JAVA_HOME should point to a JDK not a JRE

Question

I am trying to set up maven for my project and I am getting this error

"JAVA_HOME should point to a JDK not a JRE"

I know there are already similar question but it did not work. How can I point JAVA_HOME to JDK in windows. I am using IntelliJ IDEA

https://docs.oracle.com/cd/E19182-01/820-7851/inst_cli_jdk_javahome_t/, see also http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2619584/how-to-set-java-home-on-windows-7 — , Apr 19 '17 at 12:50
*"I know there are already similar question but it did not work."* == "Please downvote me". (But don't bother shooting the messenger; I'm not voting on this question.) If you tried something and it didn't work, you need to specify exactly what you tried, exactly what behavior you expected, and exactly what behavior you got instead. — Mark Adelsberger, Apr 19 '17 at 12:54
@KlitosKyriacou - Maven requires the JAVA_HOME environment variable to be set — Steve C, Apr 19 '17 at 13:05
I had similar issues on container and the solution was to find all the locations of java and try other locations for Java_HOME — SGuru, Feb 13 '22 at 23:29

score 93 · Accepted Answer · edited Jul 10 '18 at 11:42

93

Control Panel -> System and Security -> System -> Advanced system settings -> Advanced -> Environment Variables -> New System Variable

edited Jul 10 '18 at 11:42

Shreyas

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answered Apr 19 '17 at 12:50

sovas

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For me it was important to note that the path should not contain the *bin* – wake-0 Nov 07 '17 at 13:04
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Thanks a lot i was making the same mistake of including bin directory, and was getting maven error when trying to maven clean install my project. – Rajan Chauhan Dec 20 '17 at 18:06
Not in the original question but in Ubuntu 18.04 you can do something similar by setting the environment variable via: `export JAVA_HOME='/usr/lib/jvm/java-11-openjdk-amd64'` as an example of the jdk I have installed on my machine. Replace with yours. – Pablo Adames Aug 02 '22 at 01:01

score 46 · Answer 2 · edited May 24 '17 at 03:03

46

I am going through the same process on Mac OSX. I installed the latest JDK, then installed Maven. Someone suggested I set the JAVA_HOME variable so I pointed it to the JDK installation folder. When running Maven mvn compile exec:java I received the same error NB: JAVA_HOME should point to a JDK not a JRE.

All I did was unset the JAVA_HOME variable and it worked.

edited May 24 '17 at 03:03

Jonathan Leffler

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answered May 24 '17 at 02:32

Dan Mergens

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Damn, that doesn't work here, I just get the same error again. – Hakanai Mar 18 '18 at 20:09
Also worked here, though setting JAVA_HOME to the things I would have expected, didn't. – TextGeek Jul 12 '19 at 17:25
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Awesome! to unset, I did: unset JAVA_HOME . Then vi ~/.bash_profile and add export JAVA_HOME="/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_281.jdk/Contents/Home" Only change the actual path in your MAC – Gilo Feb 11 '21 at 18:07
Worked in Ubuntu 20.04 – Naveen Kumar Mar 10 '22 at 06:10

score 11 · Answer 3 · answered Apr 18 '18 at 14:16

I met the same problem. (Window 10 environment) I solved it by deleting the JAVA_HOME="C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.8.0_161\bin" in the User Variables instead of adding to the System Variables directly.

Then I test that editing JAVA_HOME="C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.8.0_161\" worked too. When I run "mvn -version" in command prompt window, it shows "Java home: C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.8.0_161\jre".

In conclusion, I guess the JAVA_HOME shouldn't include bin directory.

