Develop Reference

JAVA_HOME should point to a JDK not a JRE

I am trying to set up maven for my project and I am getting this error
"JAVA_HOME should point to a JDK not a JRE"
I know there are already similar question but it did not work. How can I point JAVA_HOME to JDK in windows. I am using IntelliJ IDEA

Control Panel -> System and Security -> System -> Advanced system settings -> Advanced -> Environment Variables -> New System Variable

I am going through the same process on Mac OSX. I installed the latest JDK, then installed Maven. Someone suggested I set the JAVA_HOME variable so I pointed it to the JDK installation folder. When running Maven mvn compile exec:java I received the same error NB: JAVA_HOME should point to a JDK not a JRE.
All I did was unset the JAVA_HOME variable and it worked.

do it thru cmd -
echo %JAVA_HOME%
set set JAVA_HOME=C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.8.0
echo %JAVA_HOME%

I met the same problem. (Window 10 environment)
I solved it by deleting the JAVA_HOME="C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.8.0_161\bin" in the User Variables instead of adding to the System Variables directly.
Then I test that editing JAVA_HOME="C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.8.0_161\" worked too.
When I run "mvn -version" in command prompt window, it shows "Java home: C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.8.0_161\jre".
In conclusion, I guess the JAVA_HOME shouldn't include bin directory.

I added JAVA_HOME path in user variable and omit the "/bin".
I tried every method given here but only this worked for me.

I have spent 3 hours for solving the error The JAVA_HOME environment variable is not defined correctly. This environment variable is needed to run this program NB: JAVA_HOME should point to a JDK not a JRE
Finally I got the solution. Please set the JAVA_HOME value by Browse Directory button/option. Try to find the jdk path. Ex: C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.8.0_181
It will remove the semicolon issue. :D

My JAVA_HOME was set correctly but I solved this issue by running Command Prompt as Administrator

In Mac OS the hierarchy library > java > JavaVirtualMachines - (inside this folder there are different versions of jdk) select your desired version and inside jdk-version folder there is a contents folder inside contents you'll find "Home" folder
while declaring $JAVA_HOME you haVE TO GIVE THAT HOME PATH for example-
(normal shell commands)
open terminal type vi .bash_profile
(to open file name bash_profile)
press "i" to enable insert mode
give java home path as-
export JAVA_HOME=/Library/java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_131.jdk/Contents/Home
After editing press esc to exit editing mode
then :wq to quit and save
This will remove JAVA_HOME should point to a JDK not a JRE error
and also saves you from future errors

For mac OS, this worked for me... none of the above solutions
$ vim .bash_profile
export JAVA_HOME=$(/usr/libexec/java_home)
$ source .bash_profile

Be sure to use the correct path!
I mistakenly had written C:\Program Files\Java\. Changing it to C:\Program Files\Java\jdk\11.0.6\ fixed the issue.
In cmd I then checked for the version of maven with mvn -version.

Just as an addition to other answers
For macOS users, you may have a ~/.mavenrc file, and that is where mvn command looks for definition of JAVA_HOME first. So check there first and make sure the directory JAVA_HOME points to is correct in that file.

if You have
The JAVA_HOME environment variable is not defined correctly
This environment variable is needed to run this program
NB: JAVA_HOME should point to a JDK not a JRE
Error
so do one thing ...type
C:>dir/x
and you will see the PROGRA~1 or May ~2
and After int Environment Variable Chang The JAVA_HOME Dir Like This
JAVA_HOME:- C:\PROGRA~1\Java\jdk1.8.0_144\
also Set In Path :-%JAVA_HOME%\bin;
And it Works

Make sure that you do NOT have a JRE path, if you have delete it.
Add JAVA_HOME in the System variable. Variable value: C:\Program Files\Java\jdk-10.0.2 (location of JDK without bin)
Add M2 in the System variable. Variable value: C:\dev\maven\apache-maven-3.5.4\bin (location of maven with bin)
Add M2_HOME in the System variable. Variable value: C:\dev\maven\apache-maven-3.5.4 (location of maven without bin)
Add %JAVA_HOME% and %M2% in Path System Variable or C:\Program Files\Java\jdk-10.0.2 and C:\dev\maven\apache-maven-3.5.4\bin --> For windows 10, just add the location. For other version, at the end of the Variable Value field add semicolon then the location Ex: ;%JAVA_HOME%;%M2%
I did not check if the addition or removal of bin changes the result but nonetheless this works for me.

