setting-vs-code-java.home-win.html

<p>
  Sometimes (but not always!) the extension that helps VS Code handle Java
  projects has trouble finding the Java installation on Windows. We aren’t sure
  why this happens, but the following steps work around it:
</p>

<h2 id="find-your-java-installation">Find your Java installation</h2>
<ol type="1">
  <li id="a3e7b1">
    <a href="#a3e7b1" class="anchor-link" aria-label="Link to this item"></a>
    <p>
      <strong>Open Windows Explorer</strong>. (You can do this quickly by
      holding down the Windows key and pressing E.)
    </p>
  </li>

  <li id="b4f8c2">
    <a href="#b4f8c2" class="anchor-link" aria-label="Link to this item"></a>
    <p>
      In the list of locations on the left of the Explorer window, click
      <strong>Local Disk (C:)</strong>.
    </p>

    <img
      src="images/setting-vs-code-java.home-win-local-disk.png"
      style="width: 95%"
      alt="Windows Explorer screenshot with arrow pointing to the 'Local
       Disk (C:)' in the sidebar"
    />
  </li>

  <li id="c5g9d3">
    <a href="#c5g9d3" class="anchor-link" aria-label="Link to this item"></a>
    <p>Open <strong>Program Files</strong>:</p>
    <img
      src="images/setting-vs-code-java.home-win-program-files.png"
      alt="Windows Explorer screenshot with arrow pointing to 'Program Files'"
      style="width: 75%; box-shadow: 0 0 5px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1)"
    />
  </li>

  <li id="d6h0e4">
    <a href="#d6h0e4" class="anchor-link" aria-label="Link to this item"></a>
    <p>Open <strong>AdoptOpenJDK</strong>:</p>
    <img
      src="images/setting-vs-code-java.home-win-adopt-openjdk.png"
      alt="Windows Explorer screenshot with arrow pointing to 'AdoptOpenJDK'"
      style="width: 75%; box-shadow: 0 0 5px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1)"
    />
  </li>

  <li id="e7i1f5">
    <a href="#e7i1f5" class="anchor-link" aria-label="Link to this item"></a>
    <p>
      You should see a folder here with a name like
      <strong>jdk-#####-hotspot</strong>. The exact name may look different than
      the screenshot below, but it should start with “jdk.”
      <strong>Open that folder</strong>.
    </p>

    <img
      src="images/setting-vs-code-java.home-win-jdk.png"
      alt="Windows Explorer screenshot with arrow pointing to 'jdk-14.0.2.12-hotspot'"
      style="width: 75%; box-shadow: 0 0 5px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1)"
    />
  </li>

  <li id="f8j9k0">
    <a href="#f8j9k0" class="anchor-link" aria-label="Link to this item"></a>
    <p>
      The address bar at the top of your explorer window should now say
      something similar to:
    </p>

    <blockquote>
      This PC → Local Disk (C:) → Program Files → AdoptOpenJDK →
      jdk-14.0.2.12-hotspot
    </blockquote>

    <p>
      <strong>Right-click the jdk-####-hotspot item</strong> in the address bar,
      then choose <strong>Copy address</strong> from the menu:
      <img
        src="images/setting-vs-code-java.home-win-copy-address.png"
        alt="Windows Explorer screenshot for copying the address to the
     'jdk...hotspot' folder"
        style="width: 95%; box-shadow: 0 0 5px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1)"
      />
    </p>
  </li>
</ol>

<h2 id="tell-vs-code-where-java-is">Tell VS Code where Java is</h2>

<ol type="1">
  <li id="g1h2i3">
    <a href="#g1h2i3" class="anchor-link" aria-label="Link to this item"></a>
    <p>Open Visual Studio Code.</p>
  </li>
  <li id="j4k5l6">
    <a href="#j4k5l6" class="anchor-link" aria-label="Link to this item"></a>
    <p>
      Press <strong>ctrl-,</strong> (i.e., hold down the control key and press
      the comma key). This should open VS Code's settings window:
      <img
        src="images/setting-vs-code-java.home-win-vs-code-settings.png"
        alt="the VS Code Settings screen"
        style="width: 75%"
      />
    </p>
  </li>
  <li id="m7n8o9">
    <a href="#m7n8o9" class="anchor-link" aria-label="Link to this item"></a>
    <p>
      Type <strong>java.home</strong> into the "Search settings" field, then
      click the <strong>Edit in settings.json</strong> link below:
    </p>
    <p>
      <img
        src="images/setting-vs-code-java.home-win-edit-in-settings.png"
        alt="screenshot pointing to 'java.home' and 'Edit in
           settings.json'"
        style="width: 95%"
      />
    </p>
  </li>
  <li id="p0q1r2">
    <a href="#p0q1r2" class="anchor-link" aria-label="Link to this item"></a>
    <p>
      You should see a <code>java.home": ""</code> line like the one in this
      screenshot, with your cursor right inside the empty quotes:
      <img
        src="images/setting-vs-code-java.home-win-java.home-blank.png"
        alt="screenshot of the blank java.home setting"
        style="width: 95%"
      />
    </p>
    <p>
      There might or might not be other lines around it. Ignore all that. All
      that’s important is that you see that “java.home” line, just like it
      appear in the screenshot above.
    </p>
  </li>
  <li id="s3t4u5">
    <a href="#s3t4u5" class="anchor-link" aria-label="Link to this item"></a>
    <p>
      Press <strong>ctrl-V</strong> to paste the path you copied up above in
      between the quotes. The result should look very similar to this:

      <img
        src="images/setting-vs-code-java.home-win-setting-fixed-1.png"
        alt="screenshot of the pasted-in address for java.home, with
                a squiggly underline indicating a problem"
        style="width: 95%"
      />
    </p>
  </li>
  <li id="v6w7x8">
    <a href="#v6w7x8" class="anchor-link" aria-label="Link to this item"></a>
    <p>
      Note the squiggly underline and the red letters after the backslashes. We
      need to fix that. Go through what you just pasted and
      <strong>change every backslash into two backslashes</strong>. When you are
      done, the squiggly underline should disappear:

      <img
        src="images/setting-vs-code-java.home-win-setting-fixed-2.png"
        alt="screenshot of the pasted-in address for java.home"
        style="width: 95%"
      />
    </p>
  </li>
  <li id="y9z0a1">
    <a href="#y9z0a1" class="anchor-link" aria-label="Link to this item"></a>
    <p>Press <strong>ctrl-S</strong> to save your changes to this file.</p>
  </li>
  <li id="b2c3d4">
    <a href="#b2c3d4" class="anchor-link" aria-label="Link to this item"></a>
    <p>
      Press <strong>ctrl-W</strong> to close settings.json, then press
      <strong>ctrl-W</strong> again to close Settings.
    </p>
  </li>
  <li id="e5f6g7">
    <a href="#e5f6g7" class="anchor-link" aria-label="Link to this item"></a>
    <p><strong>Quit</strong> VS Code.</p>
  </li>
  <li id="h8i9j0">
    <a href="#h8i9j0" class="anchor-link" aria-label="Link to this item"></a>
    <p><strong>Open</strong> VS Code again.</p>
  </li>
</ol>

<p>
  Now return to the instructions for running your first Java project and see if
  this fixed the problem. If it still doesn’t work, ask for help.
</p>

<p>
  <a href="?step=run-first-java-project#bad-java.home">
    <button class="action-btn-enabled action-btn">
      Back to running your first Java project
    </button></a
  >
</p>