Where is Java Installed on Mac OS X?

Question

I downloaded Java 7u17 on Mac OS 10.7.5 from here and successfully installed it. To do some JNI programming, I need to know where Java is installed on my Mac.

I thought that inside the /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/ folder, there would be a folder called 1.7.0.jdk or something, but then I found the folder empty. This was confirmed by running ls /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/ in the Terminal. I've tried searching for it to find out if it was installed somewhere, but that doesn't seem to be turning anything up.

Could someone please tell me where Java is installed on my Mac?

To close voters/reopeners - this question is [explicitly not off-topic (questions about tools commonly used by programmers)](http://stackoverflow.com/help/on-topic). Unfortunately, it got bandwagoned by [meta](http://meta.stackoverflow.com/questions/322704/beyond-confused-about-question-and-answer-reception). — Rob, May 10 '16 at 00:35
I found the JDK in **/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/**. I'm using macOS Big Sur(11.0.1). And installed jdk version is 1.8.0 — Chaitanya, Feb 14 '21 at 19:51

score 1627 · Accepted Answer · edited Apr 19 '20 at 18:05

1627

Use /usr/libexec/java_home -v 1.8 command on a terminal shell to figure out where is your Java 1.8 home directory

If you just want to find out the home directory of your most recent version of Java, omit the version. e.g. /usr/libexec/java_home

edited Apr 19 '20 at 18:05

Arsen Khachaturyan

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answered Apr 05 '13 at 05:40

gerrytan

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I got to this question because I was getting an error in eclipse on my mac because I was getting an error on the first line of the program "import java.util.*." I strongly suspect this is because the java path isn't set correctly or something (even though I set this up once before). I entered the command in this answer and I get a directory. Can I just paste that directory into the textbox in the "Native library folder config" window? Or does this directory belong somewhere else? – OKGimmeMoney Apr 16 '15 at 20:40
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Added `export JAVA_HOME=\`/usr/libexec/java_home\`` to .bash_profile so JAVA_HOME is always set (note the back-ticks around the libexec command) – Steve Henty Nov 17 '15 at 00:33
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If you just want to know if the JDK is installed on your mac, omit the version number and run from terminal: $ echo $(/usr/libexec/java_home) – Daniel Viglione Mar 24 '18 at 21:41
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On Mac 10.12.3, we should `/usr/libexec/java_home -- v` to show the most recent version of java – klion26 Jan 07 '19 at 03:49
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Note that macOS Big Sur changed the behaviour of the java_home command. Noe, if if the JAVA_HOME environment variable is already set to a valid JDK that is all it will return, it will ignore the -v parameter. If JAVA_HOME is set to an invalid folder, the java_home command won't work at all. To get a reasonable output you must unset JAVA_HOME before invoking `/usr/libexec/java_home` – swpalmer Nov 18 '20 at 16:19

score 184 · Answer 2 · edited Jan 03 '22 at 11:55

184

You could use

/usr/libexec/java_home

command in your terminal to know the path where Java being installed.

edited Jan 03 '22 at 11:55

Shahab Rauf

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answered Jul 28 '15 at 04:48

Pavithra Gunasekara

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I like this solution better than the accepted answer because it is independent of the version of the JVM installed. – Alexandre Santos Feb 25 '16 at 20:52
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This didn't find my java 8 version installed by Oracle. – Antoine Lizée Apr 28 '16 at 22:05
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Why do you have the `echo $(...)` there? Doesn't just `/usr/libexec/java_home` do the same? – Paŭlo Ebermann May 10 '16 at 09:04
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The accepted answer did not work for me but this worked! (I'm normally not a mac/unix user) – Roel Jul 22 '16 at 15:36
@PaŭloEbermann It doesn't work for me without dolar sign and brackets. – Nikola Stojaković Mar 23 '17 at 21:14
export JAVA_HOME=$(/usr/libexec/java_home) at ~/.bash_profile – Oleksii Kyslytsyn Jul 21 '19 at 14:43
It is an ancient answer. Go ahead with `/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/` – Soner from The Ottoman Empire Jan 29 '22 at 06:34

