diff --git a/base/org.codehaus.groovy30/.checkstyle b/base/org.codehaus.groovy30/.checkstyle
index 935ab0f7ad..271f102419 100644
--- a/base/org.codehaus.groovy30/.checkstyle
+++ b/base/org.codehaus.groovy30/.checkstyle
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@
         <file-match-pattern match-pattern="groovy/control/ResolveVisitor.java" include-pattern="false" />
         <file-match-pattern match-pattern="groovy/control/SourceUnit.java" include-pattern="false" />
         <file-match-pattern match-pattern="groovy/control/StaticImportVisitor.java" include-pattern="false" />
+        <file-match-pattern match-pattern="groovy/runtime/m12n/MetaInfExtensionModule.java" include-pattern="false" />
         <file-match-pattern match-pattern="groovy/tools/GroovyClass.java" include-pattern="false" />
         <file-match-pattern match-pattern="groovy/transform/AnnotationCollectorTransform.java" include-pattern="false" />
         <file-match-pattern match-pattern="groovy/transform/ASTTestTransformation.groovy" include-pattern="false" />
diff --git a/base/org.codehaus.groovy30/src/org/codehaus/groovy/runtime/m12n/MetaInfExtensionModule.java b/base/org.codehaus.groovy30/src/org/codehaus/groovy/runtime/m12n/MetaInfExtensionModule.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..08c7e50e49
--- /dev/null
+++ b/base/org.codehaus.groovy30/src/org/codehaus/groovy/runtime/m12n/MetaInfExtensionModule.java
@@ -0,0 +1,99 @@
+/*
+ *  Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ *  or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ *  distributed with this work for additional information
+ *  regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ *  to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ *  "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ *  with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ *  Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ *  software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ *  "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ *  KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ *  specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ *  under the License.
+ */
+package org.codehaus.groovy.runtime.m12n;
+
+import groovy.lang.GroovyRuntimeException;
+
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.LinkedList;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Properties;
+
+/**
+ * A {@link SimpleExtensionModule} implementation which reads extension classes
+ * metadata from META-INF.
+ *
+ * @since 2.0.0
+ */
+public class MetaInfExtensionModule extends SimpleExtensionModule {
+    /* GRECLIPSE edit
+    private static final Logger LOG = Logger.getLogger(MetaInfExtensionModule.class.getName());
+    */
+    public static final String MODULE_INSTANCE_CLASSES_KEY = "extensionClasses";
+    public static final String MODULE_STATIC_CLASSES_KEY = "staticExtensionClasses";
+
+    private final List<Class> instanceExtensionClasses;
+    private final List<Class> staticExtensionClasses;
+
+    @Override
+    public List<Class> getInstanceMethodsExtensionClasses() {
+        return instanceExtensionClasses;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public List<Class> getStaticMethodsExtensionClasses() {
+        return staticExtensionClasses;
+    }
+
+    private MetaInfExtensionModule(final String moduleName, final String moduleVersion, final List<Class> instanceExtensionClasses, final List<Class> staticExtensionClasses) {
+        super(moduleName, moduleVersion);
+        this.instanceExtensionClasses = instanceExtensionClasses;
+        this.staticExtensionClasses = staticExtensionClasses;
+    }
+
+    public static MetaInfExtensionModule newModule(final Properties properties, final ClassLoader loader) {
+        String name = properties.getProperty(PropertiesModuleFactory.MODULE_NAME_KEY);
+        if (name == null)
+            throw new GroovyRuntimeException("Module file hasn't set the module name using key [" + PropertiesModuleFactory.MODULE_NAME_KEY + "]");
+        String version = properties.getProperty(PropertiesModuleFactory.MODULE_VERSION_KEY);
+        if (version == null)
+            throw new GroovyRuntimeException("Module file hasn't set the module version using key [" + PropertiesModuleFactory.MODULE_VERSION_KEY + "]");
