Setting up JAVA_HOME environment variable is the very first thing, which every programmer should know how to do in order to get started with Java development, as many Java-based applications, tools and libraries depend on JAVA_HOME.

In this article, I’d like to share with you guys, about how to setup JAVA_HOME environment variable on macOS / Linux operating system, with both Bash shell and Z-shell.

Basically, you can use the following commands in a terminal for setting JAVA_HOME and updating PATH environment variables:

export JAVA_HOME=$HOME/jdk-version/Contents/Home

export PATH=$JAVA_HOME/bin:$PATH

However, these commands have effect only in the current session. If you exit the terminal and open a new one, you will the changes lost.

So how to permanently set JAVA_HOME and update PATH environment variables on macOS / Linux? Read on to know how. And I suppose that you already have JDK (Java Development Kit) installed.

 

1. Set JAVA_HOME permanently in Z-shell

Z-shell (zsh) is the default shell in latest macOS operating systems. Firstly, you need to create a Z-shell resource file (.zshrc) in your user home directory, using the following command in terminal:

cat > .zshrc

Then type the following commands as content of the file:

export JAVA_HOME=$HOME/jdk-17.0.1.jdk/Contents/Home

export PATH=$JAVA_HOME/bin:$PATH

Note that the HOME environment variable refers to your user home directory. And I suppose that you have JDK installed in jdk-17.0.1.jdk directory, which is in your home directory.

Press Ctrl + D to save the file. The .zhsrc file is executed at shell’s startup, so every time you open a new terminal with Z-shell, the JAVA_HOME environment variable is set and PATH environment variable is updated.

Now you can type java -version or javac -version to verify. You should see the output looking something like this:

Now, quit the terminal. Then open a new one. Type java -version command again and you should see the change is permanent.

 

2. Set JAVA_HOME permanently in Bash shell

To setup JAVA_HOME with Bash shell, you create the Bash profile file (.bash_profile instead of .zshrc) in your user home directory, like this:

cat > .bash_profile

export JAVA_HOME=$HOME/jdk-17.0.1.jdk/Contents/Home

export PATH=$JAVA_HOME/bin:$PATH

Press Ctrl + D to save the file. The .bash_profile file is executed at shell’s startup, so every time you open a new terminal with Bash shell, the JAVA_HOME environment variable is set and PATH environment variable is updated.

That’s how to set JAVA_HOME environment variable on macOS, with both Bash shell and Z-shell. It is also working on Linux.

 

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