How to specify jdk path in eclipse.ini on windows 8 when path contains space

Question

This doesn't work -vm %JAVA_HOME%/bin/javaw.exe

How can I replace %JAVA_HOME% with full path on Windows 8 when path contains space ("Program Files" directory)

http://www.onkarjoshi.com/blog/84/configuring-eclipse-to-use-a-jdk-at-a-location-with-spaces-in-it/ You can obtain path without spaces with windows command line. — Schabowy, Apr 19 '14 at 19:18
Why do you need to specify -vm argument. Leave ini file alone and set JAVA_HOME environment variable instead. — JamesB, Apr 19 '14 at 19:33
Have you tried `%JAVA_HOME%\bin\javaw.exe` with backward slash? Have your set the `JAVA_HOME` enviroment system property? — Braj, Apr 19 '14 at 19:37
@Braj yes I did set the environment variable in computer advanced properties — user310291, Apr 19 '14 at 20:43
Look at my answer you don't need to set the environment variable. Its working fine for me. — Braj, Apr 19 '14 at 20:44

score 235 · Accepted Answer · edited Aug 30 '22 at 16:33

235

Have you tried it. Don't put everything in single line.

-vm
C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0_07\bin\javaw.exe

Need to put the folder that contains the javaw or java executable. Under Ubuntu 18 with eclipse 4.7.1 I was able to get it to run with:

-vm
/usr/lib/jvm/java-8-openjdk-amd64/bin
-startup
plugins/org.eclipse.equinox.launcher_1.4.0.v20161219-1356.jar
--launcher.library
plugins/org.eclipse.equinox.launcher.gtk.linux.x86_64_1.1.500.v20170531-1133
-vmargs
-Xmx2G
-Xms200m
-XX:MaxPermSize=384m

If it doesn't work then please confirm you have added above lines before -vmargs in eclipse.ini.

edited Aug 30 '22 at 16:33

Sergei Krivonos

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answered Apr 19 '14 at 19:42

Braj

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By the way it's eclipse I downloaded from android dev site – user310291 Apr 20 '14 at 05:16
6

I know this topic is old, but I had the same problem, in which none of the solutions mentioned here had worked - but I *DID* eventually solve it. First, note that using the Windows Environment Variable "JAVA_HOME" is the preferred method, but -vm will work as well. The cause / solution was: I was using Eclipse 64-bit version, but pointing to a 32-bit JRE - after installing, then pointing to, the 64-bit JRE, all worked well. Thought I'd share this. – NYCBilly Feb 12 '16 at 03:11
Thanks NYCBilly. It is very important to check the version (32-bit or 64 bit). – Mohamed El-Beltagy Mar 24 '16 at 19:22
2

use forward slashes in the eclipse.ini, in which case (even on windows) you do not have to escape the path ie C:/Program Files/Java/jdk1.6.0_07/bin – johnm May 10 '16 at 11:24
After added the above two lines, it worked. My java home configured as 1.6 for other purposes but i wanted to use eclipse neon IDE, so about trick worked. – Janath Sep 29 '17 at 02:36
simply best answer. – Mayur Patil Apr 05 '18 at 04:02

score 59 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 01 '15 at 05:45

59

Add the entry of vm above the vm args else it will not work..! i.e `

    -vm
    C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.7.0_75\bin\javaw.exe
    --launcher.appendVmargs
    -vmargs
    -Dosgi.requiredJavaVersion=1.6
    -Xms40m
    -Xmx512m

answered Apr 01 '15 at 05:45

Sreedhar GS

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This works, the order of args are importan (i.e: if add the -vm to the end of the file) – Enrique San Martín Jul 04 '16 at 15:18
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Also, make sure that path is in next line of -vm,and above --launcher.appendVmargs otherwise it won't work. -vm and path space separated , it creates issue. – Neha Vari Feb 02 '17 at 05:46
2

@EnriqueSanMartín you are wrong, `-vm` cannot be at the end, it has to be before `-vmargs` ! – Betlista May 28 '22 at 18:50

TmTron · Answer 3 · 2022-12-06T11:15:57.867

tl;dr

The -vm option must occur after the other Eclipse-specific options (such as -product, --launcher.*, etc), but before the -vmargs option, since everything after -vmargs is passed directly to the JVM.
Add the -vm option on its own line and the path to your JDK executable on the following line; e.g.

-vm
C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.8.0_161\bin\

Details

Notes

The path is on a new line below the -vm option
There is no need to escape any characters or use slashes (back-slashes are fine)
The path points to the bin directory, not to javaw.exe

Gotcha JAVA_HOME

When you don't specify a virtual machine in your eclipse.ini file, you may think that the JAVA_HOME environment variable is used, but this is not the case!
From FAQ_How_do_I_run_Eclipse#Find_the_JVM

Eclipse DOES NOT consult the JAVA_HOME environment variable.

Instead the Windows search path will be scanned.

Recommendation
You may think it is a good idea to use the search path, because it is flexible.
While this is true, it also has the downside that the search path may be altered by installing or updating programs.
Thus, I recommend to use the explicit setting in the eclipse.ini file.

Finding a VM

The reason why you should specify the bin directory and not the javaw.exe (as proposed by many other answers), is that the launcher can then dynamically choose which is the best way to start the JVM. See details of the launcher process for all details:

We look in that directory for: (1) a default.ee file, (2) a java launcher or (3) the jvm shared library.