In addition to sovas' response on how to add the JAVA_HOME variable, if it was working before and stopped working, ensure that the path still exists. I updated Java recently which deleted the old version, invalidating my JAVA_HOME environment variable.

This worked for me for Windows 10, Java 8_144.
If the path contains spaces, use the shortened path name. For example, C:\Progra~1\Java\jdk1.8.0_65

Under System Variables add below
JAVA_HOME = C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.8.0_201
JDK_HOME = %JAVA_HOME%\bin
M2_HOME = C:\apache-maven-3.6.0
MAVEN_BIN = %M2_HOME%\bin
MAVEN_HOME = %M2_HOME%
Under path Add these
%M2_HOME%
%JDK_HOME%

you should only add this path to Manage Jenkins -> Global Tool Configuration -> JDK
for java 11
/usr/lib/jvm/java-11-openjdk-amd64
for java 8
/usr/lib/jvm/java-8-openjdk-amd64
And then use same in your jenkins jobs accordingly

In IntelliJ IDEA go to File>Project Structure>SDK>JDK home path.
Copy it and then go to
My Computer>Advanced Settings>Environment Variables
Change the JAVA_HOME path to what you have copied.
Then open new cmd, and try mvn -v
It worked for me !!!

Add JAVA_HOME = C:\Program Files\Java\jdk(version) in User variable, it works for me. For me, it doesn't work with bin and even if I create JAVA_HOME in system variable

just remove the semicolon at the end of JAVA_HOME variable's value.
set JAVA_HOME as C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.8.0_171
It worked for me.

I had this issue but for Mac Os, I set the JAVA_HOME variable in the .bash_profile to be export JAVA_HOME=$(/usr/libexec/java_home) then save. After that ran source ~/.bash_profile finally mvn -version and it fixed the issue. Hope that helps

First, ensure that the Maven bin is in your Environmental Variable PATH entry.
If it is, make sure your entries aren't somehow out of order, and that JAVA_HOME is before Path in the list, or any entry that references %JAVA_HOME%. I was getting the same error when I was trying to check my maven version.
I have a few extra path variables that reference %JAVA_HOME%, or a different version of a JDK and Maven was mixed in between. I moved my Maven path entry below my %JAVA_HOME% one and now everything is working when I use Maven from cmd.
But it is Windows, so perhaps my just opening and closing the Environment Variables setting somehow made everything better.

Windows 10 Home for me:
I'm studying maven through a udemy course. First time environment variables were ok. I had on JAVA_HOME on SYSTEM VARIABLE like this:
D:\Install\Java\jdk-12.0.1;D:\Install\apache-maven-3.5.4-bin\apache-maven-3.5.4
After some days, don't know what's happened, I began to receive:
C:\Users\Franco>mvn -version
The JAVA_HOME environment variable is not defined correctly
This environment variable is needed to run this program
NB: JAVA_HOME should point to a JDK not a JRE
After trying all above, I tried to delete jdk the entry on SYSTEM VARIABLES, and putting it on USER VARIABLES, so now I have:
JAVA_HOME on USER VARIABLES: D:\Install\Java\jdk-12.0.1
JAVA_HOME on SYSTEM VARIABLES: D:\Install\apache-maven-3.5.4-bin\apache-maven-3.5.4
now restarting CMD I have:
C:\Users\Franco>mvn -version
Apache Maven 3.5.4 (1edded0938998edf8bf061f1ceb3cfdeccf443fe; 2018-06-17T20:33:14+02:00)
Maven home: D:\Install\apache-maven-3.5.4-bin\apache-maven-3.5.4\bin\..
Java version: 12.0.1, vendor: Oracle Corporation, runtime: D:\Install\Java\jdk-12.0.1
Default locale: en_US, platform encoding: Cp1252
OS name: "windows 10", version: "10.0", arch: "amd64", family: "windows"

In my case the error started showing up as Java version got updated. So JAVA_HOME path became invalid.
Please check
Location referred to in JAVA_HOME exists.
If it's like my case, update the value from the old path to the new path.
(A better fix would be to set java update such that it auto upgrades the JAVA_HOME reference.)

