvements: React 18 introduces features like concurrent rendering, which enhances responsiveness and load handling for better user experiences.

• Enhanced Compatibility: Upgrading ensures DXP aligns with modern tools and frameworks, minimizing integration challenges and future-proofing our development processes.

• Continued Support: Staying current with React’s ecosystem ensures ongoing access to community updates, bug fixes, and innovations.

We’ve introduced robust Content Security Policy (CSP) capabilities to enhance the security of your digital experience platform. This feature supports eight key directives, including script-src and style-src among others, ensuring secure handling of scripts, styles, images, and more. By leveraging these directives, developers can mitigate cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks and data injection risks. The CSP implementation aligns with modern web security standards, offering both flexibility and protection. Administrators can now enforce stricter security policies without compromising functionality.

Key benefits:

• Enhanced Security: Mitigates risks of XSS and data injection attacks by controlling resource loading and execution.

• Compliance-Friendly: Aligns with industry-standard security requirements, supporting stricter compliance protocols.

• Customizable Policies: Allows developers to tailor CSP directives to meet specific project or organizational needs.

• Improved Trust: Strengthens end-user trust by providing a more secure and reliable platform experience.

Official release of Liferay Data Sets, moving from Beta to Release! Data Sets are a powerful and flexible way to retrieve, manage, visualize, and interact with structured data in Liferay DXP. Built on top of Objects and leveraging Liferay’s robust ecosystem, Data Sets exemplify the “build Liferay with Liferay” philosophy. With seamless integration with compatible Headless APIs, administrators can easily configure Data Sets and empower end-users with a rich, customizable experience for consuming and interacting with data.

Key benefits:

• Retrieve Data: Fetch information from any compatible Headless API to use as a Data Set source.

• Manage Flexibility: Administrators can customize what parts of the API response are included, along with filters, sorting options, and available actions.

• Visualize Data: Multiple visualization options make it easier than ever for end-users to consume data meaningfully.

• Enable Interaction: End-users can interact dynamically with data using the filters, actions, and tools configured by administrator

Allow users to move web content and document structures between environments

Key benefit:
Addresses a feature gap when moving web content and documents between environments

Allow users to move workflow settings between environments
 

Key benefit:
Addresses a feature gap when moving applications built on Liferay between environments

Allow users to move Object Definitions and Entries between environments

Key benefit:
Addresses a feature gap when moving applications built on Liferay between environments

Previously, when managing complex data models, users must create scripts or code in order to make changes to multiple related objects. Now users are able to configure multiple objects as if they are one object. Related child objects now inherit permissions and account restrictions and more from the top level parent, making object management more convenient.

Key benefits:

Simplifies the management of multiple objects through a configuration on the relationship between objects

• Permissions and Account Restrictions for the child objects are inherited from the Top level parent

• API endpoints are nested under the same namespace of the top level parent

Allow users to move display pages containing Object or Form widgets across environments

Key benefit:
Addresses a feature gap when moving content pages across environments
 

Allow applications built on top of Service Builder to leverage the benefits of the Liferay Objects framework

Key benefit:
Applications built on top of Service Builder can now be migrated to Liferay Objects

The batch engine's export endpoints now support filtering for object entries. This addresses a previous limitation where filtering was not applied to object entries during batch exports. This update ensures consistent data handling and filtering behavior across all entity types.

Key benefits:

• Object entries Personalization
• Equalize capabilities for all entities

Until now, there was no way in batch engine to export and import object entries and their permissions simultaneously. This new capability allows users to do that, streamlining workflows and reducing manual effort.

Key benefits:

• Execution in only one call.

• Possibility for users to choose to take into account (or not) permissions with object entries.

Data imports, using batch engine, now allows users to preserve content creator information (if required). Previously, imported content with batch was always assigned the user performing the import, resulting in loss of original authorship data when moving content. This update ensures accurate attribution of content ownership (if required).

Key benefits:

• Able to keep critical user information during data promotion between environments

• Can be configured separately per import process

Implemented proactive access token management with automated email notifications. Users will now receive alerts 1 month, 10 days, and 1 day prior to token expiration, allowing for timely renewal and preventing service disruptions. Notifications are automatically cancelled if a new token is generated.

Key benefits:

• Users are notified before token expiration, allowing for timely renewal and uninterrupted access.

• Reducing administrative overhead, as automated notifications eliminate the need for manual monitoring and intervention.

• By prompting timely renewals, the risk of using expired and potentially compromised tokens is minimized.

The vendor has deprecated OpenSSO/OpenAM, so there's no reason for us to keep it. The alternative, which is PingAM can be integrated using our existing OpenID connector or SAML Authentication.

The SSL Certificate Management view now provides expiration alerts for certificates nearing expiration (e.g., within 30 days) and those that have already expired. Certificates must now be defined exclusively through the LCP.json file, simplifying management and ensuring consistency across deployments. This update reduces manual errors and ensures secure and uninterrupted deployments.

Highlights:

• Expiration Alerts: Notifications for certificates nearing expiration and those already expired, with clear visual indicators.

• Exclusive LCP.json Configuration: Certificates can only be defined through the LCP.json file.

• Improved Visibility: Organized list view showing certificate names, types, associated domains, and expiration dates.

• Proactive Management: Tools and alerts to help users maintain secure SSL/TLS configurations.

The Marketplace release of the Liferay Connector to OpenSearch 2 provides an alternative to Elasticsearch for Self-Hosted Liferay deployments.

This connector integrates Liferay DXP with OpenSearch 2.12+, the open source and enterprise grade search engine. OpenSearch offers lexical search for text data, robust scalability and extensibility, and vector search for applications using embeddings, such as Liferay's Semantic Search.

The installation of this app requires specific configurations covered in the official documentation. For detailed compatibility information, see the Search Engine Compatibility Matrix.

The OpenSearch integration is currently a Beta feature with the intention to make it GA in the future.

Liferay Cloud now provides CI/CD support for Client Extensions on Liferay PaaS. Developers can integrate Client Extensions into their Git-based CI/CD pipelines, ensuring automatic builds and deployments alongside core Liferay services. This update enables automated validation, independent deployments, and faster release cycles for Client Extensions.

Highlights:

• Dedicated CI/CD Pipeline: Separate build pipeline for Client Extensions to prevent conflicts with core Liferay services.

• Automated Builds: Every commit triggers a new Client Extensions build, packaged as a LUFFA archive.

• Independent Deployments: Client Extensions builds deploy separately, improving release flexibility.

• Seamless Integration: Works with existing Git-based workflows on Liferay PaaS.

• Zero Downtime Deployments: Deploy client extensions without affecting the main Liferay service.