Verfication

You can verify which VM is used by your running eclipse instance in the Configuration dialogue.
In eclipse Oxygen go to Help - About Eclipse - Installation Details - Configuration

You will see which VM path eclipse has chosen, e.g.:

eclipse.vm=C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.8.0_161\bin\..\jre\bin\server\jvm.dll

tl;dr is quite incorrect. `-vm` should **not** be at the top of your `eclipse.ini` file. Per [this documentation](https://wiki.eclipse.org/Eclipse.ini), "The -vm option must occur after the other Eclipse-specific options (such as -product, --launcher.*, etc), but before the -vmargs option, since everything after -vmargs is passed directly to the JVM." Also has to point to executable, not directory. — Jeff Axelrod, Mar 06 '20 at 23:59

score 10 · Answer 4 · edited Mar 12 '18 at 17:07

10

I was facing the same issue but was unable to solve, until I try this:

Please make sure you put -vm
Then press Enter
And then paste C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0_07\bin\javaw.exe

edited Mar 12 '18 at 17:07

nicolallias

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answered Mar 12 '18 at 15:24

Abhishek Deshmukh

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Thank you! Who'd have thunk "press ENTER is important"!? I kept adding -vm to the ini file, it couldn't find it. Once I inserted a newline, it worked!! It didn't matter if we specified javaw.exe or not. – svaratech Nov 16 '20 at 13:37

score 6 · Answer 5 · answered Dec 20 '17 at 12:27

if you are using mac, proceed with following steps:

Move to following directory:
```
/sts-bundle/STS.app/Contents/Eclipse
```

Add the java home explicitly in STS.ini file:

-vm
/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_144.jdk/Contents/Home/bin
-vmargs

Make sure not to add all the statements in single line

chindo · Answer 6 · 2018-03-19T11:10:01.553

4

Solution in:How do I set the eclipse.ini -vm option?

-vm C:\\bin

 -vm
C:\<java_path>\bin

Must be the first thing in eclipse.ini

edited Mar 19 '18 at 11:10

answered Aug 25 '16 at 11:10

chindo

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you don't have to specify the javaw.exe, give the path till bin and it will find javaw.exe in the folder. – Shubham Arya Mar 08 '18 at 14:49

score 4 · Answer 7 · answered Sep 30 '16 at 14:33

4

All above answers didn't work for me. My Eclipse mars is x64 but I need to set registry dll to x86 for another software.

At the end I put -vm argument at the end of shortcut and this did the trick.

D:\mars\eclipse\eclipse.exe -vm "C:\Program Files\Java\jre7\bin\server\jvm.dll"

According to this doc jvm.dll also work for some cases.

answered Sep 30 '16 at 14:33

Davut Gürbüz

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This one works for me for spring tool suite eclipse ..Thanks – vinod Mar 01 '17 at 09:44
Nothing else worked because the VM argument in the shortcut gets picked up first. I removed `-vm` in my shortcut then `-vm` was picked up from `SpringToolSuite4.ini`. – Philip Rego Aug 19 '21 at 17:34

score 2 · Answer 8 · answered Mar 08 '18 at 14:47

Even if your %JAVA_HOME% contains spaces, you can directly put entire string over there.

-vm
C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jdk1.8.0_162\bin

Also, you don't have to specify javaw.exe in the path, just mention it till bin it will find javaw.exe in bin folder by itself. Just keep one thing in mind that the jdk version you provide should match with the eclipse version you are using.

If you are using a 64 bit java then download 64 bit Eclipse. If you are using a 32 bit java then download 32 bit Eclipse.

score 1 · Answer 9 · edited Jul 25 '15 at 03:57

1

Windows-vm "C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0_07\jre\bin\javaw.exe"

edited Jul 25 '15 at 03:57

Grigori Melnik

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answered Jul 25 '15 at 03:54

Robert

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score 1 · Answer 10 · answered Jul 13 '16 at 22:39

I have Windows 8.1 and my JDK under "Program Files" as well. What worked for me was replacing the name of the folder by the 8-digit internal MS-DOS name.

-vm
C:/PROGRA~1/Java/jdk1.8.0_40/bin/javaw.exe

I realized what was going on after running this in cmd.exe

CD \
DIR P* /X

It returned...

<DIR>          PROGRA~1     Program Files
<DIR>          PROGRA~2     Program Files (x86)

So we can find out how to use a path containing spaces

score 0 · Answer 11 · answered Apr 19 '14 at 19:46

0

Try to escape the space with back slash.. Like

C:\program\folder\ \name\java\jdk\bin

answered Apr 19 '14 at 19:46

BlackPOP

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score 0 · Answer 12 · answered Mar 19 '18 at 11:13

0

Go to C drive root in cmd Type dir /x This will list down the directories name with ~.use that instead of Program Files in your jdk path

answered Mar 19 '18 at 11:13

now30

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score 0 · Answer 13 · answered Feb 25 '21 at 20:18

0

Sometimes spaces in path create a problem. You can add e.g. -vm C:\progra~1\Java\jre1.8.0_112\bin\javaw.exe

answered Feb 25 '21 at 20:18

Rajesh Renke

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score -3 · Answer 14 · answered Jan 19 '15 at 07:20

-3

-vm C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0_07\bin\javaw.exe

answered Jan 19 '15 at 07:20

Sagar Chaudhari

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please try to provide some explanation along with the answer for better understanding – user2720864 Jan 19 '15 at 07:23

score -9 · Answer 15 · answered Mar 31 '15 at 00:43

-9

Reinstall java and choose a destination folder without a space

answered Mar 31 '15 at 00:43

Joe

1