IntelliJ IDEA "The selected directory is not a valid home for JDK"

Question

I just installed IntelliJ IDEA and I'm trying to set it up. I've gotten to the part where I need to select my home directory for my JDK.

I tried navigating to my Java installation, C:\Program Files (x86)\Java, and clicked okay but it told me the message above. So, I tried C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre7 and that didn't work either.

I tried reinstalling the latest JDK (from here) and I still couldn't choose my JDK. I even dragged the .jar installer I got from the website and the file selector window wouldn't recognize it.

I'm at a standstill and I don't know what to do.

score 62 · Accepted Answer · answered Feb 11 '14 at 21:33

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Because you are choosing jre dir. and not JDK dir. JDK dir. is for instance (depending on update and whether it's 64 bit or 32 bit): C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jdk1.7.0_45 In my case it's 32 bit JDK 1.7 update 45

answered Feb 11 '14 at 21:33

Branislav Lazic

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Is that a file, or directory? Because it's not in my Java folder. – Maurdekye Feb 11 '14 at 21:33
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Then you didn't install your `JDK` properly. Check wheter your `JDK` is possibly in: `C:\Program Files\Java` folder – Branislav Lazic Feb 11 '14 at 21:34
Its a directory, you should have one for each version of JDK installed. – Vishal Feb 11 '14 at 21:35
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Wait, nevermind. It was in Program Files, not Program Files (x86). – Maurdekye Feb 11 '14 at 21:35
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Weird as it states that JDK is bundled: https://intellij-support.jetbrains.com/hc/en-us/articles/206544879-Selecting-the-JDK-version-the-IDE-will-run-under `JDK is bundled with all the product installers and it's recommended that you will use the provided JDK version unless there are any specific issues.` `32-bit JDK is located in IDE_HOME\jre directory and is used by the 32-bit product executable.` – basickarl Sep 13 '16 at 06:37
the common mistake is people usually install `jre` instead of `jdk` – Jared Chu Mar 16 '17 at 05:54
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In my case, pointing to the JDK 9 directory did not work, but pointing to JDK 8 did. – Justas Jan 01 '18 at 02:27

score 11 · Answer 2 · edited May 10 '16 at 07:19

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This error occurs because if you choosing the path deep in JDK or JRE. The exact path that should be chosen is in my case 64 bit

C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.8.0_91

if 32 bit

C:\Program Files (86)\Java\jdk1.8.0_91

edited May 10 '16 at 07:19

thor

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answered May 10 '16 at 06:58

Koushal Deva

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For some odd reasons it works only if you install in one of the two paths mention by @Koushal Deva, I believe is a limitation of IntelliJ – Raffaeu Jul 07 '18 at 11:49

score 9 · Answer 3 · answered Oct 01 '21 at 17:41

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For anyone on a Mac with a homebrew-installed openjdk, you need to use the directory under libexec: <openjdk11_directory>/libexec/openjdk.jdk/Contents/Home.

Thanks to https://intellij-support.jetbrains.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/360007751379/comments/360001513560.

answered Oct 01 '21 at 17:41

anthonyserious

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thanks. It's my first time use macOS(M1). 1. make /opt/homebrew visible in Finder `>open /opt` and then drag homebrew folder to left area in Finder 2. in IDEA choose the right path `/opt/homebrew/Cellar/openjdk/17.0.1/libexec/openjdk.jdk/Contents/Home`. – WesleyHsiung Dec 11 '21 at 15:33
You saved me a livetime, thanks – Artur Dumchev Mar 08 '22 at 15:43
For Linux: `/home/linuxbrew/.linuxbrew/Cellar/openjdk/17.0.2/libexec` – M Imam Pratama Mar 20 '22 at 01:12

score 4 · Answer 4 · answered Sep 15 '16 at 13:31

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May be your jdk is in /usr/lib/jvm/. This variant for linux.

answered Sep 15 '16 at 13:31

killlinuxkill

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score 2 · Answer 5 · answered Oct 04 '15 at 19:27

I had the same issue. But I figured it out by choosing this path:

First at all, you need to select the C:\ folder. Then, you select Program Files. After it, you select java, and finally the jdk you downloaded. In my case, I downloaded the JDK1.8.0_60 version.

To resume the path:

C:\Program Files\java\jdk1.8.0_60

After you are done with it, you can click on the button next. Then you select the create project from templates. This will create a java application with a main() method. After it, you click next to create the name of you project.

I hope this helps you.

score 2 · Answer 6 · answered Jun 04 '17 at 01:26

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One thing we should note: the jdk should be installed on C: drive.

I had JDK installed on my D: drive like this:

D:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.8.0_101

And it would still give me the same error. For some reason Java should be installed on C: drive.

answered Jun 04 '17 at 01:26

A-Sharabiani

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Mine is installed on my e:\drive and I am getting the same error. – Chemistpp May 01 '18 at 23:20

score 2 · Answer 7 · answered Nov 27 '18 at 18:20

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for me ,with JDK11 and IntelliJ 2016.3 , I kept getting the same message so I decided to uninstall JDK11 and installed JDK8 instead and it immediately worked!

answered Nov 27 '18 at 18:20

Mohammed Fathi

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score 1 · Answer 8 · answered Jul 21 '19 at 01:26

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I ended up needing to replace 2017 with 2019, and everything worked fine. /shrug... no other suggestions here worked for me.

answered Jul 21 '19 at 01:26

nwhaught

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score 1 · Answer 9 · answered Feb 21 '20 at 23:27

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I had \bin as part of the path. Up one level of the selected directory worked for me.

answered Feb 21 '20 at 23:27

bjones01001101

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This worked to me. You must put the path without the "bin" folder. – evinhas Jul 01 '20 at 06:55

Sarah Phillips · Answer 10 · 2016-01-25T23:24:48.903

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It got this error because I had managed to clobber jdk1.8.0_60 with the jre!

edited Jan 25 '16 at 23:24

answered Jan 25 '16 at 22:52

Sarah Phillips

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score 0 · Answer 11 · edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

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In case you missed the configuration at the Project Structure(File -> Project Structure), just reconfigure it like below:

For Java

For Android

Enjoy coding J

edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

Community

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answered Jun 24 '18 at 05:43

Nguyen Minh Hien

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score 0 · Answer 12 · answered Dec 08 '20 at 10:03

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I had the same problem. The solution was to update IntelliJ to the newest version.

answered Dec 08 '20 at 10:03

lex82

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score 0 · Answer 13 · answered Mar 10 '22 at 19:49

Although JDK version 8 can be added into IntelliJ IDEA version 2017.2.6, I couldn't add JDK version 11.0.14 into and got the same error. Because of this, I downloaded new version of IntelliJ IDEA version (2021.3.2) and I could add JDK 11.0.14 into IntelliJ easily without any error. Using newer release of IntelliJ than JDK release can be reasonable recommendation for people who meet this kind of problems.

score -1 · Answer 14 · answered Nov 20 '18 at 10:56

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For Windows, apparently the JDK has to be under C:\Program Files.

This does not work:

C:\dev\Java\jdk1.8.0_191

This works:

C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.8.0_191

(I'm using IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate 2018.2.4.)

answered Nov 20 '18 at 10:56

Paulo Merson

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This is not accurate. – Edward J Beckett May 10 '19 at 22:08

IntelliJ IDEA "The selected directory is not a valid home for JDK"

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