Thunderforge · Answer 3 · 2013-04-05T05:44:37.443

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Turns out that I actually had the Java 7 JRE installed, not the JDK. The correct download link is here. After installing it, jdk1.7.0jdk appears in the JavaVirtualMachines directory.

edited Apr 05 '13 at 05:44

answered Apr 05 '13 at 04:58

Thunderforge

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For me, it was under `/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.7.0_60.jdk` (knowing that for the JDK 1.6 the path is : `/System/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/1.6.0.jdk/`) – Zakaria Jul 09 '14 at 19:56
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export JAVA_HOME=$(/usr/libexec/java_home) at ~/.bash_profile – Oleksii Kyslytsyn Jul 21 '19 at 14:43

score 46 · Answer 4 · answered Sep 12 '13 at 18:02

46

If you install just the JRE, it seems to be put at:

/Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin/Contents/Home

answered Sep 12 '13 at 18:02

Morrie

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You should not rely on this existing. If you need the JRE, bundle inside your own application. – swingler Feb 06 '14 at 19:49
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Setting JAVA_HOME with a path containing a space character is challenging ! I didn't succeeded... – Antoine Rosset Jun 30 '14 at 16:02
you can create somewhere a link to this directory and set JAVA_HOME to that link – Kuba Aug 27 '14 at 18:33
This is where the "Java" System Preferences panel seems to install it. – David Avendasora Mar 21 '16 at 14:31
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@AntoineRosset, you can set it this way: `export JAVA_HOME=/Library/Internet\ Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin/Contents/Home` – coda May 06 '16 at 22:35
Thanks. I knew where my JDKs were, I didn't know where the Java plugin installed its JRE. – Blaisorblade Jan 26 '17 at 17:30
export JAVA_HOME=$(/usr/libexec/java_home) at ~/.bash_profile – Oleksii Kyslytsyn Jul 21 '19 at 14:43

Jaywant Khedkar · Answer 5 · 2018-02-19T13:58:12.580

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Try This, It's easy way to find java installed path in Mac OS X,

GoTO

1 ) /Library i.e Macintosh HD/Library

2) Click on Library in that we find Java folder.

3) So final path is

/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_144.jdk/Contents/Home

Hope so this is help for someone .

edited Feb 19 '18 at 13:58

answered Sep 19 '17 at 09:28

Jaywant Khedkar

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Pretty helpful when you have to point the JDK explicitly from an IDE. Thanks – Shwetabh Shekhar Nov 30 '18 at 05:59
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How Dense am I? My terminal says that I have 2 jdk's installed in /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/ but I can't find them when I navigate to that directory in finder... How dense can I get... – SoftwareSavant Dec 13 '18 at 04:43
@SoftwareSavant, Please ref https://stackoverflow.com/a/14875241 answer ,It's may be help you . – Jaywant Khedkar Dec 13 '18 at 06:03

score 35 · Answer 6 · edited Apr 05 '13 at 05:37

35

Use unix find function to find javas installed...

sudo find / -name java

edited Apr 05 '13 at 05:37

Abimaran Kugathasan

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answered Apr 05 '13 at 05:37

serkan

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You do not need sudo to run find for generally-accessible commands. If you don't want to see the error messages about inaccessible directories, get rid of the messages rather than using root privs unnecessarily. Using sudo all the time is a bad habit. Redirect stderr to /dev/null, like this: find / -name java 2> /dev/null – Walter Underwood Sep 26 '13 at 15:29
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What should i do if i need too look under inaccessible directories ? – serkan Sep 29 '13 at 11:29
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Walter's point is that the `java` binary will be world readable, therefore `sudo` is not necessary. Your answer is still useful :) – Jared Beck Nov 06 '13 at 16:32
Yes, I just used this to find src.zip (the source code of the java jdk) – Dinis Cruz Jan 22 '14 at 11:44
export JAVA_HOME=$(/usr/libexec/java_home) at ~/.bash_profile – Oleksii Kyslytsyn Jul 21 '19 at 14:43

score 25 · Answer 7 · answered Dec 21 '18 at 05:13

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If you type

java -verbose

This also gives the location from which the jars are loaded and hence also the java path.

answered Dec 21 '18 at 05:13

jones j alapat

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I added export JAVA_HOME=$(/usr/libexec/java_home) at ~/.bash_profile. – Oleksii Kyslytsyn Jul 21 '19 at 14:44

score 22 · Answer 8 · edited Oct 29 '18 at 02:24

22

Java package structure of Mac OS is a bit different from Windows. Don't be upset for this as a developer just needs to set PATH and JAVA_HOME.

