How to Uninstall the JDK & JRE on macOS

Uninstalling the JDK on macOS

To uninstall the JDK on macOS:

You must have Administrator privileges.

Remove the directory whose name matches the following format by executing the rm command as a root user or by using the sudo tool:

/Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk-major.minor.security.patch.jdk

For example, to uninstall jdk 17.0.1:

% sudo rm -rf /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk17.0.1.jdk

Uninstalling the JRE on macOS

To uninstall the JRE on macOS:

You must have Administrator privileges.

Remove the JavaAppletPlugin.plugin directory by executing the rm command as a root user or by using the sudo tool.

% sudo rm -rf /Library/Internet\ Plug-Ins/JavaAppletPlugin.plugin

Remove the JavaControlPanel.prefpane directory by executing the rm command as a root user or by using the sudo tool.

% sudo rm -rf /Library/PreferencePanes/JavaControlPanel.prefPane

% sudo rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/Oracle/Java

Note: Do not uninstall Java by removing the Java tools from /usr/bin. This directory is part of the system software and any changes will be reset by Apple the next time that you perform an update of the OS.

How do I clear the Java cache?

Note: After successfully uninstalling Java, you may remove java Deployment cache using these instructions.

To clear the applet and Web Start cache from a window, use the following command (note escaped space character):

% sudo rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/Oracle/Java/Deployment/cache