/etc/profile, ~/.bash_profile, ~/.profile, ~/.bashrc Add the following lines to the appropriate file listed above. export JAVA_HOME=<path to>/j2sdk&j2sdk-version; export PATH=$PATH:$JAVA_HOME/bin You now have a java development environment installed on your machine, however it is compiled with a different library than the other programs which creates incompatabilities. Specifically, the plug-in will not work with browsers compiled on your machine. There is a solution if you are willing to accept the SUN COMMUNITY SOURCE LICENSE for the Java 2 Platform Standard Edition. Note that you are not allowed to distribute the resulting JDK/JRE and you also cannot use the resulting JDK to compile programs for distribution unless they pass Sun's compatiblity tests. In short don't use the resulting JDK except for your personal use.