So in .bash_profile set JAVA_HOME and PATH as below. This example is for Java 6:

export JAVA_HOME=/System/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/1.6.0.jdk/Contents/Home
export PATH=/System/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/1.6.0.jdk/Contents/Home/bin:$PATH

edited Oct 29 '18 at 02:24

Shawn

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answered Feb 22 '14 at 17:27

Bimales Mandal

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This removes about everything else from the path? Do this only if you are only using Java and nothing else in your system. – Paŭlo Ebermann May 10 '16 at 09:05
export JAVA_HOME=$(/usr/libexec/java_home) at ~/.bash_profile. – Oleksii Kyslytsyn Jul 21 '19 at 14:44

Derek Lee · Answer 9 · 2023-06-22T04:00:09.987

You may not realize it, but you likely have multiple Java versions installed.

To list the version, architecture, and folder location of all installed JVMs on your Mac:

$ /usr/libexec/java_home --verbose

Or:

$ /usr/libexec/java_home -V (That's an uppercase V!)

Sample output:

$ /usr/libexec/java_home -V
Matching Java Virtual Machines (4):
    12.0.1 (x86_64) "Oracle Corporation" - "Java SE 12.0.1" /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk-12.0.1.jdk/Contents/Home
    1.8.202.08 (x86_64) "Oracle Corporation" - "Java" /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin/Contents/Home
    1.8.0_282 (x86_64) "Amazon" - "Amazon Corretto 8" /Users/username/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/corretto-1.8.0_282/Contents/Home
    1.8.0_202 (x86_64) "Oracle Corporation" - "Java SE 8" /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_202.jdk/Contents/Home
/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk-12.0.1.jdk/Contents/Home

This is a more complete answer IMHO. I had multiple versions installed and the /Internet Plug-Ins/... was causing an issue with the Java updater tool, but I couldn't find the version the tool was complaining about ... until now. — wildcat12, Sep 21 '22 at 22:19

score 12 · Answer 10 · answered Jun 21 '16 at 08:58

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just write /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/
in Go to Folder --> Go in Finder

answered Jun 21 '16 at 08:58

Mina Fawzy

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ok, I just tried this and I managed to navigate to the directory. Why can't I navigate to that folder normally in Finder? Is this just Apple being extra annoying... Also extra annoying, Gradle version 4.3 doesn't work with any version of Java except for Java 8 – SoftwareSavant Dec 13 '18 at 04:48
export JAVA_HOME=$(/usr/libexec/java_home) at ~/.bash_profile – Oleksii Kyslytsyn Jul 21 '19 at 14:44
this folder is empty in my case ... but when i check java -version ... it show version 1.8 – Wahab Khan Jadon Oct 01 '22 at 14:58

manny · Answer 11 · 2013-12-05T04:06:09.423

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Edited: Alias to current java version is /Library/Java/Home

For more information: a link

edited Dec 05 '13 at 04:06

answered Apr 05 '13 at 05:09

manny

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That would be an alias for the most recent version, which would correctly point to Java 7 SDK once it is installed. – Thunderforge Apr 05 '13 at 05:12
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This link only exists for legacy purposes, and will not be updated by installing Java 7. Do not use this path. – swingler Feb 06 '14 at 19:50
I updated export JAVA_HOME=$(/usr/libexec/java_home) at ~/.bash_profile. – Oleksii Kyslytsyn Jul 21 '19 at 14:44

score 10 · Answer 12 · answered Mar 05 '18 at 22:12

10

type which java in terminal to show where it is installed.

