diff --git a/build.gradle.kts b/build.gradle.kts
index 2c60eb71b6..c7a2bd7c6e 100644
--- a/build.gradle.kts
+++ b/build.gradle.kts
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ mapOf(
 apply(from = "gradle/certificates.gradle")
 
 allprojects {
-    version = "4.3.0"
+    version = "4.3.1"
     group = "com.hexagontk"
 }
 
diff --git a/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.jar b/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.jar
index 8bdaf60c75..f8e1ee3125 100644
Binary files a/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.jar and b/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.jar differ
diff --git a/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties b/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
index a35649f5fc..4eac4a84cc 100644
--- a/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
+++ b/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 distributionBase=GRADLE_USER_HOME
 distributionPath=wrapper/dists
-distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-9.1.0-all.zip
+distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-9.2.1-all.zip
 networkTimeout=10000
 validateDistributionUrl=true
 zipStoreBase=GRADLE_USER_HOME
diff --git a/messaging/messaging_rabbitmq/test/RabbitTest.kt b/messaging/messaging_rabbitmq/test/RabbitTest.kt
index 713296a00d..3783d7a59e 100644
--- a/messaging/messaging_rabbitmq/test/RabbitTest.kt
+++ b/messaging/messaging_rabbitmq/test/RabbitTest.kt
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ import org.junit.jupiter.api.TestInstance.Lifecycle.PER_CLASS
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.condition.DisabledInNativeImage
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.condition.DisabledOnOs
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.condition.OS
-import org.testcontainers.containers.RabbitMQContainer
+import org.testcontainers.rabbitmq.RabbitMQContainer
 import org.testcontainers.utility.DockerImageName.parse
 import java.lang.System.currentTimeMillis
 import java.net.URI
diff --git a/settings.gradle.kts b/settings.gradle.kts
index ccd6c87e56..fc23d2981c 100644
--- a/settings.gradle.kts
+++ b/settings.gradle.kts
@@ -23,48 +23,48 @@ dependencyResolutionManagement {
     versionCatalogs {
         create("libs") {
             // Build
-            version("kotlin", "2.2.20")
+            version("kotlin", "2.3.0")
             version("dokka", "2.0.0")
-            version("licenseReport", "2.9")
+            version("licenseReport", "3.0.1")
             version("binValidator", "0.18.1")
-            version("nativeTools", "0.11.1")
+            version("nativeTools", "0.11.3")
             version("jmhGradle", "0.7.3")
-            version("gradleWrapper", "9.1.0")
-            version("mkdocsMaterial", "9.6.22")
-            version("maven", "4.0.0-rc-4")
-            version("junit", "6.0.0")
+            version("gradleWrapper", "9.2.1")
+            version("mkdocsMaterial", "9.7.0")
+            version("maven", "4.0.0-rc-5")
+            version("junit", "6.0.1")
             version("jreleaser", "1.20.0")
 
             // Testing
-            version("mockk", "1.14.6")
+            version("mockk", "1.14.7")
             version("jacoco", "0.8.14")
             version("jmh", "1.37")
-            version("testcontainers", "2.0.1")
+            version("testcontainers", "2.0.3")
             version("commonsCompress", "1.28.0")
 
             // Shared
             version("slf4j", "2.0.17")
 
             // http_server_netty
-            version("netty", "4.2.7.Final")
+            version("netty", "4.2.9.Final")
             version("nettyTcNative", "2.0.74.Final")
 
             // http_server_helidon
-            version("helidon", "4.3.1")
+            version("helidon", "4.3.2")
 
             // http_server_servlet
             version("servlet", "6.1.0")
-            version("jetty", "12.1.2")
+            version("jetty", "12.1.5")
 
             // rest_tools
             version("swaggerRequestValidator", "2.46.0")
 
             // messaging_rabbitmq
-            version("amqpClient", "5.27.0")
+            version("amqpClient", "5.28.0")
             version("metricsJmx", "4.2.37")
 
