Java Version Manager inspired by nvm (Node.js). Written in Go.

The goal is to provide unified pain-free experience of installing (and switching between different versions of) JDK regardless of the OS (macOS, Linux x86/x86_64/ARMv7+, Windows x86_64).

jabba install

• Oracle JDK (latest-version only)
• Oracle Server JRE (latest-version only),
• Adopt OpenJDK ^{(jabba >=0.8.0 is required)}
  • Hotspot
  • Eclipse OpenJ9
• Zulu OpenJDK ^{(jabba >=0.3.0 is required)}
• IBM SDK, Java Technology Edition ^{(jabba >=0.6.0 is required)}
• GraalVM CE
• OpenJDK
• OpenJDK Reference Implementation
• OpenJDK with Shenandoah GC ^{(jabba >=0.10.0 is required)}
• Liberica JDK
• Amazon Corretto

... and from custom URLs.

(in bash/zsh/...)

export JABBA_VERSION=...
curl -sL https://github.com/shyiko/jabba/raw/master/install.sh | bash && . ~/.jabba/jabba.sh

(use the same command to upgrade)

The script modifies common shell rc files by default. To skip these provide the --skip-rc flag to install.sh like so:

export JABBA_VERSION=...
curl -sL https://github.com/shyiko/jabba/raw/master/install.sh | bash -s -- --skip-rc && . ~/.jabba/jabba.sh

Make sure to source jabba.sh in your environment if you skip it:

export JABBA_VERSION=...
[ -s "$JABBA_HOME/jabba.sh" ] && source "$JABBA_HOME/jabba.sh"

In fish command looks a little bit different - export JABBA_VERSION=... curl -sL https://github.com/shyiko/jabba/raw/master/install.sh | bash; and . ~/.jabba/jabba.fish

If you don't have curl installed - replace curl -sL with wget -qO-.

If you are behind a proxy see - curl / wget manpage. Usually simple http_proxy=http://proxy-server:port https_proxy=http://proxy-server:port curl -sL ... is enough.

NOTE: The brew package is currently broken. We are working on a fix.

While you can use the same snippet as above, chances are you don't want jabba binary & shell integration script(s) to be included in the final Docker image, all you want is a JDK. Here is the Dockerfile showing how this can be done:

FROM buildpack-deps:jessie-curl

RUN curl -sL https://github.com/shyiko/jabba/raw/master/install.sh | \
    JABBA_COMMAND="install 1.15.0 -o /jdk" bash

ENV JAVA_HOME /jdk
ENV PATH $JAVA_HOME/bin:$PATH

(when JABBA_COMMAND env variable is set install.sh downloads jabba binary, executes specified command and then deletes the binary)

$ docker build -t <image_name>:<image_tag> .
$ docker run -it --rm <image_name>:<image_tag> java -version

java version "1.15.0....

(in powershell)

[Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = [Net.SecurityProtocolType]::Tls12
Invoke-Expression (
  Invoke-WebRequest https://github.com/shyiko/jabba/raw/master/install.ps1 -UseBasicParsing
).Content

(use the same command to upgrade)

# list available JDK's
jabba ls-remote
# you can use any valid semver range to narrow down the list
jabba ls-remote zulu@~1.8.60
jabba ls-remote "*@>=1.6.45 <1.9" --latest=minor

# install Oracle JDK
jabba install 1.15.0
# install Oracle Server JRE
jabba install [email protected]  
# install Adopt OpenJDK (Hotspot)
jabba install [email protected]
# install Adopt OpenJDK (Eclipse OpenJ9)
jabba install [email protected]
# install Zulu OpenJDK
jabba install [email protected]
jabba install zulu@~1.8.144 # same as "zulu@>=1.8.144 <1.9" 
# install IBM SDK, Java Technology Edition
jabba install [email protected]
# install GraalVM CE
jabba install [email protected]
# install OpenJDK
jabba install [email protected]
# install OpenJDK with Shenandoah GC
jabba install [email protected]

# install from custom URL
# (supported qualifiers: zip (since 0.3.0), tgz, tgx (since 0.10.0), dmg, bin, exe)
jabba install 1.8.0-custom=tgz+http://example.com/distribution.tar.gz
jabba install 1.8.0-custom=tgx+http://example.com/distribution.tar.xz
jabba install 1.8.0-custom=zip+file:///opt/distribution.zip

# uninstall JDK
jabba uninstall [email protected]

# link system JDK
jabba link [email protected] /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_72.jdk

# list all installed JDK's
jabba ls

# switch to a different version of JDK (it must be already `install`ed)
jabba use [email protected]
jabba use zulu@~1.6.97

echo "1.8" > .jabbarc
# switch to the JDK specified in .jabbarc (since 0.5.0)
jabba use

# set default java version on shell (since 0.2.0)
# this version will automatically be "jabba use"d every time you open up a new terminal
jabba alias default 1.8

.jabbarc has to be a valid YAML file. JDK version can be specified as jdk: 1.8 or simply as 1.8 (same as ~1.8, 1.8.x ">=1.8.0 <1.9.0" (mind the quotes)).

jsyk: jabba keeps everything under ~/.jabba (on Linux/Mac OS X) / %USERPROFILE%/.jabba (on Windows). If at any point of time you decide to uninstall jabba - just remove this directory.

For more information see jabba --help.

PREREQUISITE: go1.8

git clone https://github.com/shyiko/jabba $GOPATH/src/github.com/shyiko/jabba 
cd $GOPATH/src/github.com/shyiko/jabba 
make fetch

go run jabba.go

# to test a change
make test # or "test-coverage" if you want to get a coverage breakdown

# to make a build
make build # or "build-release" (latter is cross-compiling jabba to different OSs/ARCHs)   

Q: What if I already have java installed?

A: It's fine. You can switch between system JDK and jabba-provided one whenever you feel like it (jabba use ... / jabba deactivate). They are not gonna conflict with each other.

Q: How do I switch java globally?

A: jabba doesn't have this functionality built-in because the exact way varies greatly between the operation systems and usually involves elevated permissions. But. Here are the snippets that should work:

• Windows

(in powershell as administrator)

# select jdk
jabba use ...

# modify global PATH & JAVA_HOME
$envRegKey = [Microsoft.Win32.Registry]::LocalMachine.OpenSubKey('SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Environment', $true)
$envPath=$envRegKey.GetValue('Path', $null, "DoNotExpandEnvironmentNames").replace('%JAVA_HOME%\bin;', '')
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable('JAVA_HOME', "$(jabba which $(jabba current))", 'Machine')
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable('PATH', "%JAVA_HOME%\bin;$envPath", 'Machine')

• Linux

(tested on Debian/Ubuntu)

# select jdk
jabba use ...

sudo update-alternatives --install /usr/bin/java java ${JAVA_HOME%*/}/bin/java 20000
sudo update-alternatives --install /usr/bin/javac javac ${JAVA_HOME%*/}/bin/javac 20000

To switch between multiple GLOBAL alternatives use sudo update-alternatives --config java.

Apache License, Version 2.0

By using this software you agree to

• Oracle Binary Code License Agreement for the Java SE Platform Products and JavaFX
• Oracle Technology Network Early Adopter Development License Agreement in case of EA releases
• Apple's Software License Agreement in case of "Java for OS X"
• International License Agreement for Non-Warranted Programs in case of IBM SDK, Java Technology Edition.

This software is for educational purposes only.
Use it at your own risk.