AngularJS has reached end of life: what should you do now?
AngularJS support ended on 31 December 2021. If your app still runs on it, here are your realistic options and how to choose between them.
AngularJS (version 1.x) ended long-term support on 31 December 2021, so it receives no official fixes. Your options are to migrate incrementally to Angular, rewrite in React or Vue, or buy third-party extended support as a stopgap. For most business apps, an incremental migration with tests is the safest path.
AngularJS, the original Angular framework from 2010, entered its end-of-life on 31 December 2021. Apps built on it still run, but they no longer get official security updates, and the ecosystem around them keeps shrinking.
What are your options?
- Migrate to Angular incrementally. The framework provides upgrade tooling that lets AngularJS and Angular run in the same app while you move screen by screen.
- Rewrite in React, Vue or another framework. Best when the UI needs a redesign anyway, or your team already uses that framework.
- Buy extended support. Some commercial vendors sell security patches for AngularJS. It buys time, but it is not a destination.
- Do nothing, knowingly. Acceptable only for low-risk, internal, isolated apps, with the risk written down.
How do you choose?
| Situation | Likely best option |
|---|---|
| Large app, team knows Angular | Incremental migration to Angular |
| UI needs redesign anyway | Rewrite in React or Vue, piece by piece |
| Need time to plan | Extended support as a bridge, with a dated exit |
| Small internal tool | Rewrite; it is often quicker than migrating |
What does a safe plan look like?
- 01Inventory routes, components, directives and third-party packages.
- 02Write end-to-end tests for the critical user journeys.
- 03Introduce the new framework alongside the old, with a shared shell or a reverse proxy.
- 04Migrate one slice at a time, starting with the least risky, and release continuously.
- 05Retire AngularJS only when nothing depends on it.
This is the strangler-fig approach we use on legacy modernization projects, and the same ideas apply to other ageing front ends.