How-to: Setting JAVA_HOME environment variable

Introduction

You have to set the JAVA_HOME environment variable prior to installing ElasticSearch. Otherwise, the message “JAVA_HOME environment variable must be set!” will be displayed during the installation. This document explains the steps to be taken to set the JAVA_HOME environment variable.

Setting JAVA_HOME environment variable

Java Virtual Machine or OpenJDK (version 11) has to be installed on the machine that runs the ElasticSearch engine. To set the JAVA_HOME environment variable, follow these steps:

1. Go to Windows Control Panel ➔ System.
2. Click Advanced system settings on the left panel. The System Properties screen will be displayed.
3. Click Environment Variables. The Environment Variables screen will be displayed.
4. Click New in the System Variables section. The New System Variable screen will be displayed.
5. Type the variable name "JAVA_HOME" and at variable value the default installation path of the Java Virtual Machine or OpenJDK. The default folder is C:\Program Files\Java\[version]
6. Click OK.
7. Click OK to close the Environment Variables screen.
8. Click OK again to close the System Properties screen.
9. You may continue to install ElasticSearch via the command prompt. For more information, see the Installing ElasticSearch section in How-to: Installing and configuring Search All feature.

Note: For ElasticSearch version 7.17.0 and above, use the variable name ES_JAVA_HOME instead.

Related documents

• How-to: Installing and configuring Search All feature