Even after trying this solution from sovas which is accepted if it does not work
RESTART intellij / CMD prompt instead of trying on the existing opened
i was trying the command from terminal under intellij but still getting same problem.
Do reopen cmd / INTELLIJ and the variable will get reloaded. It fixed the problem for me (ofcourse after correcting the Path to JDK not jre and removing the bin

Trying to run Maven but JAVA_HOME not found [duplicate]

I have recently downloaded Maven and followed the instructions given on this this page. I already have ant installed on my machine.
Now, if I want to verify that Maven is installed perfectly or not it is giving me error that JAVA_HOME is not set correctly, but same works perfectly fine for ANT.
For Maven I tried :
1. open cmd
2. type mvn -version
3. Error appeared :
C:\Users\Admin>mvn -version
ERROR: JAVA_HOME is set to an invalid directory.
JAVA_HOME = "C:\Program Files\Java\jre7\bin"
Please set the JAVA_HOME variable in your environment to match the
location of your Java installation
For ANT I tried and worked :
1. open cmd
2. type mvn -version
3. Apache Ant(TM) version 1.9.1 compiled on May 15 2013
I went to the directory to check that java.exe is actually there in that directory or not and it was there. I checked the environment variables they set fine. I restarted the system and checked again but same problem. Please let me know what am I missing.

JAVA_HOME should point to jdk directory and not to jre directory. Also JAVA_HOME should point to the home jdk directory and not to jdk/bin directory.
Assuming that you have JDK installed in your program files directory then you need to set the JAVA_HOME like this:
JAVA_HOME="C:\Program Files\Java\jdkxxx"
xxx is the jdk version
Follow this link to learn more about setting JAVA_HOME:
http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E19182-01/820-7851/inst_cli_jdk_javahome_t/index.html

Do not include bin in your JAVA_HOME env variable

Follow the instruction in here.
JAVA_HOMEshould be like this
JAVA_HOME=C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.7.0_07

JAVA_HOME = C:\Program Files\Java\jdk(JDK version number)
Example: C:\Program Files\Java\jdk-10
And then restart you command prompt it works.

Just remember to add quotes into the path if you have a space in your path to java home.
C:\Program Files\java\javaxxx\ doesn't work
but
"C:\Program Files\java\javaxxx\" does.

The JAVA_HOME should point to the JDK home rather than the JRE home if you are going to be compiling stuff, likewise - I would try and install the JDK in a directory that doesn't include a space. Even if this is not your problem now, it can cause problems in the future!

You are pointing your JAVA_HOME to the JRE which is the Java Runtime Environment. The runtime environment doesn't have a java compiler in its bin folder.
You should download the JDK which is the Java Development Kit. Once you've installed that, you can see in your bin folder that there's a file called javac.exe. That's your compiler.

JAVA_HOME should point to jdk directory like in the image with new variable, like below
PATH should point to jdk bin like below

Run the below command in your terminal and restart it.
> set JAVA_HOME="C:\Program Files\Java\jdk-xx.xx"
xx.xx is the java version

Java -version prints a wrong version

I have multiple versions of Java installed in the environment(I know it is bad). I've set the JAVA_HOME to jdk 1_4 directory. This is not installed, but extracted from zip and placed it somewhere. We have java 1.8 JRE also installed in the system. I never set the path to this installed directory. Now i'm trying to run some ant script that depends on jdk 1_4. I get some exception saying that it is not able to find tools.jar in java1.8... .
My question is that when the path and java_home are set to jdk 14 why does the ant look for 1.8 version of java? I'm confused.
Update: I have looked up the duplicate issue.
Additional details: Java -version prints 1.8 with jdk 14 in the path and java_home. I uninstalled 1.8. reopened cmd tried java -version, now it errors out saying that it is not able to find java1.8 instead of trying to find the next java available in the path or java_home.
Error shown:
C:\Users\usrpao>java
Error: could not open `C:\Program Files\Java\jre8\lib\amd64\jvm.cfg'