             // serialization
-            version("jackson", "3.0.0")
+            version("jackson", "3.0.3")
             version("dslJson", "2.0.2")
 
             // serverless_http_google
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ dependencyResolutionManagement {
             version("invoker", "1.4.1")
 
             // store_mongodb
-            version("mongodb", "5.5.1")
+            version("mongodb", "5.6.2")
 
             // templates_freemarker
             version("freemarker", "2.3.34")
@@ -81,10 +81,10 @@ dependencyResolutionManagement {
             version("jte", "3.2.1")
 
             // templates_pebble
-            version("pebble", "3.2.4")
+            version("pebble", "4.1.0")
 
             // templates_rocker
-            version("rocker", "2.2.1")
+            version("rocker", "2.4.0")
 
             // scheduler
             version("cronutils", "9.2.1")
diff --git a/starters/build.gradle.kts b/starters/build.gradle.kts
index 0539281063..279bf40d37 100644
--- a/starters/build.gradle.kts
+++ b/starters/build.gradle.kts
@@ -42,27 +42,33 @@ extensions.configure<PublishingExtension> {
                 "maven" to libs.versions.maven.get(),
                 "kotlin.version" to libs.versions.kotlin.get(),
                 "dokka.version" to libs.versions.dokka.get(),
-                "native.tools.version" to libs.versions.nativeTools.get(),
+                "native-tools.version" to libs.versions.nativeTools.get(),
                 "jacoco.version" to libs.versions.jacoco.get(),
                 "jmh.version" to libs.versions.jmh.get(),
                 "junit.version" to libs.versions.junit.get(),
                 "jlink.phase" to "none",
-                "jlink.launcher" to $$"${project.artifactId}=${project.groupId}.${project.artifactId}/${exec.mainClass}",
-                "skip.executable" to "true",
+                "jlink.launcher" to $$"${project.name}=${project.artifactId}/${main.class}",
+                "shade.phase" to "none",
+                "shade.output" to $$"${project.build.directory}/${project.build.finalName}-all.jar",
+                "native.build.skip" to true.toString(),
+                "native.tests.skip" to false.toString(),
                 "doxia-module-markdown.version" to "2.0.0",
-                "maven-antrun-plugin.version" to "3.1.0",
+                "maven-antrun-plugin.version" to "3.2.0",
                 "maven-assembly-plugin.version" to "3.7.1",
                 "maven-clean-plugin.version" to "3.5.0",
                 "maven-compiler-plugin.version" to "3.14.1",
+                "maven-dependency-plugin.version" to "3.9.0",
+                "maven-enforcer-plugin.version" to "3.6.2",
                 "maven-gpg-plugin.version" to "3.2.8",
                 "maven-install-plugin.version" to "3.1.4",
-                "maven-jar-plugin.version" to "3.4.2",
-                "maven-javadoc-plugin.version" to "3.11.3",
+                "maven-jar-plugin.version" to "3.5.0",
+                "maven-javadoc-plugin.version" to "3.12.0",
                 "maven-jlink-plugin.version" to "3.2.0",
                 "maven-resources-plugin.version" to "3.3.1",
+                "maven-shade-plugin.version" to "3.6.1",
                 "maven-site-plugin.version" to "3.21.0",
                 "maven-source-plugin.version" to "3.3.1",
-                "maven-surefire-plugin.version" to "3.5.3",
+                "maven-surefire-plugin.version" to "3.5.4",
             ))
 
             withXml {
diff --git a/starters/kotlin_pom.xml b/starters/kotlin_pom.xml
index e9f7fcaf34..f1b539fcee 100644
--- a/starters/kotlin_pom.xml
+++ b/starters/kotlin_pom.xml
@@ -13,6 +13,11 @@
       <artifactId>kotlin-test-junit5</artifactId>
       <scope>test</scope>
     </dependency>
+    <dependency>
+      <groupId>org.openjdk.jmh</groupId>
+      <artifactId>jmh-core</artifactId>
+      <scope>test</scope>
+    </dependency>
     <dependency>
       <groupId>org.junit.jupiter</groupId>
       <artifactId>junit-jupiter-params</artifactId>
@@ -74,10 +79,6 @@
       </resource>
       <resource>
         <directory>${project.basedir}/src/main/resources</directory>
-        <excludes>
-          <exclude>**/*.kt</exclude>
-          <exclude>**/*.java</exclude>
-        </excludes>
       </resource>
     </resources>
 