This was my solution. I had a previous entry for JAVA_HOME in User variables and removing it solved the issue. — Joe Jordan, Apr 11 '19 at 17:07

score 10 · Answer 4 · answered Sep 07 '17 at 21:00

10

do it thru cmd -

echo %JAVA_HOME% set set JAVA_HOME=C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.8.0 echo %JAVA_HOME%

answered Sep 07 '17 at 21:00

Begineer

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score 7 · Answer 5 · answered Jan 30 '19 at 11:21

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I added JAVA_HOME path in user variable and omit the "/bin". I tried every method given here but only this worked for me.

answered Jan 30 '19 at 11:21

Zoe Zoe

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score 5 · Answer 6 · edited Sep 26 '18 at 12:01

I have spent 3 hours for solving the error The JAVA_HOME environment variable is not defined correctly. This environment variable is needed to run this program NB: JAVA_HOME should point to a JDK not a JRE

Finally I got the solution. Please set the JAVA_HOME value by Browse Directory button/option. Try to find the jdk path. Ex: C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.8.0_181

It will remove the semicolon issue. :D

Archmede · Answer 7 · 2021-04-14T18:27:11.113

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My JAVA_HOME was set correctly but I solved this issue by running Command Prompt as Administrator

edited Apr 14 '21 at 18:27

answered Apr 05 '20 at 00:20

Archmede

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score 4 · Answer 8 · edited Oct 09 '19 at 09:37

In Mac OS the hierarchy library > java > JavaVirtualMachines - (inside this folder there are different versions of jdk) select your desired version and inside jdk-version folder there is a contents folder inside contents you'll find "Home" folder while declaring $JAVA_HOME you haVE TO GIVE THAT HOME PATH for example-

(normal shell commands) open terminal type vi .bash_profile (to open file name bash_profile) press "i" to enable insert mode give java home path as-

export JAVA_HOME=/Library/java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_131.jdk/Contents/Home

After editing press esc to exit editing mode then :wq to quit and save

This will remove JAVA_HOME should point to a JDK not a JRE error and also saves you from future errors

It still works in 2021 on Mac OS Big Sur. Thanks for the comment. — Sankalp, Jun 24 '21 at 23:02

score 4 · Answer 9 · answered Sep 02 '20 at 07:33

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For mac OS, this worked for me... none of the above solutions

$ vim .bash_profile

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

$ source .bash_profile

answered Sep 02 '20 at 07:33

niti

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score 2 · Answer 10 · edited Apr 21 '20 at 02:34

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Be sure to use the correct path!

I mistakenly had written C:\Program Files\Java\. Changing it to C:\Program Files\Java\jdk\11.0.6\ fixed the issue.

In cmd I then checked for the version of maven with mvn -version.

edited Apr 21 '20 at 02:34

Joe McMahon

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answered Apr 20 '20 at 16:28

Melika

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The path was my issue as well. I had `JAVA_HOME` set to `C:\Program Files\Java\jdk-11.0.7\bin` rather than `C:\Program Files\Java\jdk-11.0.7` – AaronK Oct 26 '21 at 13:31

score 2 · Answer 11 · answered Dec 21 '20 at 10:28

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Just as an addition to other answers

For macOS users, you may have a ~/.mavenrc file, and that is where mvn command looks for definition of JAVA_HOME first. So check there first and make sure the directory JAVA_HOME points to is correct in that file.

answered Dec 21 '20 at 10:28

黄锐铭

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score 1 · Answer 12 · answered Oct 08 '17 at 09:25

if You have The JAVA_HOME environment variable is not defined correctly This environment variable is needed to run this program NB: JAVA_HOME should point to a JDK not a JRE Error so do one thing ...type C:>dir/x and you will see the PROGRA~1 or May ~2 and After int Environment Variable Chang The JAVA_HOME Dir Like This JAVA_HOME:- C:\PROGRA~1\Java\jdk1.8.0_144\ also Set In Path :-%JAVA_HOME%\bin; And it Works

score 1 · Answer 13 · edited Oct 08 '18 at 03:54

Make sure that you do NOT have a JRE path, if you have delete it.

