How to install a specific JDK on Mac OS X?

Question

I want to install a specific JDK (the latest for example). For this, I went to the JDK download homepage: http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/index.jsp. I looked for a Mac

Answer 1

Since most answers are out of date, here's what works as of end of 2018 under the assumption that

1. You want to install the GPL version of OpenJDK.[0]
2. You do not want to install Homebrew

In that case, grab the desired version from one the many available, freely usable OpenJDK editions, e.g.:

• AdoptOpenJDK
• Amazon Corretto (Great for production, includes backports)
• Oracle GPLv2 OpenJDK

Some of these include installers, but if not you can do the following. Assuming here version 11.0.1 for Mac. In your favorite shell, run:

tar -xzf openjdk-11.0.1_osx-x64_bin.tar.gz
sudo mv jdk-11.0.1.jdk /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines
# Fix owner and group
sudo chown -R root:wheel /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk-11.0.1.jdk
# (Optional) Check if the new JDK can be found
/usr/libexec/java_home
=> /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk-11.0.1.jdk/Contents/Home

[0] Note that the Oracle branded JDK has significant licensing restrictions allowing you its use basically only for testing, i.e., not for production. If you do not have a support agreement with Oracle, then it seems risky to me to use their JDK, especially since the differences to OpenJDK are minimal.

Edit: added more choices