How To Install Java on Linux Mint 19

In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Java on Linux Mint 19. For those of you who didn’t know, Java is a programming language and computing platform. It was first released by Sun Microsystems in 1995. Many programs and scripts require Java to run, but usually, Java is not installed by default on a VPS or Dedicated Server.

This article assumes you have at least basic knowledge of Linux, know how to use the shell, and most importantly, you host your site on your own VPS. The installation is quite simple and assumes you are running in the root account, if not you may need to add ‘sudo‘ to the commands to get root privileges. I will show you the step-by-step installation of Java on a Linux Mint 19 (Tricia) server.

Prerequisites

• A server running one of the following operating systems: Linux Mint 19 (Tricia).
• It’s recommended that you use a fresh OS install to prevent any potential issues.
• SSH access to the server (or just open Terminal if you’re on a desktop).
• A non-root sudo user or access to the root user. We recommend acting as a non-root sudo user, however, as you can harm your system if you’re not careful when acting as the root.

Install Java on Linux Mint 19

Step 1. Before running the tutorial below, it’s important to make sure your system is up to date by running the following apt commands in the terminal:

sudo apt update

Step 2. Installing  Java on Linux Mint 19.

Enter the following command to install Default OpenJDK on Linux Mint:

sudo apt install default-jdk

Confirm your Java version:

$ java -version
java version "12.1.1" 2019-12-18
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 12.0.1+12)
Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 12.0.1+12, mixed mode, sharing)

Step 3. Setting up default Java Version on Linux Mint.

Now to change the default Java version run the following command:

sudo update-alternatives --config java

The result should be:

There is 1 choice for the alternative java (providing /usr/bin/java).

  Selection    Path                                           Priority   Status
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  0            /usr/lib/jvm/java-8-oracle/jre/bin/java          1086      auto mode
  1            /usr/lib/jvm/java-8-oracle/jre/bin/java          1086      manual mode
* 2            /usr/local/oracle-java-10/jdk-12.1.1/bin/java    1400      manual mode

Press  to keep the current choice[*], or type selection number:

Step 4. Set the JAVA_HOME Environment Variable.

To set the JAVA_HOME environment variable run the following command:

sudo update-alternatives --config java

Then, run the following command to set the JAVA_HOME variable:

sudo nano /etc/environment

Add the following line to the end of the file:

JAVA_HOME="THE PATH YOU HAVE COPIED"

Congratulations! You have successfully installed Java. Thanks for using this tutorial for installing Java in Linux Mint 19 Tricia systems. For additional help or useful information, we recommend you check the official Java website.