@@ -85,16 +86,12 @@
       <testResource>
         <directory>${project.basedir}/test</directory>
         <excludes>
-          <exclude>**/*.kt</exclude>
           <exclude>**/*.java</exclude>
+          <exclude>**/*.kt</exclude>
         </excludes>
       </testResource>
       <testResource>
         <directory>${project.basedir}/src/test/resources</directory>
-        <excludes>
-          <exclude>**/*.kt</exclude>
-          <exclude>**/*.java</exclude>
-        </excludes>
       </testResource>
     </testResources>
 
@@ -127,40 +124,6 @@
         <plugin>
           <artifactId>maven-assembly-plugin</artifactId>
           <version>${maven-assembly-plugin.version}</version>
-          <executions>
-            <execution>
-              <id>assembly</id>
-              <phase>package</phase>
-              <goals>
-                <goal>single</goal>
-              </goals>
-            </execution>
-          </executions>
-          <!-- This block must be outside executions for native compile to work properly -->
-          <configuration>
-            <archive>
-              <manifest>
-                <mainClass>${exec.mainClass}</mainClass>
-              </manifest>
-            </archive>
-            <inlineDescriptors>
-              <inlineDescriptor>
-                <id>assembly</id>
-                <formats>
-                  <format>jar</format>
-                </formats>
-                <includeBaseDirectory>false</includeBaseDirectory>
-                <dependencySets>
-                  <dependencySet>
-                    <outputDirectory>/</outputDirectory>
-                    <useProjectArtifact>true</useProjectArtifact>
-                    <unpack>true</unpack>
-                    <scope>runtime</scope>
-                  </dependencySet>
-                </dependencySets>
-              </inlineDescriptor>
-            </inlineDescriptors>
-          </configuration>
         </plugin>
 
         <plugin>
@@ -194,6 +157,41 @@
         <plugin>
           <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
           <version>${maven-compiler-plugin.version}</version>
+          <configuration>
+            <annotationProcessorPaths>
+              <annotationProcessorPath>
+                <groupId>org.openjdk.jmh</groupId>
+                <artifactId>jmh-generator-annprocess</artifactId>
+                <version>${jmh.version}</version>
+              </annotationProcessorPath>
+            </annotationProcessorPaths>
+          </configuration>
+        </plugin>
+
+        <plugin>
+          <artifactId>maven-dependency-plugin</artifactId>
+          <version>${maven-dependency-plugin.version}</version>
+        </plugin>
+
+        <plugin>
+          <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
+          <artifactId>maven-enforcer-plugin</artifactId>
+          <version>${maven-enforcer-plugin.version}</version>
+          <configuration>
+            <rules>
+              <requireJavaVersion>
+                <version>${maven.compiler.release}</version>
+              </requireJavaVersion>
+            </rules>
+          </configuration>
+          <executions>
+            <execution>
+              <goals>
+                <goal>enforce</goal>
+              </goals>
+              <phase>initialize</phase>
+            </execution>
+          </executions>
         </plugin>
 
         <plugin>
@@ -231,6 +229,14 @@
               </goals>
             </execution>
           </executions>
+          <configuration>
+            <doclint>all,-missing</doclint>
+            <additionalOptions>
+              <additionalOption>
+                --snippet-path ${project.build.testSourceDirectory}
+              </additionalOption>
+            </additionalOptions>
+          </configuration>
         </plugin>
 
