[asdf Java] Use asdf java plugin to install multiple Java versions

Posted on Edited on In , Views: Word count in article: 1.9k Reading time ≈ 2 mins.

asdf and Java Plugin

asdf is a single CLI tool for managing multiple runtime versions. It extend with a simple plugin system to install your favourite language: Dart, Elixir, Flutter, Golang (Go), Java, Node.js, Python, Ruby …

This article is about how to use asdf and Java plugin to install multiple Java versions on macOS with the Homebrew package manager.

Prerequisites

  • Xcode Command Line Tools
    The Xcode Command Line Tools Package is a small self-contained package available for download separately from Xcode and that allows you to do command line development in macOS which is consists of the macOS SDK and command-line tools such as Clang, which are installed at this

    For more information about installing and using Xcode Command Line Tools, see the Xcode Command Line Tools

  • Homebrew
    Homebrew is the Missing Package Manager for macOS (or Linux).

    For more information about installing and using Homebrew, see the Homebrew - https://brew.sh/.

Installation

Install asdf

1
2
3
4
5
# Install asdf dependencies
$ brew install coreutils curl git

# Install asdf
$ brew install asdf

asdf Java Plugin

1
2
3
4
5
# Install Java plugin requirements
$ brew install openssl readline

# Install Java plugin
$ asdf plugin-add java https://github.com/halcyon/asdf-java.git

List all Java Version

Update Java plugin.

1
$ asdf plugin update java

List all Java versions.

1
$ asdf list all java

Install Java version

Install a Java version manually.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
$ asdf install java openjdk-16

$ java version
No version set for command java
Consider adding one of the following versions in your config file at ~/.tool-versions
java openjdk-16

$ echo "java openjdk-16" >> ~/.tool-versions

$ asdf exec java -version
openjdk version "16" 2021-03-16
OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 16+35-2229)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (build 16+35-2229, mixed mode, sharing)

Or install another version.

1
$ asdf install java openjdk-15

References

[1] Manage asdf - https://asdf-vm.com/#/core-manage-asdf

[2] GitHub - halcyon/asdf-java: A Java plugin for asdf-vm. - https://github.com/halcyon/asdf-java

[3] Home · rbenv/java-build Wiki - https://github.com/rbenv/java-build/wiki#suggested-build-environment

[4] Homebrew - https://brew.sh/