+        String[] extensionClasses = properties.getProperty(MODULE_INSTANCE_CLASSES_KEY, "").trim().split("[,; ]");
+        String[] staticExtensionClasses = properties.getProperty(MODULE_STATIC_CLASSES_KEY, "").trim().split("[,; ]");
+        List<Class> instanceClasses = new ArrayList<Class>(extensionClasses.length);
+        List<Class> staticClasses = new ArrayList<Class>(staticExtensionClasses.length);
+        List<String> errors = new LinkedList<String>();
+        loadExtensionClass(loader, extensionClasses, instanceClasses, errors);
+        loadExtensionClass(loader, staticExtensionClasses, staticClasses, errors);
+        if (!errors.isEmpty()) {
+            /* GRECLIPSE edit
+            for (String error : errors) {
+                LOG.warning("Module [" + name + "] - Unable to load extension class [" + error + "]");
+            }
+            */
+            org.codehaus.groovy.eclipse.GroovyLogManager.manager.log(org.codehaus.groovy.eclipse.TraceCategory.CLASSPATH,
+                "Module [" + name + "] - Unable to load extension class" + (errors.size() > 1 ? "es" : "") + " " + errors);
+            // GRECLIPSE end
+        }
+        return new MetaInfExtensionModule(name, version, instanceClasses, staticClasses);
+    }
+
+    private static void loadExtensionClass(ClassLoader loader, String[] extensionClasses, List<Class> instanceClasses, List<String> errors) {
+        for (String extensionClass : extensionClasses) {
+            try {
+                extensionClass = extensionClass.trim();
+                if (extensionClass.length() > 0) {
+                    instanceClasses.add(loader.loadClass(extensionClass));
+                }
+            } catch (ClassNotFoundException | NoClassDefFoundError | UnsupportedClassVersionError e) {
+                errors.add(extensionClass);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/base/org.codehaus.groovy40/.checkstyle b/base/org.codehaus.groovy40/.checkstyle
index a388947f69..8e6904034f 100644
--- a/base/org.codehaus.groovy40/.checkstyle
+++ b/base/org.codehaus.groovy40/.checkstyle
@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@
         <file-match-pattern match-pattern="groovy/control/ResolveVisitor.java" include-pattern="false" />
         <file-match-pattern match-pattern="groovy/control/SourceUnit.java" include-pattern="false" />
         <file-match-pattern match-pattern="groovy/control/StaticImportVisitor.java" include-pattern="false" />
+        <file-match-pattern match-pattern="groovy/runtime/m12n/MetaInfExtensionModule.java" include-pattern="false" />
         <file-match-pattern match-pattern="groovy/tools/GroovyClass.java" include-pattern="false" />
         <file-match-pattern match-pattern="groovy/transform/AnnotationCollectorTransform.java" include-pattern="false" />
         <file-match-pattern match-pattern="groovy/transform/ASTTestTransformation.groovy" include-pattern="false" />
diff --git a/base/org.codehaus.groovy40/src/org/codehaus/groovy/runtime/m12n/MetaInfExtensionModule.java b/base/org.codehaus.groovy40/src/org/codehaus/groovy/runtime/m12n/MetaInfExtensionModule.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..08c7e50e49
--- /dev/null
+++ b/base/org.codehaus.groovy40/src/org/codehaus/groovy/runtime/m12n/MetaInfExtensionModule.java
@@ -0,0 +1,99 @@
+/*
+ *  Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ *  or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ *  distributed with this work for additional information
+ *  regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ *  to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ *  "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ *  with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ *  Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ *  software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ *  "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ *  KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ *  specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ *  under the License.
+ */
+package org.codehaus.groovy.runtime.m12n;
+
+import groovy.lang.GroovyRuntimeException;
+
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.LinkedList;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Properties;
+
+/**
+ * A {@link SimpleExtensionModule} implementation which reads extension classes
+ * metadata from META-INF.