I have multiple versions of Java installed in the environment(I know it is bad). I've set the JAVA_HOME to jdk 1_4 directory.
Not wrong at all. I have a similar setup because I have to switch between Java version.
First, install Java JDKs in the root of your drive. No spaces in the directory names. For example, C:\Java\Java-1.6-21 and C:\Java\Java-1.7-5.
In your Environment Variables section in your System Control Panel (under Advance), create an environment variable to point to each one of these Java Home directories. For example, JAVA_HOME_17 = C:\Java\Java-1.7.5 and JAVA_HOME_16 = C:\Java\Java-1.6-21. This should be a System Environment variable.
Create a JAVA_HOME environment variable that points to the Java version you want: JAVA_HOME = %JAVA_HOME_17%.
Now in the System PATH, prefix the PATH (the very first entry) with %JAVA_HOME%\bin.
When you open a console window, your default java and javac commands will be the correct Java version.
If you need to change a version, change the JAVA_HOME environment variable to point to the correct environment variable and open a new console window. Now that new Java will be in your path.
NOTE: It is vitally important that %JAVA_HOME%\bin is in the first part of your PATH before C:\Windows\System32. You don't want the java.exe that exists in that directory to be your default java.

You haven't specified the operating system, so:
on windows, java installs a java.exe in C:\Windows\system32, which is probably on the path before java_home, and so gets picked up
on Linux, various distributions that support multiple installed java versions will also have some symlink earlier on the path. Run 'which java' to determine where that symlink is

Multiple java versions in the system is the problem, I uninstalled all the java versions first. Restarted my machine. Path and java home points to the jdk 1.4. java -version now points to the version specified in the path. Thanks all.

JAVA_HOME and java -version

I'm using a Windows .bat script and I set JAVA_HOME as C:/Program Files/Java/jdk1.6.0_32
when I do a java -version, it still shows the 1.3
How can I fix this? What am I doing wrong?

For me the issue was in my PATH variable, C:\ProgramData\Oracle\Java\javapath; was added by java windows install before my %JAVA_HOME%\bin;.
So I'd echo %JAVA_HOME% pointing to a JDK7 and java -version showing jdk8.
I'd to put %JAVA_HOME%\bin; before C:\ProgramData\Oracle\Java\javapath; so that java -version displays jdk7.

Try %JAVA_HOME%\bin\java -version
If you modify JAVA_HOME, it's usually better to invoke java with an absolute path (using JAVA_HOME) because the new binary is probably not in the path (and then Windows will load the wrong binary).

Make sure that the PATH environment variable is pointing to %JAVA_HOME%\bin.

Be sure not to mix the system variable path and the user variable system path. I feel OK in calling java without the absolute path (when I know how JAVA_HOME and PATH are configured).

Calling java -version from command line, causes cmd.exe to do the lookup on the "known" directories. "Known" means PATH environment variable. It seems that your PATH contains a java 1.3 bin folder, and not 1.6.
JAVA_HOME is another variable, that is used (for example, and not only) by java wrappers, or by scripts executing some java stuff.
Try doing this:
SET JAVA_HOME=C:/Program Files/Java/jdk1.6.0_32
%JAVA_HOME%/bin/java -version
Add quotes where needed.

I had similar issue,in my case , I had two versions java installed. it can be fixed by uninstalling one version of java completely from system.

Had a similar scenario today - two Windows 10 devices - both have JRE 1.6 & 1.7.
When typing
Java -version
One device shows 1.6 the other 1.7.
This was preventing me running a third party JAR to install some software on the device showing 1.6 (which worked fine on the device showing 1.7 when running java -version), using:
java -jar ThirdParty.jar
As the JAR needed to be run by 1.7.
Cause of this was in the PATH environment variable - one device had the location of 1.6 first in the PATH list, moving the 1.7 location above the 1.6 location resulted in consistency using Java -version and allowed me to install the software.

java -version will consult the paths in the special environment variable Path. You need to select the java version you want and move it upwards the latter (click "Move Up"). You probably have that reference to JDK 1.3 in Path above your addition of JDK 1.6. Since that's the first thing the OS finds, that's what it chooses to run.
Executing the command again with the same window opened after changing the environment variables will not work. Re-open it
I know this question is old but this was my case and I wanted to re-explain further, similar to #DanBot 's case

What is JAVA_HOME? How does the JVM find the javac path stored in JAVA_HOME?

