Removing Java 8 JDK from Mac

To remove the Java 8 JDK from a Mac, follow these steps:

1. Locate the Java 8 JDK Installation

Java JDKs are typically installed in /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/. To confirm the installation location:

1. Open Terminal.
2. Run the following command to list the Java installations:

   /usr/libexec/java_home -V
   

   This will display all installed JDKs, including their versions and installation paths. For Java 8, you’ll likely see something like:

   1.8.0_281 (x86_64)    /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_281.jdk
   

2. Remove the Java 8 JDK

To remove Java 8, you’ll delete the corresponding folder from /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/.

1. In Terminal, run the following command to remove the Java 8 JDK (replace jdk1.8.0_281.jdk with the correct folder name from the previous step):

   sudo rm -rf /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_281.jdk
   

2. You will be prompted to enter your password for the sudo command.

3. Verify the Removal

To ensure that Java 8 has been removed, run:

/usr/libexec/java_home -V

Java 8 should no longer appear in the list of installed JDKs.

You can also check the version of Java still available by running:

java -version

This will show the default version of Java if it’s set.

4. Clean Up Environment Variables (if necessary)

If you had set any environment variables for Java 8 in your shell configuration file (e.g., .bash_profile, .zshrc), you should remove them to avoid potential issues.

1. Open the appropriate shell configuration file for editing:
   • For bash:

     nano ~/.bash_profile
     

   • For zsh (default on newer macOS versions):

     nano ~/.zshrc
     

2. Look for lines that set the JAVA_HOME or reference Java 8 and remove them. For example:

   export JAVA_HOME="/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk1.8.0_281.jdk/Contents/Home"
   

3. After editing, save the file and reload your shell configuration:
   • For bash:

     source ~/.bash_profile
     

   • For zsh:

     source ~/.zshrc
     

5. Optional: Set the Default Java Version

If you still have other versions of Java installed and want to set one as the default, you can use the java_home command. For example, to set Java 11 as the default:

export JAVA_HOME=$(/usr/libexec/java_home -v 11)

You can add this line to your .bash_profile or .zshrc to persist the setting.

• Locate Java 8 JDK using /usr/libexec/java_home -V.
• Remove the Java 8 folder from /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/.
• Clean up environment variables if needed.
• Verify the removal by running /usr/libexec/java_home -V and java -version.