Set-JAVA_HOME

Set-JAVA_HOME

How to set JAVA_HOME on Mac OS X

$ echo $JAVA_HOME
/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_66.jdk/Contents/Home

    Download JDK 8 from Oracle WebSite. [jdk-8u74-macosx-x64.dmg for Mac].
    Double click on jdk-8u74-macosx-x64.dmg and follow the screen instructions.
    JDK package will have been installed on /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines. In my computer, I have both 8u66 and 8u74 JDK package.

$ ls -l /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines
drwxr-xr-x  3 root  wheel  102 23 dic 20:36 jdk1.8.0_66.jdk
drwxr-xr-x  3 root  wheel  102 21 mar 14:20 jdk1.8.0_74.jdk

    Open and edit .bash_profile file. If the file does not exist, check out this link.

$ open -e .bash_profile

    Save the below line. This let us use the newest JDK version installed on our computer.

export JAVA_HOME=$(/usr/libexec/java_home)

    Refresh the file using below command

$ source .bash_profile

    Check if the JAVA_HOME is set properly

$ echo $JAVA_HOME
/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_74.jdk/Contents/Home

Another way:

$ java -version
java version "1.8.0_74"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.8.0_74-b02)
Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 25.74-b02, mixed mode)

Sometimes, we need to downgrade the $JAVA_HOME environment variable. First, check theses commands:

## Return top Java version
$ (/usr/libexec/java_home)
/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_74.jdk/Contents/Home

## Return a specific Java version
$ (/usr/libexec/java_home -v 1.8.0_66)
/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_66.jdk/Contents/Home

Theses commands give us the top or a specific Java version. Therefore, we can set $JAVA_HOME environment variable by modifying the .bash_profile file.

    Open and edit .bash_profile file

$ open -e .bash_profile

    Save the below line. This let us use the newest JDK version installed on our computer.

export JAVA_HOME=$(/usr/libexec/java_home -v 1.8.0_66)

    Refresh the file using below command

$ source .bash_profile

    Check if the JAVA_HOME is set properly

$ echo $JAVA_HOME
/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_66.jdk/Contents/Home