Chapter 5. Configuring the JAVA_HOME environment variable on RHEL

Some applications require you to set the JAVA_HOME environment variable so that they can find the Red Hat build of OpenJDK installation.

Prerequisites

You know where you installed Red Hat build of OpenJDK on your system. For example, /opt/jdk/11.

Procedure

Set the value of JAVA_HOME.
```
$ export JAVA_HOME=/opt/jdk/11
```
Verify that JAVA_HOME is set correctly.
```
$ printenv | grep JAVA_HOME
JAVA_HOME=/opt/jdk/11
```
Note
You can make the value of JAVA_HOME persistent by exporting the environment variable in ~/.bashrc for single users or /etc/bashrc for system-wide settings. Persistent means that if you close your terminal or reboot your computer, you do not need to reset a value for the JAVA_HOME environment variable.
The following example demonstrates using a text editor to enter commands for exporting JAVA_HOME in ~/.bashrc for a single user:
```
> vi ~/.bash_profile

export JAVA_HOME=/opt/jdk/11
export PATH="$JAVA_HOME/bin:$PATH"
```

Additional resources

Be aware of the exact meaning of JAVA_HOME. For more information, see Changes/Decouple system java setting from java command setting.

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