         <plugin>
@@ -267,12 +273,45 @@
           </configuration>
         </plugin>
 
+        <plugin>
+          <artifactId>maven-shade-plugin</artifactId>
+          <version>${maven-shade-plugin.version}</version>
+          <configuration>
+            <outputFile>${shade.output}</outputFile>
+            <createDependencyReducedPom>false</createDependencyReducedPom>
+            <transformers>
+              <transformer
+                implementation=
+                  "org.apache.maven.plugins.shade.resource.ServicesResourceTransformer"/>
+              <transformer
+                implementation=
+                  "org.apache.maven.plugins.shade.resource.ManifestResourceTransformer">
+                <manifestEntries>
+                  <Main-Class>${main.class}</Main-Class>
+                  <project>${project.parent.artifactId}</project>
+                  <module>${project.artifactId}</module>
+                  <version>${project.version}</version>
+                  <group>${project.groupId}</group>
+                  <description>${project.description}</description>
+                </manifestEntries>
+              </transformer>
+            </transformers>
+          </configuration>
+          <executions>
+            <execution>
+              <goals>
+                <goal>shade</goal>
+              </goals>
+              <phase>${shade.phase}</phase>
+            </execution>
+          </executions>
+        </plugin>
+
         <plugin>
           <artifactId>maven-site-plugin</artifactId>
           <version>${maven-site-plugin.version}</version>
           <configuration>
             <port>9000</port>
-            <siteDirectory>${project.basedir}/${siteSource}</siteDirectory>
           </configuration>
           <dependencies>
             <dependency>
@@ -300,15 +339,16 @@
           <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
           <version>${maven-surefire-plugin.version}</version>
           <configuration>
-            <useModulePath>false</useModulePath>
             <parallel>true</parallel>
+            <redirectTestOutputToFile>true</redirectTestOutputToFile>
+            <argLine>--enable-native-access=ALL-UNNAMED</argLine>
           </configuration>
         </plugin>
 
         <plugin>
           <groupId>org.graalvm.buildtools</groupId>
           <artifactId>native-maven-plugin</artifactId>
-          <version>${native.tools.version}</version>
+          <version>${native-tools.version}</version>
           <extensions>true</extensions>
           <executions>
             <execution>
@@ -318,8 +358,13 @@
               </goals>
               <phase>package</phase>
               <configuration>
-                <skip>${skip.executable}</skip>
-                <mainClass>${exec.mainClass}</mainClass>
+                <imageName>${project.name}</imageName>
+                <mainClass>${main.class}</mainClass>
+                <skip>${native.build.skip}</skip>
+                <buildArgs>
+                  <buildArg>--parallelism=6</buildArg>
+                  <buildArg>--future-defaults=all</buildArg>
+                </buildArgs>
               </configuration>
             </execution>
             <execution>
@@ -330,15 +375,13 @@
               <phase>test</phase>
               <configuration>
                 <quickBuild>true</quickBuild>
+                <skipNativeTests>${native.tests.skip}</skipNativeTests>
                 <buildArgs>
+                  <buildArg>--parallelism=6</buildArg>
+                  <buildArg>--future-defaults=all</buildArg>
                   <buildArg>-ea</buildArg>
-                  <buildArg>-R:MaxHeapSize=4g</buildArg>
+                  <buildArg>-R:MaxHeapSize=2g</buildArg>
                   <buildArg>-march=compatibility</buildArg>
-                  <buildArg>-H:IncludeResources=.*</buildArg>
-                  <buildArg>--initialize-at-build-time=kotlin.annotation.AnnotationTarget</buildArg>
-                  <buildArg>
-                    --initialize-at-build-time=kotlin.annotation.AnnotationRetention
-                  </buildArg>
                 </buildArgs>
               </configuration>
             </execution>
@@ -346,13 +389,8 @@
           <configuration>
             <jvmArgs>
               <jvmArg>-Xmx6g</jvmArg>
-              <jvmArg>-XX:+UnlockExperimentalVMOptions</jvmArg>
               <jvmArg>-XX:+UseCompactObjectHeaders</jvmArg>
             </jvmArgs>
-            <buildArgs>
-              <buildArg>--parallelism=6</buildArg>
-              <buildArg>--enable-native-access=ALL-UNNAMED</buildArg>
-            </buildArgs>
             <metadataRepository>
               <enabled>true</enabled>
             </metadataRepository>
@@ -414,11 +452,6 @@
               <goals>
                 <goal>compile</goal>
               </goals>
-              <configuration>
-                <sourceDirs>
-                  <sourceDir>${project.basedir}/${mainSource}</sourceDir>
-                </sourceDirs>
-              </configuration>
             </execution>
             <execution>
               <id>test-compile</id>
@@ -426,11 +459,6 @@
               <goals>
                 <goal>test-compile</goal>
               </goals>
-              <configuration>
-                <sourceDirs>
-                  <sourceDir>${project.basedir}/${testSource}</sourceDir>
-                </sourceDirs>
-              </configuration>
             </execution>
           </executions>
         </plugin>
@@ -439,11 +467,14 @@
 