+ *
+ * @since 2.0.0
+ */
+public class MetaInfExtensionModule extends SimpleExtensionModule {
+    /* GRECLIPSE edit
+    private static final Logger LOG = Logger.getLogger(MetaInfExtensionModule.class.getName());
+    */
+    public static final String MODULE_INSTANCE_CLASSES_KEY = "extensionClasses";
+    public static final String MODULE_STATIC_CLASSES_KEY = "staticExtensionClasses";
+
+    private final List<Class> instanceExtensionClasses;
+    private final List<Class> staticExtensionClasses;
+
+    @Override
+    public List<Class> getInstanceMethodsExtensionClasses() {
+        return instanceExtensionClasses;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public List<Class> getStaticMethodsExtensionClasses() {
+        return staticExtensionClasses;
+    }
+
+    private MetaInfExtensionModule(final String moduleName, final String moduleVersion, final List<Class> instanceExtensionClasses, final List<Class> staticExtensionClasses) {
+        super(moduleName, moduleVersion);
+        this.instanceExtensionClasses = instanceExtensionClasses;
+        this.staticExtensionClasses = staticExtensionClasses;
+    }
+
+    public static MetaInfExtensionModule newModule(final Properties properties, final ClassLoader loader) {
+        String name = properties.getProperty(PropertiesModuleFactory.MODULE_NAME_KEY);
+        if (name == null)
+            throw new GroovyRuntimeException("Module file hasn't set the module name using key [" + PropertiesModuleFactory.MODULE_NAME_KEY + "]");
+        String version = properties.getProperty(PropertiesModuleFactory.MODULE_VERSION_KEY);
+        if (version == null)
+            throw new GroovyRuntimeException("Module file hasn't set the module version using key [" + PropertiesModuleFactory.MODULE_VERSION_KEY + "]");
+        String[] extensionClasses = properties.getProperty(MODULE_INSTANCE_CLASSES_KEY, "").trim().split("[,; ]");
+        String[] staticExtensionClasses = properties.getProperty(MODULE_STATIC_CLASSES_KEY, "").trim().split("[,; ]");
+        List<Class> instanceClasses = new ArrayList<Class>(extensionClasses.length);
+        List<Class> staticClasses = new ArrayList<Class>(staticExtensionClasses.length);
+        List<String> errors = new LinkedList<String>();
+        loadExtensionClass(loader, extensionClasses, instanceClasses, errors);
+        loadExtensionClass(loader, staticExtensionClasses, staticClasses, errors);
+        if (!errors.isEmpty()) {
+            /* GRECLIPSE edit
+            for (String error : errors) {
+                LOG.warning("Module [" + name + "] - Unable to load extension class [" + error + "]");
+            }
+            */
+            org.codehaus.groovy.eclipse.GroovyLogManager.manager.log(org.codehaus.groovy.eclipse.TraceCategory.CLASSPATH,
+                "Module [" + name + "] - Unable to load extension class" + (errors.size() > 1 ? "es" : "") + " " + errors);
+            // GRECLIPSE end
+        }
+        return new MetaInfExtensionModule(name, version, instanceClasses, staticClasses);
+    }
+
+    private static void loadExtensionClass(ClassLoader loader, String[] extensionClasses, List<Class> instanceClasses, List<String> errors) {
+        for (String extensionClass : extensionClasses) {
+            try {
+                extensionClass = extensionClass.trim();
+                if (extensionClass.length() > 0) {
+                    instanceClasses.add(loader.loadClass(extensionClass));
+                }
+            } catch (ClassNotFoundException | NoClassDefFoundError | UnsupportedClassVersionError e) {
+                errors.add(extensionClass);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/base/org.codehaus.groovy50/.checkstyle b/base/org.codehaus.groovy50/.checkstyle
index 5b45f7b9ce..418779755b 100644
--- a/base/org.codehaus.groovy50/.checkstyle
+++ b/base/org.codehaus.groovy50/.checkstyle
@@ -48,6 +48,7 @@
         <file-match-pattern match-pattern="groovy/control/ResolveVisitor.java" include-pattern="false" />
         <file-match-pattern match-pattern="groovy/control/SourceUnit.java" include-pattern="false" />
         <file-match-pattern match-pattern="groovy/control/StaticImportVisitor.java" include-pattern="false" />
+        <file-match-pattern match-pattern="groovy/runtime/m12n/MetaInfExtensionModule.java" include-pattern="false" />
         <file-match-pattern match-pattern="groovy/tools/GroovyClass.java" include-pattern="false" />
         <file-match-pattern match-pattern="groovy/transform/AnnotationCollectorTransform.java" include-pattern="false" />
         <file-match-pattern match-pattern="groovy/transform/ASTTestTransformation.groovy" include-pattern="false" />
diff --git a/base/org.codehaus.groovy50/src/org/codehaus/groovy/runtime/m12n/MetaInfExtensionModule.java b/base/org.codehaus.groovy50/src/org/codehaus/groovy/runtime/m12n/MetaInfExtensionModule.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..08c7e50e49
--- /dev/null
+++ b/base/org.codehaus.groovy50/src/org/codehaus/groovy/runtime/m12n/MetaInfExtensionModule.java
@@ -0,0 +1,99 @@
+/*
+ *  Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ *  or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ *  distributed with this work for additional information
+ *  regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ *  to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ *  "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ *  with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ *  Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ *  software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ *  "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ *  KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ *  specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ *  under the License.
