Installing Java

Héctor Louzao, Ankur Sinha, alciregi, Nico Shetty, chris-r Version F42 Last review: 2025-10-14

Java is a popular programming language that allows you run programs on many platforms, including Fedora. If you want to create Java programs, you need to install a JDK (Java Development Kit). If you want to run a Java program, you can do that on a JVM (Java Virtual Machine), which is provided with the JRE (Java Runtime Environment). If in doubt, install the JDK because this is sometimes required even if the intention is not to write Java programs.

Many flavors of Java exist and also many versions of each flavor. If you want to just run a specific application, check the documentation of that software to see what versions of Java are supported or have been tested. Most Java applications run on one of the following:

OpenJDK — an open-source implementation of the Java Platform, Standard Edition. This version is preferred, and included in Fedora.
Oracle Java SE — The former Oracle SE is no longer distributed by Fedora.

You can find the following Versions:

The Long Term Support LTS Versions, currently 21, 25
Latest, currently 26

Installing OpenJDK

To install OpenJDK from the Fedora repository:

Run the following command to list available versions:

$ dnf search openjdk

Copy the version of OpenJDK you want to install.

Various flavors of OpenJDK are available. For information about these options, search the OpenJDK web site.

Run the following command to install OpenJDK:

$ sudo dnf install <openjdk-package-name>

Examples:

$ sudo dnf install java-21-openjdk

$ sudo dnf install java-25-openjdk

$ sudo dnf install java-latest-openjdk

Installing OpenJDK for development

In order to install the Java Development Kit, runtime environment and associated development tools.

$ sudo dnf install <openjdk-package-name>-devel

Examples:

$ sudo dnf install java-21-openjdk-devel

$ sudo dnf install java-25-openjdk-devel

$ sudo dnf install java-latest-openjdk-devel

Installing an older Java version

To install an older version of Java:

Install the Adoptium Temurin Java Repository:

$ sudo dnf install adoptium-temurin-java-repository

Then, enable the third party repos:

$ sudo fedora-third-party enable

Run the following command to list available versions:

$ dnf search temurin

Copy the version of Temurin you want to install.
Run the following command to install Temurin JDK:

$ sudo dnf install <temurin-package-name>

Examples:

$ sudo dnf install temurin-8-jdk

$ sudo dnf install temurin-17-jdk

A Temurin -jdk package already includes the JRE. Do not install both the -jdk and -jre of the same version, or you will end up with duplicate java entries in alternatives.

Installing Oracle Java SE

This page discusses third-party software sources not officially affiliated with or endorsed by the Fedora Project. Use them at your own discretion. Fedora recommends the use of free and open source software and avoidance of software encumbered by patents.

To install Oracle Java SE:

Navigate to Oracle Java SE downloads page, and choose the version of Java you want to use.
Accept the license agreement and download the appropriate tar.gz file for your systems architecture.
Unpack the tar.gz file somewhere. For example, to extract it to the /opt directory:
```
$ sudo tar xf Downloads/jdk-25_linux-x64_bin.tar.gz -C /opt
```
Set the JAVA_HOME environment variable to that directory. For example:
```
$ export JAVA_HOME=/opt/jdk-25.0.1.1
```

Always make sure to download the latest version available.

Switching between Java Versions

You might have installed several versions of Java on your system, you can switch from one.

After running this command, you will see a list of all installed Java versions, select:

$ sudo alternatives --config java

Simply enter a selection number to choose which java executable should be used by default.

verify:

$ java -version

JDK reference

See the following list of Java-related acronyms for reference:

JRE: Java Runtime Environment; required to run Java code and applications
JVM: Java Virtual Machine; main component of the JRE
JDK: Java Development Kit; required only for development, coding
SDK: Software Development Kit; see JDK
JavaFX: JavaFX is a platform to create and deliver desktop applications
OpenJFX: the JavaFX open source implementation
OpenJDK: open source implementation of the Java Platform; see openjdk.org
JSE, J2SE, JEE, …: obsolete acronyms for Java Standard & Enterprise Edition; JavaSE is like JRE

JDK components

The JDK has as its primary components a collection of programming tools, including:

java: the loader for Java applications; interprets the class files produced by javac
javac: the Java compiler, which converts source code into Java bytecode
javadoc: the documentation generator, which automatically generates documentation from source code comments
jar: the archiver, which packages related class libraries into a single JAR file
jarsigner: the jar signing and verification tool
javap: the class file disassembler
jdb: the debugger
jdeps: analyses class file dependencies; useful for identifying required modules
jhsdb: the HotSpot debugger; provides serviceability tools for attaching to a running JVM or analysing a core dump
jinfo: gets configuration information from a running Java process or crash dump
jlink: assembles and optimises a custom Java runtime image containing only the modules your application requires
jmap: outputs the memory map for a Java process and can print heap memory details of a given process or core dump
jmc: Java Mission Control; a tool for managing, monitoring, profiling, and troubleshooting Java applications
jmod: creates and manages JMOD files, which can include native code and configuration files not suited to JAR format
jpackage: packages a Java application into a platform-specific installer or executable
jps: lists the instrumented HotSpot Java Virtual Machines (JVMs) on the target system
jrunscript: Java command-line script shell
jshell: an interactive Java REPL (Read-Eval-Print Loop) for prototyping and exploring Java code
jstack: prints Java stack traces of Java threads
jstat: Java Virtual Machine statistics monitoring tool
jstatd: jstat daemon
JConsole: Java Monitoring and Management Console
keytool: tool for manipulating the keystore
xjc: Part of the Java API for XML Binding (JAXB) API; accepts an XML schema and generates Java classes

The JDK also includes a complete Java Runtime Environment, usually called a private runtime, due to the fact that it is separated from the "regular" JRE and has extra contents. It consists of a Java Virtual Machine and all of the class libraries present in the production environment, as well as additional libraries only useful to developers, such as the internationalization libraries and the IDL libraries.

Additional resources

For Java in Fedora, see:

For more information about Java in general, see:

To develop Java applications, consider the following open-source IDEs:

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