ERROR: JAVA_HOME is not set and no 'java' command could be found in your PATH. — how to fix

ERROR: JAVA_HOME is not set and no 'java' command could be found in your PATH.

Quick fix: Install a JDK, then set JAVA_HOME to its root folder (the one containing bin/java), e.g. export JAVA_HOME=/usr/lib/jvm/java-21-openjdk-amd64 in ~/.bashrc, and add $JAVA_HOME/bin to PATH.

What it means

The tool's launcher script looks at the JAVA_HOME environment variable, then for java on your PATH. It found neither.

Step 1: install a JDK (if you haven't)

# Ubuntu / Debian
sudo apt install openjdk-21-jdk
# Fedora
sudo dnf install java-21-openjdk-devel
# macOS
brew install openjdk@21

Windows: install Eclipse Temurin or Microsoft OpenJDK; tick "Set JAVA_HOME" in the installer.

Step 2: find the JDK folder

# Linux
dirname "$(dirname "$(readlink -f "$(which java)")")"
ls /usr/lib/jvm/
# macOS
/usr/libexec/java_home -V

Step 3: set JAVA_HOME

Linux (~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc):

export JAVA_HOME=/usr/lib/jvm/java-21-openjdk-amd64
export PATH="$JAVA_HOME/bin:$PATH"

macOS (~/.zshrc):

export JAVA_HOME=$(/usr/libexec/java_home -v 21)

Windows (PowerShell, persistent):

setx JAVA_HOME "C:\Program Files\Eclipse Adoptium\jdk-21.0.4.7-hotspot"

Then add %JAVA_HOME%\bin to Path in System Properties → Environment Variables, and open a new terminal.

JAVA_HOME must point to the JDK root, not its bin folder.

Android / Flutter

Android Studio bundles a JDK. Point to it, e.g. JAVA_HOME="/Applications/Android Studio.app/Contents/jbr/Contents/Home" on macOS, or C:\Program Files\Android\Android Studio\jbr on Windows. Flutter can be told directly: flutter config --jdk-dir <path>.

Check

echo $JAVA_HOME
"$JAVA_HOME/bin/java" -version

Last updated 2026-10-27.