Stubborn Contract

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What Stubborn Contract is

Stubborn Contract is a consumer-driven contract-testing tool for HTTP and message-based interactions, and the official continuation of Spring Cloud Contract. Its testing core and Stubborn Broker OSS are licensed under Apache 2.0 and free to use, modify, and deploy. Existing Groovy DSL, YAML, and Java DSL contracts can remain in place during migration, with an OpenRewrite recipe to automate mechanical migration steps. Contracts can be published through Maven or Gradle plugins or the CLI. The Broker checks contracts across branches and services and provides a CI-friendly can-i-deploy check. Stubborn Contract 0.1.2 adds Spring-free building blocks for Kafka, RabbitMQ, and JMS. It runs on Java 17 or later. The Broker can be run locally with Docker on port 8080. Community help through GitHub issues is best effort, without a public free-support SLA.

Who it suits

It suits teams maintaining HTTP or messaging contracts, especially those migrating from Spring Cloud Contract. Organizations seeking migration planning, roadmap participation, or dedicated support can consider Enterprise Partnerships.

What it does well

Apache 2.0 core and Broker OSS are free to use.
Supports HTTP and message-based contracts.
Existing Groovy DSL, YAML, and Java DSL contracts continue to work.
Broker verifies contracts across branches and services.
Supports Kafka, RabbitMQ, and JMS messaging building blocks.

What to know first

Community support is best effort, with no public free-support SLA.
Java 17 or later is required.

Plans

Plan	Billed and limits	Price
Open-source core	Contract-testing core and Stubborn Broker OSS · free to use, modify, and deploy under Apache 2.0	Free
Enterprise Partnership	Scoped to the organization’s needs; no public pricing · Stubborn Pro capabilities · migration planning · architecture sessions · priority engineering · direct maintainer communication · custom integrations	On request

As stubborn.sh lists them, read 5 Oct 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.

Getting started

Visit the Stubborn Contract website.
Use the open-source core, licensed under Apache 2.0, or ask about an Enterprise Partnership.
Install Java 17 or later for Stubborn Contract 0.1.2.
Publish contracts through Maven, Gradle, or the CLI.
Run the Broker locally with Docker on port 8080 if you want a self-hosted deployment.
Use the migration guide's OpenRewrite recipe for mechanical migration steps.

Verdict

Stubborn Contract combines an open-source contract-testing core with a Broker for cross-branch checks and deployment decisions. It is a practical fit for teams working with supported contract formats and Java-based messaging integrations, though free community support has no public SLA.

Questions

Is Stubborn Contract free?

The contract-testing core and Stubborn Broker OSS are available for free under Apache 2.0, with permission to use, modify, and deploy them.

What platforms does it support?

The listed platforms are API and self-hosted. The Broker page provides a Docker command for running the server locally on port 8080.

Which contract formats are supported?

The listed formats are YAML, Groovy, Java, and Kotlin. Existing Groovy DSL, YAML, and Java DSL contracts continue to work during migration.

Does it support messaging contracts?

Yes. It supports message-based interactions, and version 0.1.2 adds Spring-free building blocks for Kafka, RabbitMQ, and JMS.

What does Enterprise Partnership cost?

No public price is listed; the partnership is scoped to the organization's needs.

What support is available?

Community support is best effort through GitHub issues, with no public SLA. Enterprise Partnerships include direct maintainer communication and support for CI/CD and deployment pipeline integration.

Facts from Stubborn Contract's own pages

Broker features: The Broker page lists branch-aware governance, AI contract generation from captured HTTP traffic, and AI-agent integration through MCP. · stubborn.sh, 5 Oct 2026
Broker governance: Stubborn Broker verifies contracts across branches and services and provides a CI-friendly can-i-deploy check. · stubborn.sh, 5 Oct 2026
Build integrations: Contracts can be published through Maven or Gradle plugins, or through the CLI. · stubborn.sh, 5 Oct 2026
Community support: Community support is best effort through GitHub issues, with no public SLA for free support. · stubborn.sh, 5 Oct 2026
Enterprise support: Enterprise Partnerships include direct maintainer communication and support for integrating the project into an organization’s CI/CD and deployment pipelines. · stubborn.sh, 5 Oct 2026
HTTP and messaging: The testing project supports contracts for both HTTP and message-based interactions. · github.com, 5 Oct 2026
Languages: The Broker page lists Java, Kotlin, JavaScript, and TypeScript SDK support. · stubborn.sh, 5 Oct 2026
Messaging integrations: Stubborn Contract 0.1.2 adds Spring-free messaging building blocks for Kafka, RabbitMQ, and JMS. · stubborn.sh, 5 Oct 2026
Migration: The migration guide says an OpenRewrite recipe automates mechanical migration steps from Spring Cloud Contract. · stubborn.sh, 5 Oct 2026
Open-source license: The contract-testing core and Stubborn Broker OSS are licensed under Apache 2.0 and are free to use, modify, and deploy. · stubborn.sh, 5 Oct 2026
Purpose: Stubborn Contract is the official continuation of Spring Cloud Contract, providing consumer-driven contract testing for HTTP and message-based interactions. · github.com, 5 Oct 2026
Runtime requirement: Stubborn Contract 0.1.2 runs on Java 17 or later and is listed as tested with Java 21 and 25 and Spring Boot 4.1. · stubborn.sh, 5 Oct 2026
Self-hosting: The Broker page provides a Docker command to run the server locally on port 8080. · stubborn.sh, 5 Oct 2026
Supported formats: Existing Groovy DSL, YAML, and Java DSL contracts continue to work during migration. · stubborn.sh, 5 Oct 2026
Who it is for: Enterprise Partnerships are offered to organizations that rely on Stubborn Contract in production and want migration planning, roadmap participation, or dedicated support. · stubborn.sh, 5 Oct 2026

Where Stubborn Contract stands on Freedom251

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