     <plugins>
       <plugin>
-        <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
+        <artifactId>maven-enforcer-plugin</artifactId>
       </plugin>
       <plugin>
         <artifactId>maven-resources-plugin</artifactId>
       </plugin>
+      <plugin>
+        <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
+      </plugin>
       <plugin>
         <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
       </plugin>
@@ -464,19 +495,23 @@
 
   <profiles>
     <profile>
-      <id>native</id>
+      <id>distribution</id>
+
       <build>
         <plugins>
           <plugin>
-            <groupId>org.graalvm.buildtools</groupId>
-            <artifactId>native-maven-plugin</artifactId>
+            <artifactId>maven-shade-plugin</artifactId>
+          </plugin>
+          <plugin>
+            <artifactId>maven-jlink-plugin</artifactId>
           </plugin>
         </plugins>
       </build>
     </profile>
 
     <profile>
-      <id>executable</id>
+      <id>native</id>
+
       <build>
         <plugins>
           <plugin>
@@ -488,28 +523,58 @@
     </profile>
 
     <profile>
-      <id>assembly</id>
-      <build>
-        <plugins>
-          <plugin>
-            <artifactId>maven-assembly-plugin</artifactId>
-          </plugin>
-        </plugins>
-      </build>
-    </profile>
+      <id>jmh</id>
 
-    <profile>
-      <id>image</id>
       <build>
         <plugins>
           <plugin>
-            <artifactId>maven-jlink-plugin</artifactId>
+            <artifactId>maven-assembly-plugin</artifactId>
             <executions>
               <execution>
+                <id>jmh</id>
+                <phase>package</phase>
                 <goals>
-                  <goal>jlink</goal>
+                  <goal>single</goal>
                 </goals>
-                <phase>package</phase>
+
+                <configuration>
+                  <archive>
+                    <manifest>
+                      <mainClass>org.openjdk.jmh.Main</mainClass>
+                    </manifest>
+                  </archive>
+                  <inlineDescriptors>
+                    <inlineDescriptor>
+                      <id>benchmark</id>
+
+                      <formats>
+                        <format>jar</format>
+                      </formats>
+
+                      <includeBaseDirectory>false</includeBaseDirectory>
+
+                      <dependencySets>
+                        <dependencySet>
+                          <outputDirectory>/</outputDirectory>
+                          <useProjectArtifact>true</useProjectArtifact>
+                          <unpack>true</unpack>
+                          <scope>test</scope>
+                        </dependencySet>
+                      </dependencySets>
+
+                      <fileSets>
+                        <fileSet>
+                          <directory>${project.build.directory}/test-classes</directory>
+                          <outputDirectory>/</outputDirectory>
+                          <includes>
+                            <include>**/*.class</include>
+                          </includes>
+                          <useDefaultExcludes>true</useDefaultExcludes>
+                        </fileSet>
+                      </fileSets>
+                    </inlineDescriptor>
+                  </inlineDescriptors>
+                </configuration>
               </execution>
             </executions>
           </plugin>