In this tutorial, we will show you how to install the latest version of Java in Ubuntu 12.04 or later. An internet connection is required in order to download the corresponding Java packages.
There are different versions of Java that can be installed in Ubuntu. First of all, the OpenJDK project is an open-source implementation of the Java SE Platform. Second, Oracle Java 7 is Oracle’s own version of Java 7.0. Finally, you can download the latest version of Java by using the corresponding installer.
This tutorial applies to Ubuntu 12.04 and later for both Java 6.0 and Java 7.0.
1. OpenJDK
1.1 Java 6.0
In order to install the Java Runtime Environment (JRE), we must issue the following command:
1 | sudo apt-get install openjdk-6-jre |
Also, we need to install the IcedTea Web plugin, in order for Java applets to be executed, using the command:
1 | sudo apt-get install icedtea6-plugin |
Finally, in order to write and develop Java programs, we need the Java Development Kit (JDK). We can install it by executing the command:
1 | sudo apt-get install openjdk-6-jdk |
Notice that the installation of JDK includes the installation of JRE.
1.2 Java 7.0
In order to install the Java Runtime Environment (JRE), we must issue the following command:
1 | sudo apt-get install openjdk-7-jre |
Also, we need to install the IcedTea Web plugin, in order for Java applets to be executed, using the command:
1 | sudo apt-get install icedtea7-plugin |
Finally, in order to write and develop Java programs, we need the Java Development Kit (JDK). We can install it by executing the command:
1 | sudo apt-get install openjdk-7-jdk |
Notice that the installation of JDK includes the installation of JRE.
1.3 Java 8.0
If you want to install Java version 8 JDK edition you can open a terminal and execute through a Launchpad PPA:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:openjdk-r/ppa sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install openjdk-8-jdk
If you only want to install the Java Runtime Enviroment:
sudo apt-get install openjdk-8-jre
2. Oracle Java
First of all, we must remove any existing versions of OpenJDK/JRE. In order to achieve that, open a terminal and execute the following command:
1 | sudo apt-get purge openjdk-\* |
This command shall remove any installed package that belongs to OpenJDK/JRE. Then, we create a directory in our local machine that will store the Oracle Java:
1 | sudo mkdir -p /usr/local/java |
Once we complete these two steps, we must visit the Oracle’s official download page here and download the appropriate Java packages for our system. You can download both Java SE Development Kit 7 and Java SE Runtime Environment 7, but let me remind you that the Java Development Kit (JDK) also includes a Java Runtime Environment (JRE).
Assuming that the downloaded file is placed inside the Downloads folder and that the local architecture is 32-bit, we execute the following commands:
1 2 3 | cd ~/Downloadssudo mv jdk-7u45-linux-i586.tar.gz /usr/local/javacd /usr/local/java |
These commands move the downloaded file inside the newly-created directory. In case your system architecture is 64-bit change the aforementioned commands appropriately.
Then, we extract the installation files from the archive:
1 | sudo tar xvzf jdk-7u45-linux-x64.tar.gz |
Once you have finished the aforementioned commands, feel free to remove the archive, in order to save some free space:
1 | sudo rm jdk-7u45-linux-x64.tar.gz |
The next step is to create the corresponding system variables. Execute the following command in order to open Ubuntu default editor
1 | sudo gedit /etc/profile |
and copy-paste the following lines at the end of the file:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 | JAVA_HOME=/usr/local/java/jdk1.7.0_45PATH=$PATH:$HOME/bin:$JAVA_HOME/binJRE_HOME=/usr/local/java/jdk1.7.0_45/jrePATH=$PATH:$HOME/bin:$JRE_HOME/binexport JAVA_HOMEexport JRE_HOMEexport PATH |
Save the /etc/profile file and exit. The final step is to inform the system about the installation location of Java. In order to achieve that, we execute the following commands:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 | sudo update-alternatives --install "/usr/bin/java" "java" "/usr/local/java/jdk1.7.0_45/jre/bin/java" 1sudo update-alternatives --install "/usr/bin/javac" "javac" "/usr/local/java/jdk1.7.0_45/bin/javac" 1sudo update-alternatives --install "/usr/bin/javaws" "javaws" "/usr/local/java/jre1.7.0_45/bin/javaws" 1sudo update-alternatives --set java /usr/local/java/jdk1.7.0_45/jre/bin/javasudo update-alternatives --set javac /usr/local/java/jdk1.7.0_45/bin/javacsudo update-alternatives --set javaws /usr/local/java/jdk1.7.0_45/bin/javaws |
Once all the aforementioned commands have been successfully executed, we reload the /etc/profile file, in order for our changes to take place:
1 | . /etc/profile |
Now, we can verify our installed version of Java as shown in the next section.
3. Oracle Java Installer
3.1 Oracle Java 7.0
A very quick and simple way to download and install the latest version of Java in Ubuntu is running the following commands in a terminal:
1 2 3 | sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/javasudo apt-get updatesudo apt-get install oracle-java7-installer |
The first command adds a new entry to your repository, which contains the latest version of Java (currently 7u51). Then, the last command downloads and executes the Oracle’s Java installer. The newly added ppa provides the full Oracle Java Development Kit (JDK) 7 package.
3.2 Oracle Java 9.0 from PPA
First, you need to press the key Ctrl+Alt+T to open the terminal. Then execute the below commands:
- Add the Webupd8 PPA:
sudo add-apt-repository -y ppa:webupd8team/java
- Install the installer scripts:
sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install oracle-java9-installer
- Set the enviroment variables:
sudo apt-get install oracle-java9-set-default
Last but not least we follow the commands at section 4.
3.3 Oracle Java 10.0 from PPA
First, you need to press the key Ctrl+Alt+T to open the terminal. Then execute the below commands:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:linuxuprising/java sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install oracle-java10-installer
Then set as default with:
sudo apt-get install oracle-java10-set-default
Last but not least we follow the commands at section 4.
4. Verify the installed version of Java
In order to verify which version of Java is installed in your system, open a terminal (Ctrl + Shift + T) and issue the following command:
1 | java –version |
A sample output is shown below:
java version "1.7.0_51" Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.7.0_51-b13) Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 24.51-b03, mixed mode)
5. Multiple Java versions
In case you have installed multiple Java versions, you can choose the default Java version of your system, using the command:
1 | sudo update-alternatives --config java |
6. Install Java on Ubuntu – Summary
This was a tutorial on how to install the latest version of Java in Ubuntu 12.04 or later.
You can also check this article about how to check Java version in Windows, Linux, macOS.
Last updated on May 6th, 2020
