3 Easy Ways To Install Eclipse on Ubuntu

Install Eclipse on Ubuntu

In this post, we are going to learn to Install Eclipse on Ubuntu. Eclipse is a popular cross-platform Java IDE that can be used to create and manage your Java projects. It also has plugins through which you can work with PHP, C++, JavaScript, and more on this program.

Also read: Install R in Ubuntu: A Complete Guide to Setting up R Development Environment

Install Eclipse on Ubuntu From the Official Repositories

This method is easy, but not recommended because this will usually install an old version of Eclipse, as Ubuntu focuses on stability more than being up-to-date. To install Eclipse from the Software Center, open the software center and search for ‘Eclipse’. Click on the ‘Install’ button and type your desktop password when prompted.

Launch Ubuntu's Software Center
Launch Ubuntu’s Software Center

You can also install it from the terminal by typing :

sudo apt update && sudo apt install eclipse

Install the latest version of Eclipse on Ubuntu

To install the latest version, we first have to manually install the dependencies of the program.

1. Install OpenJDK and JRE

JRE is used to run precompiled Jar files on Ubuntu, and therefore Java-based applications on Ubuntu also run on JRE. To install it from the command line, open a Terminal and type :

sudo apt update && sudo apt install default-jre

You can install a specific version of JRE by typing openjdk-8-jre or openjdk-17-jre instead of default-jre (Java 11+ is recommended for Eclipse). Next, we need to install the Open JDK Java development kit, which we will use to compile and run the Java programs. Type the following commands in the terminal to install it:

sudo apt install default-jdk

And if you are looking for a specific version of Java, you can install openjdk-8-jdk or openjdk-17-jdk packages (Java 11+ is recommended for Eclipse).

And if you have multiple versions of java installed at the same time, you can run the following command to choose a default version:

sudo update-alternatives --config java
Select The Default Java Version
Select The Default Java Version

You will be presented with multiple options, select the version you prefer, and then press Enter.

Install Eclipse on Ubuntu from Snap

Snaps are enabled by default in Ubuntu installations. To install Eclipse from snap package management, run the following commands in a terminal :

sudo snap install --classic eclipse

Install directly from the tarball

Head over to the official download page of Eclipse and download the latest x86_64 tarball (tar.gz file). Once the download is finished, head over to the downloads folder and extract the compressed file either by double-clicking or typing the following commands in the terminal :

tar xfz ~/Downloads/eclipse-inst-jre-linux64.tar.gz
Extract The Compressed Tarball
Extract The Compressed Tarball

Now, execute the installer by typing :

~/Downloads/eclipse-installer/eclipse-inst

From the launched window, select the package you wish to install and click next.

Select The Package You Want To Install
Select The Package You Want To Install

On the next screen, select the Java version and then finally click on the Install button. Eclipse will be installed on your Ubuntu installation.

Select Java Version And Install
Select Java Version And Install Eclipse

Summary

We hope you have learned how to install Eclipse on Ubuntu using this article as a guide. Enable plugins to make your experience even more smooth. And have fun coding!