Installing Java

Automatically installing Java (recommended)

In Prism Launcher 9.0+, you can let the launcher handle Java automatically on Windows, macOS and Linux (not available in all packages) by enabling "Autodetect Java version" and "Auto-download Mojang Java" in:

Settings (top toolbar) > Java

This will make the launcher automatically download the right version of Java for your version of Minecraft (Java 8 for pre-1.17, Java 17 for 1.17-1.20.4, etc.). The rest of this page is going to explain downloading Java manually, and is probably not needed for you.

If the Java downloader is not available for you - which is the case on most Linux packages apart from the official Flatpak and AppImage downloads - manual installation is recommended instead.

Manually installing Java

Oracle Java is not recommended. As of 2019, it has licensing that prohibits certain uses, and it requires an account to download certain versions. Their downloads are intended for those who have purchased a support contract from Oracle.

Instead, this guide recommends installing OpenJDK from one of the reputable vendors. OpenJDK is a source code only distribution of Java made by a collaboration between Oracle and industry partners such as Adoptium, Microsoft, Red Hat, and Azul. Unlike Oracle Java, it is released under a license that minimizes legal risk for users and does not require payment.

If you would like to learn more about OpenJDK and the vendors mentioned in this page, here are their websites:

Otherwise, continue reading for quick download links and a guide for which one to choose.

Selecting Java

Once you have installed Java, Prism Launcher will be able to detect it during the first time set-up wizard.

If you installed Java after already completing the first time setup process, you can access and modify your Java configuration globally for all instances through:

Settings > Java > Java Runtime > Auto-Detect...

or for a specific instance:

Right click an instance > Edit > Settings > Java > Java installation > Auto-Detect...

If you have just installed a version of Java and it doesn't show up, try pressing Refresh or restart the launcher. If you don't have your desired Java version installed, keep reading.

Installing Java on Windows

First, check your CPU architecture. Here is a method that works on all Windows versions:

  1. Click or tap on the Start Menu
  2. Search Command Prompt or Terminal and click on it
  3. Type in echo %PROCESSOR_ARCHITECTURE% and press enter
  4. Read the result.
    • If it says AMD64, you have a 64-bit x86-64 CPU. This is sometimes called x64 or amd64.
    • If it says X86, you have a 32-bit x86 CPU. This is sometimes called x32 or x86-32.
    • If it says ARM64, you have a 64-bit ARM CPU. This is sometimes called aarch64 or ARM64.

Then, download the appropriate Java:

Minecraft CPU type Download page Viable alternatives
Minecraft 1.20.5 or above x86-64 Microsoft OpenJDK 21 for Windows x64, .msi installer Azul, Coretto, Temurin, GraalVM
x86 Not available :(
aarch64 Microsoft OpenJDK 21 for Windows aarch64, .msi installer Azul
Minecraft 1.17 to 1.20.4 x86-64 Microsoft OpenJDK 17 for Windows x64, .msi installer Azul, Coretto, Temurin, GraalVM
x86 Temurin OpenJDK 17 for Windows x32, .msi installer Azul, Coretto
aarch64 Microsoft OpenJDK 17 for Windows aarch64, .msi installer Azul
Minecraft 1.16 or below x86-64 Temurin OpenJDK 8 for Windows x64, .msi installer Azul, Coretto
x86 Temurin OpenJDK 8 for Windows x64, .msi installer Azul, Coretto
aarch64 Not available :(

Tip: If you are on Windows 11, you can automatically install 8, 17 and 21 by running winget install Microsoft.OpenJDK.21; winget install Microsoft.OpenJDK.17; winget install EclipseAdoptium.Temurin.8.JDK in the Terminal app.

Installing Java on macOS

First, check your CPU architecture.

  1. Open the Apple menu in the top left corner of the screen
  2. Click "About This Mac"
  3. Check what it says after "Processor"
    • If it contains Intel, you have a 64-bit x86-64 CPU. This is sometimes called x64 or amd64.
    • If it contains Apple, you have a 64-bit ARM CPU. This is sometimes called aarch64 or ARM64.

Then, download the appropriate Java:

Minecraft CPU type Download page Viable alternatives
Minecraft 1.20.5 or above x86-64 Microsoft OpenJDK 21 for macOS x64, .pkg installer Azul, Coretto, Temurin, GraalVM
aarch64 Microsoft OpenJDK 21 for macOS aarch64, .pkg installer Azul, Coretto
Minecraft 1.17 to 1.20.4 x86-64 Microsoft OpenJDK 17 for macOS x64, .pkg installer Azul, Coretto, Temurin, GraalVM
aarch64 Microsoft OpenJDK 17 for macOS aarch64, .pkg installer Azul, Coretto
Minecraft 1.16 or below x86-64 Temurin OpenJDK 8 for macOS x64, .pkg installer Azul, Coretto
aarch64 Azul OpenJDK 8 for macOS aarch64, .dmg installer Coretto

Installing Java on Linux

On Linux, it's recommended to use your package manager for installing Java.

Fedora, RHEL, CentOS, AlmaLinux, or RockyLinux

On the COPR package all required Java versions should be installed, but this is the command to install it:

sudo dnf install java-1.8.0-openjdk java-17-openjdk java-21-openjdk

Void Linux 

sudo xbps-install openjdk17-jre openjdk8-jre openjdk21-jre

Arch Linux, Manjaro, EndeavorOS, Garuda 

sudo pacman -S jre17-openjdk jre8-openjdk jre21-openjdk

Ubuntu, Pop!_OS, Linux Mint, Zorin OS, or elementaryOS 

sudo apt install openjdk-17-jre openjdk-8-jre openjdk-21-jre

Debian, MX Linux 

sudo apt install openjdk-17-jre openjdk-21-jre

Java 8 is not available in Debian 10+ due to lack of security support, but you can use the Adoptium repository for security support until 2026:

wget -qO - https://packages.adoptium.net/artifactory/api/gpg/key/public | sudo apt-key add -
sudo add-apt-repository --yes https://packages.adoptium.net/artifactory/deb/
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install temurin-8-jdk

Alpine Linux 

sudo apk add openjdk17 openjdk8

Flatpak

The Prism Launcher Flatpak already bundles Java.

NixOS

The Prism Launcher NixOS package already bundles Java.

Special cases

Forge 1.16.5 and Java 8u321+

Old versions of Forge crash with Java 8u321+. For this reason, using Java 8u312 or lower is recommended.

A note about Intel HD 2000/3000 on Windows 10

Since those iGPUs are not officially supported on Windows 10, with them the game is likely going to crash with any modern java binary.

For 1.16.5 or older there's a workaround in installing an older Java binary. Mojang Java 8u51 is recommended, and can be automatically installed with the above.

Unfortunately there's no workaround for Java 17 (and so newer Minecraft), so you can only downgrade your Windows or switch to Linux there.
If you want to try, there's this guide that could work. Nothing is guaranteed here, though.

Older Minecraft on MacOS

If you use some older Minecraft versions, you might have had this error:

Terminating app due to uncaught exception 'NSInternalInconsistencyException', reason: 'NSWindow drag regions should only be invalidated on the Main Thread!'

Here is a fix:

Pages in Getting Started: