diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 03b2b303..b0c5c307 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@
 name: CI
 env:
   JDK_JAVA_OPTIONS: -XX:+PrintCommandLineFlags
-  JVM_OPTS: -XX:+PrintCommandLineFlags
 'on':
   workflow_dispatch: {}
   release:
@@ -21,7 +20,7 @@ jobs:
     continue-on-error: true
     steps:
     - name: Git Checkout
-      uses: actions/checkout@v4.0.0
+      uses: actions/checkout@v4.1.0
       with:
         fetch-depth: '0'
     - name: Install libuv
@@ -29,8 +28,8 @@ jobs:
     - name: Setup Scala
       uses: actions/setup-java@v3.13.0
       with:
-        distribution: temurin
-        java-version: '8'
+        distribution: corretto
+        java-version: '17'
         check-latest: true
     - name: Cache Dependencies
       uses: coursier/cache-action@v6
@@ -46,7 +45,7 @@ jobs:
     continue-on-error: false
     steps:
     - name: Git Checkout
-      uses: actions/checkout@v4.0.0
+      uses: actions/checkout@v4.1.0
       with:
         fetch-depth: '0'
     - name: Install libuv
@@ -54,8 +53,8 @@ jobs:
     - name: Setup Scala
       uses: actions/setup-java@v3.13.0
       with:
-        distribution: temurin
-        java-version: '8'
+        distribution: corretto
+        java-version: '17'
         check-latest: true
     - name: Cache Dependencies
       uses: coursier/cache-action@v6
@@ -71,22 +70,22 @@ jobs:
       fail-fast: false
       matrix:
         java:
-        - '8'
         - '11'
         - '17'
+        - '21'
     steps:
     - name: Install libuv
       run: sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y libuv1-dev
     - name: Setup Scala
       uses: actions/setup-java@v3.13.0
       with:
-        distribution: temurin
+        distribution: corretto
         java-version: ${{ matrix.java }}
         check-latest: true
     - name: Cache Dependencies
       uses: coursier/cache-action@v6
     - name: Git Checkout
-      uses: actions/checkout@v4.0.0
+      uses: actions/checkout@v4.1.0
       with:
         fetch-depth: '0'
     - name: Test
@@ -98,7 +97,7 @@ jobs:
     if: ${{ github.event_name == 'push' }}
     steps:
     - name: Git Checkout
-      uses: actions/checkout@v4.0.0
+      uses: actions/checkout@v4.1.0
       with:
         fetch-depth: '0'
     - name: Install libuv
@@ -106,8 +105,8 @@ jobs:
     - name: Setup Scala
       uses: actions/setup-java@v3.13.0
       with:
-        distribution: temurin
-        java-version: '8'
+        distribution: corretto
+        java-version: '17'
         check-latest: true
     - name: Cache Dependencies
       uses: coursier/cache-action@v6
@@ -172,7 +171,7 @@ jobs:
     if: ${{ github.event_name != 'pull_request' }}
     steps:
     - name: Git Checkout
-      uses: actions/checkout@v4.0.0
+      uses: actions/checkout@v4.1.0
       with:
         fetch-depth: '0'
     - name: Install libuv
@@ -180,8 +179,8 @@ jobs:
     - name: Setup Scala
       uses: actions/setup-java@v3.13.0
       with:
-        distribution: temurin
-        java-version: '8'
+        distribution: corretto
+        java-version: '17'
         check-latest: true
     - name: Cache Dependencies
       uses: coursier/cache-action@v6
@@ -201,7 +200,7 @@ jobs:
     if: ${{ ((github.event_name == 'release') && (github.event.action == 'published')) || (github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch') }}
     steps:
     - name: Git Checkout
-      uses: actions/checkout@v4.0.0
+      uses: actions/checkout@v4.1.0
       with:
         fetch-depth: '0'
     - name: Install libuv
@@ -209,8 +208,8 @@ jobs:
     - name: Setup Scala
       uses: actions/setup-java@v3.13.0
       with:
-        distribution: temurin
-        java-version: '8'
+        distribution: corretto
+        java-version: '17'
         check-latest: true
     - name: Cache Dependencies
       uses: coursier/cache-action@v6
@@ -232,7 +231,7 @@ jobs:
     if: ${{ (github.event_name == 'release') && (github.event.action == 'published') }}
     steps:
     - name: Git Checkout
-      uses: actions/checkout@v4.0.0
+      uses: actions/checkout@v4.1.0
       with:
         fetch-depth: '0'
     - name: notify the main repo about the new release of docs package
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 4df2ca73..9cec2c4e 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -140,23 +140,20 @@ test:
   strategy:
     fail-fast: false
     matrix:
-      java:
-      - '8'
-      - '11'
-      - '17'
+      java: ['11', '17', '21']
   steps:
   - name: Install libuv
     run: sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y libuv1-dev
   - name: Setup Scala
     uses: actions/setup-java@v3.12.0
     with:
-      distribution: temurin
+      distribution: corretto
       java-version: ${{ matrix.java }}
       check-latest: true
   - name: Cache Dependencies
     uses: coursier/cache-action@v6
   - name: Git Checkout
-    uses: actions/checkout@v4.0.0
+    uses: actions/checkout@v4.1.0
     with:
       fetch-depth: '0'
   - name: Test
@@ -171,12 +168,12 @@ In some cases, we may have multiple submodules in our project and we want to tes
 
