Install openjdk with Homebrew

Project links

• Homepage
• Repository

Commands and aliases

• jar
• jarsigner
• java
• javac
• javadoc
• javap
• jcmd
• jconsole
• jdb
• jdeprscan
• jdeps
• jfr
• jhsdb
• jimage
• jinfo
• jlink
• jmap
• jmod
• jnativescan
• jpackage
• jps
• jshell
• jstack
• jstat
• jstatd
• jwebserver
• keytool
• rmiregistry
• serialver

Project history

OpenJDK began from Sun Microsystems' 2006 initiative to open source Java and the core Java platform. Red Hat's historical account says the major platform components were released over the next few years as free and open-source software under the GPL.

After Sun's acquisition by Oracle, OpenJDK continued as the central upstream for Java SE implementation work. The OpenJDK homepage describes it as the place to collaborate on an open-source implementation of Java SE and related projects, while the JDK Project describes its goal as producing a series of open-source reference implementations of the Java SE Platform.

Adoption history

OpenJDK became the shared upstream for a multi-vendor Java ecosystem. Oracle, Red Hat, IBM, Microsoft, Amazon, Azul, SAP, and other vendors build or support JDK distributions derived from the OpenJDK code base, while the OpenJDK Community develops language, VM, library, tooling, and platform features through projects and JEPs.

The release model changed after JDK 9. OpenJDK's JDK Project documents a six-month feature-release cadence, and JEP 14 describes the tip-and-tail model: frequent feature releases at the tip, quarterly update releases in tail trains, and vendor-designated long-term support lines such as JDK 8, 11, 17, and 21.

How it is used

Developers install OpenJDK when they need the Java compiler, runtime, standard libraries, build tools, documentation tools, packaging tools, and diagnostics needed to build and run Java software. Operators often install it indirectly because build systems, language servers, CI jobs, application servers, Android-adjacent tooling, and JVM languages all expect a JDK on PATH or discoverable through platform Java wrappers.

On macOS, Homebrew marks openjdk as keg-only and documents the symlink needed for /usr/libexec/java_home and other system Java wrappers to find the JDK bundle. That detail is a classic Java-packaging issue: package managers can install many JDKs, but tools need a policy for which one wins.

Why package nerds care

OpenJDK is one of the most consequential packages in a package manager because it is both a developer-facing SDK and a build-time dependency for other packages. It also carries a distinctive license shape, GPLv2 with the Classpath Exception, which lets the JDK remain copyleft while supporting broad Java application distribution.

Timeline

• 2006: Sun Microsystems announced the initiative that led to OpenJDK.
• 2007: Red Hat signed Sun's OpenJDK contributor and TCK agreements, becoming a major outside participant in the project.
• 2018: the OpenJDK Community adopted the six-month tip-and-tail release model beginning with JDK 10.
• The JDK Project release list records JDK 11 general availability on 25 September 2018 and subsequent feature releases on a six-month cadence.

Related projects

• OpenJDK is related to HotSpot, javac, Project Amber, Project Loom, Project Panama, Project Valhalla, OpenJDK update projects, Eclipse OpenJ9, and downstream distributions such as Oracle OpenJDK builds, Red Hat OpenJDK builds, Microsoft Build of OpenJDK, Amazon Corretto, Azul Zulu, SAP SapMachine, and Eclipse Temurin.

Sources

• https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/openjdk
• https://openjdk.org/
• https://openjdk.org/jeps/14
• https://openjdk.org/legal/gplv2+ce.html
• https://openjdk.org/projects/jdk/
• https://www.redhat.com/en/blog/history-and-future-openjdk