How to Install Java on macOS

Java is a general-purpose, secure, robust, object-oriented language developed by Sun Microsystems in 1990. Java is portable which means it follows to write once run anywhere paradigm. Many of the useful application are build on Java and required Java runtime environment. If you are preparing your system for the developing new java applications, you need to install JDK on your machine.

The latest version is Java 14 which was released in March 2020. This tutorial helps you to install Java 14 latest version or Java 11 LTS on macOS Sierra or High Sierra.

Step 1 – Prerequisites

Before starting the installation of Java using this tutorial you must have the following prerequisites

• Terminal: You must have Mac Terminal access and little knowledge about working with the terminal application. Ao login to your Mac system and open terminal
• Homebrew: This tutorial relies on Homebrew, So you must have homebrew installed. Homebrew can be installed with a single command.

ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)"

For more instruction visit Homebrew installation tutorial.

Step 2 – Install Homebrew Cask

On Mac systems, Homebrew is the package manager, and Homebrew Cask is the app manager built on top of Homebrew. You Execute command to update brew cache and tap the caskroom/cask.

brew update
brew tap caskroom/cask

Step 3 – Install JAVA with Homebrew Cask

At the time of writing this tutorial the available version, Java 11 LTS and Java 14 latest for the installation.

1. Check Available Versions – Use the following commands to view the details about java versions to be install.

   brew tap caskroom/versions
   brew cask info java11              ## For Java 11 LTS 
   brew cask info java                ## For Java 14 (latest version)
   

2. Installing Java – Next, install the Java version of your choice using one of the below commands. You can also install both versions if required.

   brew cask install java11           ## Install Java 11 LTS 
   brew cask install java             ## Install Java 14 (latest version)
   

   The installation process may take some time to complete depending on your network speed.

3. Check Version – Once the installation finished, verify the installed Java version.

   java -version
   
   java version "11.0.2" 2019-01-15 LTS
   Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment 18.9 (build 11.0.2+9-LTS)
   Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM 18.9 (build 11.0.2+9-LTS, mixed mode)
   

All done. You have successfully installed Java on your macOS system.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, you have learned to install Java on macOS systems using homebrew.