 The `ciTargetScalaVersions` setting key is used to define a mapping of project names to the Scala versions that should be used for testing phase of continuous integration (CI).
 
-For example, suppose we have a project with the name "submoduleA" and we want to test it against Scala `2.12.18`, and for the "submoduleB" we want to test it against Scala `2.12.18` and `2.13.11` and `3.3.0`, We can define the `ciTargetScalaVersions` setting as follows:
+For example, suppose we have a project with the name "submoduleA" and we want to test it against Scala `2.12.18`, and for the "submoduleB" we want to test it against Scala `2.12.18` and `2.13.12` and `3.3.1`, We can define the `ciTargetScalaVersions` setting as follows:
 
 ```scala
 ThisBuild / ciTargetScalaVersions := Map(
     "submoduleA" -> Seq("2.12.18"),
-    "submoduleB" -> Seq("2.12.18", "2.13.11", "3.3.0")
+    "submoduleB" -> Seq("2.12.18", "2.13.12", "3.3.1")
   )
 ```
 
@@ -207,28 +204,25 @@ test:
   strategy:
     fail-fast: false
     matrix:
-      java:
-      - '8'
-      - '11'
-      - '17'
+      java: ['11', '17', '21']
       scala-project:
       - ++2.12.18 submoduleA
       - ++2.12.18 submoduleB
-      - ++2.13.11 submoduleB
-      - ++3.3.0 submoduleB
+      - ++2.13.12 submoduleB
+      - ++3.3.1 submoduleB
   steps:
   - name: Install libuv
     run: sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y libuv1-dev
   - name: Setup Scala
     uses: actions/setup-java@v3.10.0
     with:
-      distribution: temurin
+      distribution: corretto
       java-version: ${{ matrix.java }}
       check-latest: true
   - name: Cache Dependencies
     uses: coursier/cache-action@v6
   - name: Git Checkout
-    uses: actions/checkout@v4.0.0
+    uses: actions/checkout@v4.1.0
     with:
       fetch-depth: '0'
   - name: Test
diff --git a/docs/index.md b/docs/index.md
index 5fbd6cb1..990b5e81 100644
--- a/docs/index.md
+++ b/docs/index.md
@@ -138,24 +138,20 @@ test:
   continue-on-error: false
   strategy:
     fail-fast: false
-    matrix:
-      java:
-      - '8'
-      - '11'
-      - '17'
+    java: ['11', '17', '21']
   steps:
   - name: Install libuv
     run: sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y libuv1-dev
   - name: Setup Scala
     uses: actions/setup-java@v3.12.0
     with:
-      distribution: temurin
+      distribution: corretto
       java-version: ${{ matrix.java }}
       check-latest: true
   - name: Cache Dependencies
     uses: coursier/cache-action@v6
   - name: Git Checkout
-    uses: actions/checkout@v4.0.0
+    uses: actions/checkout@v4.1.0
     with:
       fetch-depth: '0'
   - name: Test
@@ -170,12 +166,12 @@ In some cases, we may have multiple submodules in our project and we want to tes
 
 The `ciTargetScalaVersions` setting key is used to define a mapping of project names to the Scala versions that should be used for testing phase of continuous integration (CI).
 
