How do I install Java on Mac OSX allowing version switching?

Question

I want to install OpenJDK Java on Mac OSX and have it work alongside other JDK\'s since it is a newer release. Currently, I downloaded the tar.gz and placed it in my path b

Answer 1

With Homebrew and jenv:

Assumption: Mac machine and you already have installed homebrew.

Install cask:

$ brew tap caskroom/cask
$ brew tap caskroom/versions

To install latest java:

$ brew cask install java

To install java 8:

$ brew cask install java8

To install java 9:

$ brew cask install java9

If you want to install/manage multiple version then you can use 'jenv':

Install and configure jenv:

$ brew install jenv
$ echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.jenv/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bash_profile
$ echo 'eval "$(jenv init -)"' >> ~/.bash_profile
$ source ~/.bash_profile

Add the installed java to jenv:

$ jenv add /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_202.jdk/Contents/Home
$ jenv add /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.11.0_2.jdk/Contents/Home

To see all the installed java:

$ jenv versions

Above command will give the list of installed java:

* system (set by /Users/lyncean/.jenv/version)
1.8
1.8.0.202-ea
oracle64-1.8.0.202-ea

Configure the java version which you want to use:

$ jenv global oracle64-1.6.0.39

Answer 2

You can use asdf to install and switch between multiple java versions. It has plugins for other languages as well. You can install asdf with Homebrew

brew install asdf

When asdf is configured, install java plugin

asdf plugin-add java

Pick a version to install

asdf list-all java

For example to install and configure adoptopenjdk8

asdf install java adoptopenjdk-8.0.272+10
asdf global java adoptopenjdk-8.0.272+10

And finally if needed, configure JAVA_HOME for your shell. Just add to your shell init script such as ~/.zshrc in case of zsh:

. ~/.asdf/plugins/java/set-java-home.zsh

Answer 3

IMHO, There is no need to install all the additional applications/packages.

Check available versions using the command:

> /usr/libexec/java_home -V
Matching Java Virtual Machines (8):
    11, x86_64: "Java SE 11-ea" /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk-11.jdk/Contents/Home
    10.0.2, x86_64: "Java SE 10.0.2"    /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk-10.0.2.jdk/Contents/Home
    9.0.1, x86_64:  "Java SE 9.0.1" /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk-9.0.1.jdk/Contents/Home
    1.8.0_181-zulu-8.31.0.1, x86_64:    "Zulu 8"    /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/zulu-8.jdk/Contents/Home
    1.8.0_151, x86_64:  "Java SE 8" /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_151.jdk/Contents/Home
    1.7.0_80, x86_64:   "Java SE 7" /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.7.0_80.jdk/Contents/Home
    1.6.0_65-b14-468, x86_64:   "Java SE 6" /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/1.6.0.jdk/Contents/Home
    1.6.0_65-b14-468, i386: "Java SE 6" /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/1.6.0.jdk/Contents/Home

Now if you want to pick Azul JDK 8 in the above list, and NOT Oracle's Java SE 8, invoke the command as below:

> /usr/libexec/java_home -v 1.8.0_181
/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/zulu-8.jdk/Contents/Home

To pick Oracle's Java SE 8 you would invoke the command:

> /usr/libexec/java_home -v 1.8.0_151
/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_151.jdk/Contents/Home

As you can see the version number provided shall be the unique set of strings: 1.8.0_181 vs 1.8.0_151

Answer 4

This answer extends on Jayson's excellent answer with some more opinionated guidance on the best approach for your use case:

• SDKMAN is the best solution for most users. It's easy to use, doesn't have any weird configuration, and makes managing multiple versions for lots of other Java ecosystem projects easy as well.
• Downloading Java versions via Homebrew and switching versions via jenv is a good option, but requires more work. For example, the Homebrew commands in this highly upvoted answer don't work anymore. jenv is slightly harder to setup, the plugins aren't well documented, and the README says the project is looking for a new maintainer. jenv is still a great project, solves the job, and the community should be thankful for the wonderful contribution. SDKMAN is just the better option cause it's so great.
• Jabba is written is a multi-platform solution that provides the same interface on Mac, Windows, and PC (it's written in Go and that's what allows it to be multiplatform). If you care about a multiplatform solution, this is a huge selling point. If you only care about running multiple versions on your Mac, then you don't need a multiplatform solution. SDKMAN's support for tens of popular SDKs is what you're missing out on if you go with Jabba.

Managing versions manually is probably the worst option. If you decide to manually switch versions, you can use this Bash code instead of Jayson's verbose code (code snippet from the homebrew-openjdk README:

jdk() {
        version=$1
        export JAVA_HOME=$(/usr/libexec/java_home -v"$version");
        java -version
 }

Jayson's answer provides the basic commands for SDKMAN and jenv. Here's more info on SDKMAN and more info on jenv if you'd like more background on these tools.