answered Mar 05 '18 at 22:12

Pranay Aryal

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Yes, export JAVA_HOME=$(/usr/libexec/java_home) at ~/.bash_profile. – Oleksii Kyslytsyn Jul 21 '19 at 14:45

Abdennour TOUMI · Answer 13 · 2020-04-28T16:09:38.347

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For :

OS X : 10.11.6
Java : 8

I confirm the answer of @Morrie .

   export JAVA_HOME=/Library/Internet\ Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin/Contents/Home;

But if you are running containers your life will be easier

edited Apr 28 '20 at 16:09

answered Sep 19 '16 at 00:32

Abdennour TOUMI

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I think this should have been a comment. – Thunderforge Sep 19 '16 at 01:15
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I dont think , because there is an Added value which is ` export JAVA_HOME=`. ... What about you @Thunderforge – Abdennour TOUMI Sep 19 '16 at 01:32
export JAVA_HOME=$(/usr/libexec/java_home) at ~/.bash_profile. – Oleksii Kyslytsyn Jul 21 '19 at 14:46

score 7 · Answer 14 · answered Apr 28 '13 at 12:10

7

I have just installed the JDK for version 21 of Java SE 7 and found that it is installed in a different directory from Apple's Java 6. It is in /Library/Java... rather then in /System/Library/Java.... Running /usr/libexec/java_home -v 1.7 versus -v 1.6 will confirm this.

answered Apr 28 '13 at 12:10

Tony Kroch

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export JAVA_HOME=$(/usr/libexec/java_home) at ~/.bash_profile – Oleksii Kyslytsyn Jul 21 '19 at 14:45

score 7 · Answer 15 · edited Mar 12 '15 at 08:13

7

I tried serkan's solution, it found java 7's location on OS X Mavericks. it is resided in "/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.7.0_51.jdk/" but to make it the default JDK I had to set JAVA_HOME system variable in .bash_profile in home directory to "/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.7.0_51.jdk/Contents/Home/" so its up and running now thanks to serkan's idea

edited Mar 12 '15 at 08:13

codercat

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answered Jan 30 '14 at 17:13

Mehdi Ijadnazar

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export JAVA_HOME=$(/usr/libexec/java_home) at ~/.bash_profile. – Oleksii Kyslytsyn Jul 21 '19 at 14:45

score 4 · Answer 16 · answered Dec 27 '21 at 15:25

4

Try to check in here
/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines

answered Dec 27 '21 at 15:25

Tal Hakmon

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user9869932 · Answer 17 · 2020-10-07T20:07:59.137

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if you are using sdkman

you can check it with sdk home java <installed_java_version>

$  sdk home java 8.0.252.j9-adpt
/Users/admin/.sdkman/candidates/java/8.0.252.j9-adpt

you can get your installed java version with

$ sdk list java

edited Oct 07 '20 at 20:07

answered Sep 01 '20 at 21:45

user9869932

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score 0 · Answer 18 · answered May 06 '15 at 10:44

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The System Preferences then Java control panel then Java then View will show the exact location of the currently installed default JRE.

answered May 06 '15 at 10:44

PaulNUK

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export JAVA_HOME=$(/usr/libexec/java_home) at ~/.bash_profile – Oleksii Kyslytsyn Jul 21 '19 at 14:45

score 0 · Answer 19 · edited Nov 01 '21 at 06:03

0

MacOS BigSur

Add following under .zshrc file. If .zshrc is not present, create and add.

export JAVA_HOME=`/usr/libexec/java_home`

edited Nov 01 '21 at 06:03

Suraj Rao

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answered Nov 01 '21 at 06:00

KR Akhil

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score 0 · Answer 20 · answered Sep 02 '23 at 00:12

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If it's installed via IntelliJ IDEA. It's at ~/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines

answered Sep 02 '23 at 00:12

psbox2021

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score -1 · Answer 21 · answered Jul 24 '23 at 07:44

-1

Simply enter the following in your terminal :

where is java

answered Jul 24 '23 at 07:44

RusJaI

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Where is Java Installed on Mac OS X?

21 Answers21

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