Add JAVA_HOME in the System variable. Variable value: C:\Program Files\Java\jdk-10.0.2 (location of JDK without bin)
Add M2 in the System variable. Variable value: C:\dev\maven\apache-maven-3.5.4\bin (location of maven with bin)
Add M2_HOME in the System variable. Variable value: C:\dev\maven\apache-maven-3.5.4 (location of maven without bin)
Add %JAVA_HOME% and %M2% in Path System Variable or C:\Program Files\Java\jdk-10.0.2 and C:\dev\maven\apache-maven-3.5.4\bin --> For windows 10, just add the location. For other version, at the end of the Variable Value field add semicolon then the location Ex: ;%JAVA_HOME%;%M2%

I did not check if the addition or removal of bin changes the result but nonetheless this works for me.

Please note that since Maven 3.5.0 the usage of `M2_HOME` has been removed and is not supported any more (https://maven.apache.org/docs/3.5.0/release-notes.html) — Robert Hume, Dec 10 '18 at 15:51

score 1 · Answer 14 · answered Nov 01 '18 at 16:17

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In addition to sovas' response on how to add the JAVA_HOME variable, if it was working before and stopped working, ensure that the path still exists. I updated Java recently which deleted the old version, invalidating my JAVA_HOME environment variable.

answered Nov 01 '18 at 16:17

Matthew Woo

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score 1 · Answer 15 · edited Apr 05 '20 at 01:47

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Under System Variables add below

JAVA_HOME = C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.8.0_201

JDK_HOME = %JAVA_HOME%\bin

M2_HOME = C:\apache-maven-3.6.0

MAVEN_BIN = %M2_HOME%\bin

MAVEN_HOME = %M2_HOME%

Under path Add these

%M2_HOME%

%JDK_HOME%

edited Apr 05 '20 at 01:47

Archmede

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answered Jan 25 '19 at 19:54

manoj kalisetty

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score 1 · Answer 16 · answered Jun 24 '19 at 06:09

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This worked for me for Windows 10, Java 8_144.

If the path contains spaces, use the shortened path name. For example, C:\Progra~1\Java\jdk1.8.0_65

answered Jun 24 '19 at 06:09

RahulDeep Attri

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score 1 · Answer 17 · answered Nov 11 '22 at 17:51

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you should only add this path to Manage Jenkins -> Global Tool Configuration -> JDK

for java 11

/usr/lib/jvm/java-11-openjdk-amd64

for java 8

/usr/lib/jvm/java-8-openjdk-amd64

And then use same in your jenkins jobs accordingly

answered Nov 11 '22 at 17:51

Kumar Pankaj Dubey

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score 0 · Answer 18 · edited Mar 09 '18 at 11:48

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In IntelliJ IDEA go to File>Project Structure>SDK>JDK home path. Copy it and then go to My Computer>Advanced Settings>Environment Variables Change the JAVA_HOME path to what you have copied. Then open new cmd, and try mvn -v

It worked for me !!!

edited Mar 09 '18 at 11:48

Salman S

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answered Mar 06 '18 at 17:13

Olly Dally

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score 0 · Answer 19 · edited Apr 19 '18 at 15:56

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Add JAVA_HOME = C:\Program Files\Java\jdk(version) in User variable, it works for me. For me, it doesn't work with bin and even if I create JAVA_HOME in system variable

edited Apr 19 '18 at 15:56

Impulse The Fox

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answered Apr 19 '18 at 14:45

Gautam Shahi

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score 0 · Answer 20 · edited May 07 '18 at 09:52

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just remove the semicolon at the end of JAVA_HOME variable's value.

set JAVA_HOME as C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.8.0_171

It worked for me.

edited May 07 '18 at 09:52

anothernode

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answered May 07 '18 at 09:15

Nimesh Patel

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score 0 · Answer 21 · answered Nov 24 '18 at 20:54

