javac is not recognized as an internal or external command operable program or batch file

Question

I am experiencing an error while trying to compile Java programs    I am on Windows  this is a Windows-specific problem  and I have the latest JDK installed   I have attempted a solution involving the PATH variable  but the error persists   Console output   C   gt set path C Program Files  x86  Java jdk1 7 0 bin C   gt javac Hello java  javac  is not recognized as an internal or external command  operable program or batch file

User · Answer

If java command is working and getting problem with javac  then first check in jdk s bin directory javac exe file is there or not  If javac exe file is exist then set JAVA HOME as System variable

User · Answer

You mistyped the set command     you missed the backslash after C   It should be   C   gt set path C  Program Files  x86  Java jdk1 7 0 bin

User · Answer

Run the following from the command prompt    set Path  C  Program Files Java jdk1 7 0 09 bin   or   set PATH  C  Program Files Java jdk1 7 0 09 bin    I have tried this and it works well

User · Answer

try this    I had it too but now it solved in XP    C   YourFolder  gt set path C  Program Files Java jdk1 7 0 09 bin  C   YourFolder  gt javac YourCode java

User · Answer

TL DR  For experienced readers    Find the Java path  it looks like this  C  Program Files Java jdkxxxx bin  Start-menu search for  environment variable  to open the options dialog  Examine PATH  Remove old Java paths  Add the new Java path to PATH  Edit JAVA HOME  Close and re-open console IDE      Welcome   You have encountered one of the most notorious technical issues facing Java beginners  the  xyz  is not recognized as an internal or external command    error message   In a nutshell  you have not installed Java correctly  Finalizing the installation of Java on Windows requires some manual steps  You must always perform these steps after installing Java  including after upgrading the JDK   Environment variables and PATH   If you already understand this  feel free to skip the next three sections    When you run javac HelloWorld java  cmd must determine where javac exe is located  This is accomplished with PATH  an environment variable   An environment variable is a special key-value pair  e g  windir C  WINDOWS   Most came with the operating system  and some are required for proper system functioning  A list of them is passed to every program  including cmd  when it starts  On Windows  there are two types  user environment variables and system environment variables   You can see your environment variables like this   C   gt set ALLUSERSPROFILE C  ProgramData APPDATA C  Users craig AppData Roaming CommonProgramFiles C  Program Files Common Files CommonProgramFiles x86  C  Program Files  x86  Common Files CommonProgramW6432 C  Program Files Common Files       The most important variable is PATH  It is a list of paths  separated by    When a command is entered into cmd  each directory in the list will be scanned for a matching executable   On my computer  PATH is   C   gt echo  PATH  C  WINDOWS system32 C  WINDOWS C  WINDOWS System32 Wbem C  WINDOWS System32 WindowsPower Shell v1 0  C  ProgramData Microsoft Windows Start Menu Programs C  Users craig AppData  Roaming Microsoft Windows Start Menu Programs C  msys64 usr bin C  msys64 mingw64 bin C   msys64 mingw32 bin C  Program Files nodejs  C  Program Files  x86  Yarn bin  C  Users  craig AppData Local Yarn bin C  Program Files Java jdk-10 0 2 bin C  ProgramFiles Git cmd  C  Program Files Oracle VirtualBox C  Program Files 7-Zip  C  Program Files PuTTY  C   Program Files launch4j C  Program Files  x86  NSIS Bin C  Program Files  x86  Common Files  Adobe AGL C  Program Files Intel Intel R  Management Engine Components DAL C  Program Files Intel Intel R  Management Engine Components IPT C  Program Files Intel iCLS Client   C  Program Files  x86  Intel Intel R  Management Engine Components DAL C  Program Files  x86  Intel Intel R  Management Engine Components IPT C  Program Files  x86  Intel iCLS Client  C  Users craig AppData Local Microsoft WindowsApps   When you run javac HelloWorld java  cmd  upon realizing that javac is not an internal command  searches the system PATH followed by the user PATH  It mechanically enters every directory in the list  and checks if javac com  javac exe  javac bat  etc  is present  When it finds javac  it runs it  When it does not  it prints  javac  is not recognized as an internal or external command  operable program or batch file   You must add the Java executables directory to PATH   JDK vs  JRE   If you already understand this  feel free to skip this section    When downloading Java  you are offered a choice between    The Java Runtime Environment  JRE   which includes the necessary tools to run Java programs  but not to compile new ones     it contains java but not javac  The Java Development Kit  JDK   which contains both java and javac  along with a host of other development tools  The JDK is a superset of the JRE    You must make sure you have installed the JDK  If you have only installed the JRE  you cannot execute javac because you do not have an installation of the Java compiler on your hard drive  Check your Windows programs list  and make sure the Java package s name includes the words  Development Kit  in it   Don t use set   If you weren t planning to anyway  feel free to skip this section    Several other answers recommend executing some variation of   C   gt    DON T DO THIS C   gt set PATH C  Program Files Java jdk1 7 0 09 bin   Do not do that  There are several major problems with that command    This command erases everything else from PATH and replaces it with the Java path  After executing this command  you might find various other commands not working  Your Java path is probably not C  Program Files Java jdk1 7 0 09 bin     you almost definitely have a newer version of the JDK  which would have a different path  The new PATH only applies to the current cmd session  You will have to reenter the set command every time you open Command Prompt    Points  1 and  2 can be solved with this slightly better version   C   gt    DON T DO THIS EITHER C   gt set PATH C  Program Files Java  lt enter the correct Java folder here