-For example, suppose we have a project with the name "submoduleA" and we want to test it against Scala `2.12.18`, and for the "submoduleB" we want to test it against Scala `2.12.18` and `2.13.11` and `3.3.0`, We can define the `ciTargetScalaVersions` setting as follows:
+For example, suppose we have a project with the name "submoduleA" and we want to test it against Scala `2.12.18`, and for the "submoduleB" we want to test it against Scala `2.12.18` and `2.13.12` and `3.3.1`, We can define the `ciTargetScalaVersions` setting as follows:
 
 ```scala
 ThisBuild / ciTargetScalaVersions := Map(
     "submoduleA" -> Seq("2.12.18"),
-    "submoduleB" -> Seq("2.12.18", "2.13.11", "3.3.0")
+    "submoduleB" -> Seq("2.12.18", "2.13.12", "3.3.1")
   )
 ```
 
@@ -206,28 +202,25 @@ test:
   strategy:
     fail-fast: false
     matrix:
-      java:
-      - '8'
-      - '11'
-      - '17'
+      java: ['11', '17', '21']
       scala-project:
       - ++2.12.18 submoduleA
       - ++2.12.18 submoduleB
-      - ++2.13.11 submoduleB
-      - ++3.3.0 submoduleB
+      - ++2.13.12 submoduleB
+      - ++3.3.1 submoduleB
   steps:
   - name: Install libuv
     run: sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y libuv1-dev
   - name: Setup Scala
     uses: actions/setup-java@v3.10.0
     with:
-      distribution: temurin
+      distribution: corretto
       java-version: ${{ matrix.java }}
       check-latest: true
   - name: Cache Dependencies
     uses: coursier/cache-action@v6
   - name: Git Checkout
-    uses: actions/checkout@v4.0.0
+    uses: actions/checkout@v4.1.0
     with:
       fetch-depth: '0'
   - name: Test
diff --git a/project/Versions.scala b/project/Versions.scala
index 536a8d11..01bee139 100644
--- a/project/Versions.scala
+++ b/project/Versions.scala
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 object Versions {
   val Scala212 = "2.12.18"
-  val Scala213 = "2.13.11"
-  val Scala3   = "3.3.0"
-  val zio      = "2.0.16"
+  val Scala213 = "2.13.12"
+  val Scala3   = "3.3.1"
+  val zio      = "2.0.17"
 }
diff --git a/zio-sbt-ci/src/main/scala/zio/sbt/V.scala b/zio-sbt-ci/src/main/scala/zio/sbt/V.scala
index f96dc512..f1ebd7b7 100644
--- a/zio-sbt-ci/src/main/scala/zio/sbt/V.scala
+++ b/zio-sbt-ci/src/main/scala/zio/sbt/V.scala
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ object V {
       "peter-evans/create-pull-request" -> "v5.0.2",
       "zio/generate-github-app-token"   -> "v1.0.0",
       "pierotofy/set-swap-space"        -> "master",
-      "actions/checkout"                -> "v4.0.0",
+      "actions/checkout"                -> "v4.1.0",
       "actions/setup-java"              -> "v3.13.0",
       "coursier/cache-action"           -> "v6",
       "actions/setup-node"              -> "v3"
diff --git a/zio-sbt-ci/src/main/scala/zio/sbt/ZioSbtCiPlugin.scala b/zio-sbt-ci/src/main/scala/zio/sbt/ZioSbtCiPlugin.scala
index b3caedb4..a2b59f9b 100644
--- a/zio-sbt-ci/src/main/scala/zio/sbt/ZioSbtCiPlugin.scala
+++ b/zio-sbt-ci/src/main/scala/zio/sbt/ZioSbtCiPlugin.scala
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ object ZioSbtCiPlugin extends AutoPlugin {
     val ciUpdateReadmeCondition: SettingKey[Option[Condition]] =
       settingKey[Option[Condition]]("condition to update readme")
     val ciTargetJavaVersions: SettingKey[Seq[String]] =
-      settingKey[Seq[String]]("The default target Java versions for all modules, default is 8, 11, 17")
+      settingKey[Seq[String]]("The default target Java versions for all modules, default is 11, 17, 21")
     val ciTargetMinJavaVersions: SettingKey[Map[String, String]] =
       SettingKey[Map[String, String]](
         "minimum target Java version for each module, default is an empty map which makes CI to use `ciAllTargetJavaVersions` to determine the minimum target Java version for all modules"
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ object ZioSbtCiPlugin extends AutoPlugin {
       )
     val ciDefaultJavaVersion: SettingKey[String] =
       settingKey[String](
-        "The default Java version which is used in CI, especially for releasing artifacts, defaults to 8"
+        "The default Java version which is used in CI, especially for releasing artifacts, defaults to 17"
       )
     val ciCheckGithubWorkflow: TaskKey[Unit] = taskKey[Unit]("Make sure if the ci.yml file is up-to-date")
     val ciCheckArtifactsBuildSteps: SettingKey[Seq[Step]] =
@@ -187,7 +187,7 @@ object ZioSbtCiPlugin extends AutoPlugin {
                   }
                 } else {
                   (for {
-                    javaPlatform: String <- Set("8", "11", "17")
+                    javaPlatform: String <- Set("11", "17", "21")
                     scalaVersion: String <- scalaVersionMatrix.values.toSeq.flatten.toSet
                     projects =
                       scalaVersionMatrix.filterKeys { p =>
@@ -261,13 +261,6 @@ object ZioSbtCiPlugin extends AutoPlugin {
             } else {
               Step.StepSequence(
                 Seq(
-                  Step.SingleStep(
-                    name = "Java 8 Tests",
-                    condition = Some(Condition.Expression("matrix.java == '8'")),
-                    run = Some(
-                      prefixJobs + "sbt ${{ matrix.scala-project-java8 }}/test"
-                    )
-                  ),
                   Step.SingleStep(
                     name = "Java 11 Tests",
                     condition = Some(Condition.Expression("matrix.java == '11'")),
@@ -281,6 +274,13 @@ object ZioSbtCiPlugin extends AutoPlugin {
                     run = Some(
                       prefixJobs + "sbt ${{ matrix.scala-project-java17 }}/test"
                     )
+                  ),
+                  Step.SingleStep(
+                    name = "Java 21 Tests",
+                    condition = Some(Condition.Expression("matrix.java == '21'")),
+                    run = Some(
+                      prefixJobs + "sbt ${{ matrix.scala-project-java21 }}/test"
+                    )
                   )
                 )
               )
@@ -521,10 +521,7 @@ object ZioSbtCiPlugin extends AutoPlugin {
       val nodeOptions      = ciNodeOptions.value
 
       val jvmMap = Map(
-        // JDK_JAVA_OPTIONS is _the_ env. variable to use for modern Java
-        "JDK_JAVA_OPTIONS" -> jvmOptions.mkString(" "),
-        // For Java 8 only (sadly, it is not modern enough for JDK_JAVA_OPTIONS)
-        "JVM_OPTS" -> jvmOptions.mkString(" ")
+        "JDK_JAVA_OPTIONS" -> jvmOptions.mkString(" ")
       )
       val nodeMap: Map[String, String] =
         if (nodeOptions.nonEmpty) Map("NODE_OPTIONS" -> nodeOptions.mkString(" ")) else Map.empty
@@ -575,7 +572,7 @@ object ZioSbtCiPlugin extends AutoPlugin {
       ciUpdateReadmeCondition  := None,
       ciGroupSimilarTests      := false,
       ciSwapSizeGB             := 0,
-      ciTargetJavaVersions     := Seq("8", "11", "17"),
+      ciTargetJavaVersions     := Seq("11", "17", "21"),
       ciCheckArtifactsBuildSteps :=
         Seq(
           Step.SingleStep(
@@ -600,7 +597,7 @@ object ZioSbtCiPlugin extends AutoPlugin {
       ),
       ciBackgroundJobs     := Seq.empty,
       ciMatrixMaxParallel  := None,
-      ciDefaultJavaVersion := "8",
+      ciDefaultJavaVersion := "17",
       ciBuildJobs          := buildJobs.value,
       ciLintJobs           := lintJobs.value,
       ciTestJobs           := testJobs.value,
@@ -662,11 +659,11 @@ object ZioSbtCiPlugin extends AutoPlugin {
     run = Some("sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y libuv1-dev")
   )
 
