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Install on Windows

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This section explains how to install Azul Zulu builds of OpenJDK on Windows.

Install Azul Zulu from ZIP or TAR.GZ package

  1. Download the Azul Zulu ZIP or TAR.GZ file from the Downloads page.

  2. Extract the content of the archive to a folder. This folder is your Azul Zulu installation folder.

  3. To verify that the package was unpacked successfully, run the following command from a command prompt. You should see output similar to the following:

     
    > <zulu_installation_folder>\bin\java -version
openjdk version "16" 2021-03-16
OpenJDK Runtime Environment Zulu16.28+11-CA (build 16+36)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM Zulu16.28+11-CA (build 16+36, mixed mode, sharing)

Install Azul Zulu MSI installer

Note
 To install the .msi file, you must have administrator privileges.

When installing Azul Zulu MSI installer, you can select the features that you want to enable and/or change the installation folder.

Optional features include:

  • Add to PATH - Adds the <zulu_installation_folder>\bin folder to the PATH environment variable.

  • JavaSoft (Oracle) registry keys - Overwrites JavaSoft (Oracle) registry keys (for details, see Azul Zulu registry keys).

Install using Setup Wizard

  1. Launch the Setup Wizard by double-clicking the downloaded .msi file and follow the instructions in the wizard.

    The default installation folder is C:\Program Files\Zulu\<zulu_dir>\, where <zulu_dir> depends on the type of package (JDK or JRE).

    Package Installation Folder Example

    JDK

    zulu-<major_version>

    zulu-11

    JRE

    zulu-<major_version>-jre

    zulu-11-jre

  2. To verify your Azul Zulu installation, run the following command:

     
    <zulu_installation_folder>\bin\java -version

    If you chose to update the PATH environment variable during installation, simply run:

     
    java -version

    You should see output similar to the following:

     
    openjdk version "11.0.10" 2021-01-19 LTS
OpenJDK Runtime Environment Zulu11.45+27-CA (build 11.0.10+9-LTS)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM Zulu11.45+27-CA (build 11.0.10+9-LTS, mixed mode)

Install from Command Prompt

To install Azul Zulu MSI installer from a Command Prompt, follow these steps:

  1. Open a command prompt or terminal window in the directory where you saved the .msi file.

  2. General installation command looks like as follows:

     
    msiexec /i <zulu_package>.msi ADDLOCAL=<feature1>,...,<featureN> INSTALLDIR="<absolute_path_to_dir>" /qn

    The following features are available:

    • ZuluInstallation - installs Azul Zulu in the specified location

    • FeatureEnvironment - updates the PATH environment variable

    • FeatureOracleJavaSoft - updates the registry keys under the HKLM\SOFTWARE\JavaSoft\ section

    To enable a specific feature, add the name of the feature to the ADDLOCAL parameter. For example, to install Azul Zulu and update the PATH environment variable, user the following command:

     
    msiexec /i zulu11.45.27-ca-jdk11.0.10-win_x64.msi ADDLOCAL=ZuluInstallation,FeatureEnvironment INSTALLDIR="c:\java\jdk11" /qn
    Example 1

    To install Azul Zulu to the default installation folder, run:

     
    msiexec /i zulu11.45.27-ca-jdk11.0.10-win_x64.msi /qn

    No optional features are selected.

    Example 2

    To install Azul Zulu to the c:\java\jdk11\ folder and add c:\java\jdk11\bin to the PATH environment variable, run:

     
    msiexec /i zulu11.45.27-ca-jdk11.0.10-win_x64.msi ADDLOCAL=ZuluInstallation,FeatureEnvironment INSTALLDIR="c:\java\jdk11" /qn

Azul Zulu registry keys

During the installation, the MSI installer uses the registry to store path and version information. The installer creates two sets of registry keys: Azul Zulu keys and Generic keys. The second set includes registry keys typically created by Java installers to ensure Azul Zulu is compatible with other tools such as Launch4j and WinRun4J.

The table below shows the registry keys created during the installation of various types of Azul Zulu packages.

Binary type Azul Zulu keys Generic keys

JRE 64-bit

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Azul Systems\Zulu\zulu-<version>-jre

HKLM\SOFTWARE\JavaSoft\Java Runtime Environment

JRE 32-bit

HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Azul Systems\Zulu 32-bit\zulu-<version>-jre

HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\JavaSoft\Java Runtime Environment

JDK 64-bit

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Azul Systems\Zulu\zulu-<version>

HKLM\SOFTWARE\JavaSoft\Java Development Kit

JDK 32-bit

HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Azul Systems\Zulu 32-bit\zulu-<version>

HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\JavaSoft\Java Development Kit

Where <version> in zulu-<version>-jre stands for the version of Azul Zulu, for example, zulu-11-jre.

The MSI Installer creates registry keys during Azul Zulu installation and removes these keys during uninstallation. Please note that the MSI Installer creates the Generic keys only if Oracle Java has not yet been installed on the computer. If Java is already installed, this means that the keys exist, and the installer does not overwrite them.

Upgrade Azul Zulu

If you installed Azul Zulu using the MSI installer, you can upgrade it by following the same installation instructions. Note that you can upgrade within the same major version, for example from 8.52 to 8.54. If you install a different major version of Azul Zulu, such as 11, the installer does not remove the previous one but simply adds the new version to your machine.