+ */
+package org.codehaus.groovy.runtime.m12n;
+
+import groovy.lang.GroovyRuntimeException;
+
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.LinkedList;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Properties;
+
+/**
+ * A {@link SimpleExtensionModule} implementation which reads extension classes
+ * metadata from META-INF.
+ *
+ * @since 2.0.0
+ */
+public class MetaInfExtensionModule extends SimpleExtensionModule {
+    /* GRECLIPSE edit
+    private static final Logger LOG = Logger.getLogger(MetaInfExtensionModule.class.getName());
+    */
+    public static final String MODULE_INSTANCE_CLASSES_KEY = "extensionClasses";
+    public static final String MODULE_STATIC_CLASSES_KEY = "staticExtensionClasses";
+
+    private final List<Class> instanceExtensionClasses;
+    private final List<Class> staticExtensionClasses;
+
+    @Override
+    public List<Class> getInstanceMethodsExtensionClasses() {
+        return instanceExtensionClasses;
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public List<Class> getStaticMethodsExtensionClasses() {
+        return staticExtensionClasses;
+    }
+
+    private MetaInfExtensionModule(final String moduleName, final String moduleVersion, final List<Class> instanceExtensionClasses, final List<Class> staticExtensionClasses) {
+        super(moduleName, moduleVersion);
+        this.instanceExtensionClasses = instanceExtensionClasses;
+        this.staticExtensionClasses = staticExtensionClasses;
+    }
+
+    public static MetaInfExtensionModule newModule(final Properties properties, final ClassLoader loader) {
+        String name = properties.getProperty(PropertiesModuleFactory.MODULE_NAME_KEY);
+        if (name == null)
+            throw new GroovyRuntimeException("Module file hasn't set the module name using key [" + PropertiesModuleFactory.MODULE_NAME_KEY + "]");
+        String version = properties.getProperty(PropertiesModuleFactory.MODULE_VERSION_KEY);
+        if (version == null)
+            throw new GroovyRuntimeException("Module file hasn't set the module version using key [" + PropertiesModuleFactory.MODULE_VERSION_KEY + "]");
+        String[] extensionClasses = properties.getProperty(MODULE_INSTANCE_CLASSES_KEY, "").trim().split("[,; ]");
+        String[] staticExtensionClasses = properties.getProperty(MODULE_STATIC_CLASSES_KEY, "").trim().split("[,; ]");
+        List<Class> instanceClasses = new ArrayList<Class>(extensionClasses.length);
+        List<Class> staticClasses = new ArrayList<Class>(staticExtensionClasses.length);
+        List<String> errors = new LinkedList<String>();
+        loadExtensionClass(loader, extensionClasses, instanceClasses, errors);
+        loadExtensionClass(loader, staticExtensionClasses, staticClasses, errors);
+        if (!errors.isEmpty()) {
+            /* GRECLIPSE edit
+            for (String error : errors) {
+                LOG.warning("Module [" + name + "] - Unable to load extension class [" + error + "]");
+            }
+            */
+            org.codehaus.groovy.eclipse.GroovyLogManager.manager.log(org.codehaus.groovy.eclipse.TraceCategory.CLASSPATH,
+                "Module [" + name + "] - Unable to load extension class" + (errors.size() > 1 ? "es" : "") + " " + errors);
+            // GRECLIPSE end
+        }
+        return new MetaInfExtensionModule(name, version, instanceClasses, staticClasses);
+    }
+
+    private static void loadExtensionClass(ClassLoader loader, String[] extensionClasses, List<Class> instanceClasses, List<String> errors) {
+        for (String extensionClass : extensionClasses) {
+            try {
+                extensionClass = extensionClass.trim();
+                if (extensionClass.length() > 0) {
+                    instanceClasses.add(loader.loadClass(extensionClass));
+                }
+            } catch (ClassNotFoundException | NoClassDefFoundError | UnsupportedClassVersionError e) {
+                errors.add(extensionClass);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/base/org.eclipse.jdt.groovy.core/src/org/codehaus/jdt/groovy/internal/compiler/GroovyClassLoaderFactory.java b/base/org.eclipse.jdt.groovy.core/src/org/codehaus/jdt/groovy/internal/compiler/GroovyClassLoaderFactory.java
index 834d62dc18..400fbb675f 100644
--- a/base/org.eclipse.jdt.groovy.core/src/org/codehaus/jdt/groovy/internal/compiler/GroovyClassLoaderFactory.java
+++ b/base/org.eclipse.jdt.groovy.core/src/org/codehaus/jdt/groovy/internal/compiler/GroovyClassLoaderFactory.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2009-2023 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2009-2024 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -384,8 +384,24 @@ public Set<Class> getDefaultCategories() {
                                     }
                                 }, this).scanClasspathModules();
                             }
+
+                            java.util.function.Predicate<Class> loads = (c) -> {
+                                try {
+                                    c.getDeclaredFields();
+                                    return true; // primed
+                                } catch (LinkageError e) {
+                                    if (GroovyLogManager.manager.hasLoggers()) {
+                                        GroovyLogManager.manager.log(TraceCategory.CLASSPATH,
+                                            "Failed to init " + c + " with " + this + "\n\t" + e.getMessage());
+                                    }
+                                    return false;
+                                }
+                            };
+
                             staticCategories.add(dgsm);
+                            staticCategories.removeIf(loads.negate());
                             objectCategories.addAll(staticCategories);
+                            objectCategories.removeIf(loads.negate());
 
                             defaultCategories = objectCategories;
                             defaultStaticCategories = staticCategories;
diff --git a/ide/org.codehaus.groovy.eclipse.dsl/src/org/codehaus/groovy/eclipse/dsl/script/DSLDScriptExecutor.java b/ide/org.codehaus.groovy.eclipse.dsl/src/org/codehaus/groovy/eclipse/dsl/script/DSLDScriptExecutor.java
index 6084309fca..e82f5f86ab 100644
--- a/ide/org.codehaus.groovy.eclipse.dsl/src/org/codehaus/groovy/eclipse/dsl/script/DSLDScriptExecutor.java
+++ b/ide/org.codehaus.groovy.eclipse.dsl/src/org/codehaus/groovy/eclipse/dsl/script/DSLDScriptExecutor.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2009-2023 the original author or authors.
+ * Copyright 2009-2024 the original author or authors.
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ public Object executeScript(IStorage scriptFile) {
                 Class scriptType = null;
                 try {
                     scriptType = classLoader.parseClass(scriptText, scriptName);
-                } catch (AssertionError | Exception e) {
+                } catch (AssertionError | LinkageError | Exception e) {
                     if (GroovyLogManager.manager.hasLoggers()) {
                         StringWriter writer = new StringWriter();
                         e.printStackTrace(new PrintWriter(writer));
@@ -99,8 +99,7 @@ public Object executeScript(IStorage scriptFile) {
                 if (GroovyLogManager.manager.hasLoggers()) {
                     GroovyLogManager.manager.log(TraceCategory.DSL, e.getMessage());
                 }
-            } catch (AssertionError | Exception e) {
-                // log exception to the event console and the error log
+            } catch (AssertionError | LinkageError | Exception e) {
                 GroovyDSLCoreActivator.logException(e);
             }
             return null;