-  def SetupJava(version: String = "8"): Step.SingleStep = Step.SingleStep(
+  def SetupJava(version: String = "17"): Step.SingleStep = Step.SingleStep(
     name = "Setup Scala",
     uses = Some(ActionRef(V("actions/setup-java"))),
     parameters = Map(
-      "distribution" -> "temurin".asJson,
+      "distribution" -> "corretto".asJson,
       "java-version" -> version.asJson,
       "check-latest" -> true.asJson
     )
diff --git a/zio-sbt-ecosystem/src/main/scala/zio/sbt/ScalaCompilerSettings.scala b/zio-sbt-ecosystem/src/main/scala/zio/sbt/ScalaCompilerSettings.scala
index 16661421..c19521f4 100644
--- a/zio-sbt-ecosystem/src/main/scala/zio/sbt/ScalaCompilerSettings.scala
+++ b/zio-sbt-ecosystem/src/main/scala/zio/sbt/ScalaCompilerSettings.scala
@@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ trait ScalaCompilerSettings {
   def stdSettings(
     name: Option[String] = None,
     packageName: Option[String] = None,
-    javaPlatform: String = "8",
+    javaPlatform: String = "11",
     enableKindProjector: Boolean = true,
     enableCrossProject: Boolean = false,
     enableScalafix: Boolean = true,
diff --git a/zio-sbt-ecosystem/src/main/scala/zio/sbt/Versions.scala b/zio-sbt-ecosystem/src/main/scala/zio/sbt/Versions.scala
index bca39e40..d333e0c0 100644
--- a/zio-sbt-ecosystem/src/main/scala/zio/sbt/Versions.scala
+++ b/zio-sbt-ecosystem/src/main/scala/zio/sbt/Versions.scala
@@ -22,11 +22,11 @@ object Versions {
   val KindProjectorVersion = "0.13.2"
   val ScaluzziVersion      = "0.1.23"
 
-  val scala3   = "3.3.0"
+  val scala3   = "3.3.1"
   val scala212 = "2.12.18"
-  val scala213 = "2.13.11"
+  val scala213 = "2.13.12"
 
-  val zioVersion = "2.0.16"
+  val zioVersion = "2.0.17"
 
   lazy val betterMonadFor: ModuleID = "com.olegpy" %% "better-monadic-for" % "0.3.1"
 }
diff --git a/zio-sbt-ecosystem/src/sbt-test/zio-sbt-ecosystem/verifySettingsWithCI/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/zio-sbt-ecosystem/src/sbt-test/zio-sbt-ecosystem/verifySettingsWithCI/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 85ed6c5b..1dadb578 100644
--- a/zio-sbt-ecosystem/src/sbt-test/zio-sbt-ecosystem/verifySettingsWithCI/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/zio-sbt-ecosystem/src/sbt-test/zio-sbt-ecosystem/verifySettingsWithCI/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@ name: CI
 
 env:
   JDK_JAVA_OPTIONS: -XX:+PrintCommandLineFlags -Xmx6G -Xss4M -XX:+UseG1GC # JDK_JAVA_OPTIONS is _the_ env. variable to use for modern Java
-  JVM_OPTS: -XX:+PrintCommandLineFlags -Xmx6G -Xss4M -XX:+UseG1GC # for Java 8 only (sadly, it is not modern enough for JDK_JAVA_OPTIONS)
   NODE_OPTIONS: --max_old_space_size=6144
 
 on:
@@ -21,14 +20,14 @@ jobs:
     strategy:
       fail-fast: false
       matrix:
-        java: ['8', '11', '17']
+        java: ['11', '17', '21']
         # These version must be different than the versions in V.scala to verify that we are reading from the ci.yml file.
-        scala: ['2.12.18', '2.13.11', '3.3.0' ]
+        scala: ['2.12.18', '2.13.12', '3.3.1' ]
     steps:
-    - uses: actions/checkout@v4.0.0
+    - uses: actions/checkout@v4.1.0
     - uses: actions/setup-java@v3.12.0
       with:
-        distribution: temurin
+        distribution: corretto
         java-version: ${{ matrix.java }}
         check-latest: true
     - name: Cache scala dependencies