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I had this issue but for Mac Os, I set the JAVA_HOME variable in the .bash_profile to be export JAVA_HOME=$(/usr/libexec/java_home) then save. After that ran source ~/.bash_profile finally mvn -version and it fixed the issue. Hope that helps

answered Nov 24 '18 at 20:54

Salma Elshahawy

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score 0 · Answer 22 · edited Apr 05 '20 at 17:01

Windows 10 Home for me:

I'm studying maven through a udemy course. First time environment variables were ok. I had on JAVA_HOME on SYSTEM VARIABLE like this:

D:\Install\Java\jdk-12.0.1;D:\Install\apache-maven-3.5.4-bin\apache-maven-3.5.4

After some days, don't know what's happened, I began to receive:

C:\Users\Franco>mvn -version

The JAVA_HOME environment variable is not defined correctly

This environment variable is needed to run this program

NB: JAVA_HOME should point to a JDK not a JRE

After trying all above, I tried to delete jdk the entry on SYSTEM VARIABLES, and putting it on USER VARIABLES, so now I have:

JAVA_HOME on USER VARIABLES: D:\Install\Java\jdk-12.0.1

JAVA_HOME on SYSTEM VARIABLES: D:\Install\apache-maven-3.5.4-bin\apache-maven-3.5.4

now restarting CMD I have:

C:\Users\Franco>mvn -version

Apache Maven 3.5.4 (1edded0938998edf8bf061f1ceb3cfdeccf443fe; 2018-06-17T20:33:14+02:00)

Maven home: D:\Install\apache-maven-3.5.4-bin\apache-maven-3.5.4\bin\..

Java version: 12.0.1, vendor: Oracle Corporation, runtime: D:\Install\Java\jdk-12.0.1

Default locale: en_US, platform encoding: Cp1252

OS name: "windows 10", version: "10.0", arch: "amd64", family: "windows"

score 0 · Answer 23 · answered Oct 07 '19 at 17:46

First, ensure that the Maven bin is in your Environmental Variable PATH entry.

If it is, make sure your entries aren't somehow out of order, and that JAVA_HOME is before Path in the list, or any entry that references %JAVA_HOME%. I was getting the same error when I was trying to check my maven version.

I have a few extra path variables that reference %JAVA_HOME%, or a different version of a JDK and Maven was mixed in between. I moved my Maven path entry below my %JAVA_HOME% one and now everything is working when I use Maven from cmd.

But it is Windows, so perhaps my just opening and closing the Environment Variables setting somehow made everything better.

score 0 · Answer 24 · edited Apr 19 '21 at 04:30

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In my case the error started showing up as Java version got updated. So JAVA_HOME path became invalid.

Please check

Location referred to in JAVA_HOME exists.
If it's like my case, update the value from the old path to the new path.

(A better fix would be to set java update such that it auto upgrades the JAVA_HOME reference.)

edited Apr 19 '21 at 04:30

Randall

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answered Apr 18 '21 at 14:34

Deeksha Singh Thakur

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score 0 · Answer 25 · answered Feb 15 '22 at 05:41

Even after trying this solution from sovas which is accepted if it does not work

RESTART intellij / CMD prompt instead of trying on the existing opened

i was trying the command from terminal under intellij but still getting same problem.

Do reopen cmd / INTELLIJ and the variable will get reloaded. It fixed the problem for me (ofcourse after correcting the Path to JDK not jre and removing the bin

score 0 · Answer 26 · answered Feb 28 '23 at 10:56

In case you have the same error on Win10 and OpenJDK. The cause of my issue is that the OpenJDK installation set the JAVA_HOME variable for me, but set it pointing to a wrong path:

When I manually edited this environment variable, the path was pointing to: • C:\Program Files\Eclipse Foundation\jdk-16.0.2.7-hotspot (Wrong)

Instead I changed it to: C:\Program Files\Eclipse Adoptium\jdk-17.0.2.8-hotspot (Correct)

JAVA_HOME should point to a JDK not a JRE

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