gt  bin  PATH    But it is just a bad idea in general   Find the Java path  The right way begins with finding where you have installed Java  This depends on how you have installed Java   Exe installer  You have installed Java by running a setup program  Oracle s installer places versions of Java  under C  Program Files Java   or C  Program Files  x86  Java    With File Explorer or Command Prompt  navigate to that directory   Each subfolder represents a version of Java  If there is only one  you have found it  Otherwise  choose the one that looks like the newer version  Make sure the folder name begins with jdk  as opposed to jre   Enter the directory   Then enter the bin directory of that   You are now in the correct directory  Copy the path  If in File Explorer  click the address bar  If in Command Prompt  copy the prompt   The resulting Java path should be in the form of  without quotes    C  Program Files Java jdkxxxx bin    Zip file  You have downloaded a  zip containing the JDK  Extract it to some random place where it won t get in your way  C  Java  is an acceptable choice   Then locate the bin folder somewhere within it    You are now in the correct directory  Copy its path  This is the Java path   Remember to never move the folder  as that would invalidate the path   Open the settings dialog    That is the dialog to edit PATH  There are numerous ways to get to that dialog  depending on your Windows version  UI settings  and how messed up your system configuration is   Try some of these    Start Menu taskbar search box    search for  environment variable  Win   R    control sysdm cpl  3 Win   R    SystemPropertiesAdvanced exe    Environment Variables File Explorer    type into address bar Control Panel System and Security System    Advanced System Settings  far left  in sidebar     Environment Variables Desktop    right-click This PC    Properties    Advanced System Settings    Environment Variables Start Menu    right-click Computer    Properties    Advanced System Settings    Environment Variables Control Panel  icon mode     System    Advanced System Settings    Environment Variables Control Panel  category mode     System and Security    System    Advanced System Settings    Environment Variables Desktop    right-click My Computer    Advanced    Environment Variables Control Panel    System    Advanced    Environment Variables   Any of these should take you to the right settings dialog   If you are on Windows 10  Microsoft has blessed you with a fancy new UI to edit PATH  Otherwise  you will see PATH in its full semicolon-encrusted glory  squeezed into a single-line textbox  Do your best to make the necessary edits without breaking your system   Clean PATH  Look at PATH  You almost definitely have two PATH variables  because of user vs  system environment variables    You need to look at both of them   Check for other Java paths and remove them  Their existence can cause all sorts of conflicts   For instance  if you have JRE 8 and JDK 11 in PATH  in that order  then javac will invoke the Java 11 compiler  which will create version 55  class files  but java will invoke the Java 8 JVM  which only supports up to version 52  and you will experience unsupported version errors and not be able to compile and run any programs   Sidestep these problems by making sure you only have one Java path in PATH  And while you re at it  you may as well uninstall old Java versions  too  And remember that you don t need to have both a JDK and a JRE   If you have C  ProgramData Oracle Java javapath  remove that as well  Oracle intended to solve the problem of Java paths breaking after upgrades by creating a symbolic link that would always point to the latest Java installation  Unfortunately  it often ends up pointing to the wrong location or simply not working  It is better to remove this entry and manually manage the Java path   Now is also a good opportunity to perform general housekeeping on PATH  If you have paths relating to software no longer installed on your PC  you can remove them  You can also shuffle the order of paths around  if you care about things like that    Add to PATH  Now take the Java path you found three steps ago  and place it in the system PATH   It shouldn t matter where in the list your new path goes  placing it at the end is a fine choice   If you are using the pre-Windows 10 UI  make sure you have placed the semicolons correctly  There should be exactly one separating every path in the list    There really isn t much else to say here  Simply add the path to PATH and click OK   Set JAVA HOME  While you re at it  you may as well set JAVA HOME as well  This is another environment variable that should also contain the Java path  Many Java and non-Java programs  including the popular Java build systems Maven and Gradle  will throw errors if it is not correctly set   If JAVA HOME does not exist  create it as a new system environment variable  Set it to the path of the Java directory without the bin  directory  i e  C  Program Files Java jdkxxxx    Remember to edit JAVA HOME after upgrading Java  too   Close and re-open Command Prompt  Though you have modified PATH  all running programs  including cmd  only see the old PATH  This is because the list of all environment variables is only copied into a program when it begins executing  thereafter  it only consults the cached copy   There is no good way to refresh cmd s environment variables  so simply close Command Prompt and open it again  If you are using an IDE  close and re-open it too   See also   What are PATH and other environment variables  and how can I set or use them  How do I set or change the PATH system variable  How to set the path and environment variables in Windows How to set Path environment variables in Windows 10

User · Answer

Check your environment variables   In my case I had JAVA HOME set in the System variables as well as in my User Account variables and the latter was set to a wrong version of Java  I also had the same problem with the Path variable   After deleting JAVA HOME from my User Account variables and removing the wrong path from the Path variable it worked correctly

[java] javac is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file

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