I would like to know what JAVA_HOME is. Where do I set the path of javac.exe and java.exe. It is in environment variables? When I compile a Java program from command prompt, how does the JVM find javac.exe?

JVM does not find java.exe. It doesn't even call it. java.exe is called by the operating system (Windows in this case).
JAVA_HOME is just a convention, usually used by Tomcat, other Java EE app servers and build tools such as Gradle to find where Java lives.
The important thing from your point of view is that the Java /bin directory be on your PATH so Windows can find the .exe tools that ship with the JDK: javac.exe, java.exe, jar.exe, etc.

JAVA_HOME and JRE_HOME are not used by Java itself. Some third-party programs (for example Apache Tomcat) expect one of these environment variables to be set to the installation directory of the JDK or JRE. If you are not using software that requires them, you do not need to set JAVA_HOME and JRE_HOME.
PATH is an environment variable used by the operating system (Windows, Mac OS X, Linux) where it will look for native executable programs to run. You should add the bin subdirectory of your JDK installation directory to the PATH, so that you can use the javac and java commands and other JDK tools in a command prompt window. Courtesy: coderanch

set environment variable
JAVA_HOME=C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0_24
classpath=C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0_24\lib\tools.jar
path=C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0_24\bin

The command prompt wouldn't use JAVA_HOME to find javac.exe, it would use PATH.

JAVA_HOME is a environment variable (in Unix terminologies), or a PATH variable (in Windows terminology). A lot of well behaving Java applications (which need the JDK/JRE) to run, looks up the JAVA_HOME variable for the location where the Java compiler/interpreter may be found.

JAVA HOME is used for setting up the environment variable for JAVA. It means that you are providing a path for compiling a JAVA program and also running the same. So, if you do not set the JAVA HOME( PATH ) and try to run a java or any dependent program in the command prompt.
You will deal with an error as
javac : not recognized as internal or external command.
Now to set this, Just open your Java jdk then open bin folder then copy the PATH of that bin folder.
Now, go to My computer right click on it----> select properties-----> select Advanced system settings----->Click on Environment Variables------>select New----->give a name in the text box Variable Name and then paste the path in Value.
That's All!!

JAVA_HOME is an environment variable which is read by some development tools like Apache Tomcat, Apache Maven, Gradle, Jenkins etc. Usually, JAVA_HOME is set to point to JDK instead of JRE because these development tools need to use tools like compiler, debugger, document generator etc. which are only available in JDK since JDK is a development kit. JRE is only meant for running java applications. JDK = JRE + Development tools
Consumer facing Java applications don't read JAVA_HOME variable and they just need to know where the JVM is located and that's why JVM location (directory) needs to be added to the PATH variable. This is automatically done for you when you install Java software. Whenever you try to run a Java application by either double clicking on the app or through command line, your operating system reads PATH variable to locate and run JVM and it doesn't look for JAVA_HOME variable.

use this command /usr/libexec/java_home to check the JAVA_HOME

JAVA_HOME is an Environment Variable set to the location of the Java directory on your computer.
PATH is an internal DOS command that finds the /bin directory of the version of Java that you are using. Usually they are the same, except that the PATH entry ends with /bin

Basically JAVA_HOME is use to set path of the java . it is use in windows. it's used for set path of the multiple software like as java EE , ANT and Maven.
this is the steps to solve your problem:
only for core java to set path :
path :"C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.8.0_77\bin"
but when you are use multi built like as ANT , core java then you are used JAVE_HOME in environment .
follow the steps :
JAVA_HOME:"C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.8.0_77\bin"
ANT_HOME:"C:\ant\apache-ant-1.9.6"
Path: JAVA_HOME, ANT_HOME;
it is the systematic way to set the environment variable..