Liberica NIK 23.1.5+1 (21.0.5+11) Installation Guide

1. Introduction

This document provides installation instructions for Liberica NIK in different operating systems.

You can download Liberica NIK from either the Liberica JDK Download Center or, as a support-plan customer, via a link on the support portal. After you log in to the support portal, you can see a direct link to the version of Liberica product you requested under Technologies. If you use the Liberica Download Center page, scroll down and select the NIK version, OS, and package type. After the download is finished, you can verify the downloaded file by comparing its size on your drive to the size on the Downloads page.

Note:
The installer screens are provided for information purpose only and may vary in different releases.

2. Apple macOS

Installing DMG bundle on Apple macOS

  1. To run the installer, double-click the file you have downloaded.

  2. Double-click the pkg icon to open the Install Liberica NIK Wizard.

  3. Click Continue on the Welcome screen.

  4. Optionally, you can change the installation location. Press Install to proceed.

  5. Confirm new software installation. The files will start copying immediately.

  6. Once the installation is complete, press Close to exit the installation wizard.

Liberica NIK 23.1.5 is installed to the /Library/Java/LibericaNativeImageKit/liberica-vm-23.1.5-openjdk21/ directory, or another directory with a similar name in /Library/Java/LibericaNativeImageKit, depending on the selected version of the JDK and package type (core, standard, or full). You can use the $NIK_HOME environment variable to store the path to the installed package: /Library/Java/LibericaNativeImageKit/liberica-vm-23.1.5-openjdk21/Contents/Home/.

Installing ZIP bundle on macOS

  1. To install Liberica NIK, download the .zip package.

    curl -O https://download.bell-sw.com/vm/23.1.5/bellsoft-liberica-vm-openjdk21.0.5+11-23.1.5+1-macos-amd64.zip
  2. After the download is finished, unpack the file.

    unzip bellsoft-liberica-vm-openjdk21.0.5+11-23.1.5+1-macos-amd64.zip
    sudo mv bellsoft-liberica-vm-openjdk21-23.1.5 /Library/Java/LibericaNativeImageKit/

    This will unpack Liberica NIK to /Library/Java/LibericaNativeImageKit/. Either add Contents/Home/bin subdirectory to $PATH, or remember /Library/Java/LibericaNativeImageKit/bellsoft-liberica-vm-openjdk21-23.1.5/Contents/Home/ as the $NIK_HOME environment variable.

To uninstall Liberica NIK, simply remove its directory and unset the related environmental variables.

Installing language packages on macOS

Except the Core version (which comes bundled with native image plugin and does not allow the installation of additional components), all packages of Liberica Native Image Kit contain a component updater called gu. You can use it to install or update Liberica NIK plugins or add support for additional languages in the distribution.

Open the terminal and type:

$NIK_HOME/bin/gu available

You’ll see a list of available languages:

Downloading: Component catalog from download.bell-sw.com
ComponentId    Version  Component name      Stability    Origin
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
icu4j          23.1.5   ICU4J               Supported    download.bell-sw.com
js             23.1.5   Graal.js            Supported    download.bell-sw.com
llvm           23.1.5   LLVM Runtime Core   Supported    download.bell-sw.com
llvm-toolchain 23.1.5   LLVM.org toolchain  Supported    download.bell-sw.com
nodejs         23.1.5   Graal.nodejs        Supported    download.bell-sw.com
python         23.1.5   GraalVM Python      Experimental download.bell-sw.com
R              23.1.5   FastR               Experimental download.bell-sw.com
regex          23.1.5   TRegex              Supported    download.bell-sw.com
ruby           23.1.5   TruffleRuby         Experimental download.bell-sw.com
wasm           23.1.5   GraalWasm           Experimental download.bell-sw.com

Execute $NIK_HOME/bin/gu install [language] to install a specific language. For example, $NIK_HOME/bin/gu install python.

This can be also executed manually:

curl -O https://download.bell-sw.com/vm/23.1.5/python-installable-openjdk21.0.5+11-23.1.5+1-macos-amd64.jar
$NIK_HOME/bin/gu -L install python-installable-openjdk21.0.5+11-23.1.5+1-macos-amd64.jar

If Liberica Native Image Kit was installed in /Library/Java/LibericaNativeImageKit or another location requiring root privileges, you might have to use sudo to perform administrative tasks, such as installing additional components or rebuilding the images.

Liberica NIK dependencies on macOS

xcode is required for Liberica Native Image Kit. Install the necessary tools with the following command:

xcode-select --install

3. Linux

Installing DEB and RPM packages

Download either .rpm or .deb package.

Install the package using the appropriate package manager. See the example for Apt:

sudo apt install ./bellsoft-liberica-vm-openjdk21.0.5+11-23.1.5+1-linux-amd64.deb

Or for an RPM-base system:

sudo yum install ./bellsoft-liberica-vm-openjdk21.0.5+11-23.1.5+1-linux-amd64.rpm

The package is installed to /opt/bellsoft/liberica-vm-23.1.5-openjdk21/.

For scripting purposes, we recommend adding the ${NIK_HOME} environment variable that points to your Liberica Native Image Kit installation directory.

Installing standalone NIK package on GNU/Linux

To install Liberica NIK, download the .tar.gz package.

Unpack it with the following command.

export INSTALL_DIR=<your directory>
tar -C $INSTALL_DIR -xzf bellsoft-liberica-vm-openjdk21.0.5+11-23.1.5+1-linux-amd64.tar.gz

This will unpack Liberica NIK to the selected directory. Either add $INSTALL_DIR/bellsoft-liberica-vm-openjdk21-23.1.5/bin to $PATH, or remember $INSTALL_DIR/bellsoft-liberica-vm-openjdk21-23.1.5 as the $NIK_HOME environment variable.

To uninstall Liberica NIK, simply remove this directory and unset the related environmental variables.

Installing language packages on Linux

Open the terminal and type:

$NIK_HOME/bin/gu available

You’ll see a list of available languages:

Downloading: Component catalog from download.bell-sw.com
ComponentId    Version  Component name      Stability    Origin
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
icu4j          23.1.5   ICU4J               Supported    download.bell-sw.com
js             23.1.5   Graal.js            Supported    download.bell-sw.com
llvm           23.1.5   LLVM Runtime Core   Supported    download.bell-sw.com
llvm-toolchain 23.1.5   LLVM.org toolchain  Supported    download.bell-sw.com
nodejs         23.1.5   Graal.nodejs        Supported    download.bell-sw.com
python         23.1.5   GraalVM Python      Experimental download.bell-sw.com
R              23.1.5   FastR               Experimental download.bell-sw.com
regex          23.1.5   TRegex              Supported    download.bell-sw.com
ruby           23.1.5   TruffleRuby         Experimental download.bell-sw.com
wasm           23.1.5   GraalWasm           Experimental download.bell-sw.com

Execute $NIK_HOME/bin/gu install [language] to install a specific language. For example, $NIK_HOME/bin/gu install python.

This can be also executed manually:

wget https://download.bell-sw.com/vm/23.1.5/python-installable-openjdk21.0.5+11-23.1.5+1-linux-amd64.jar
$NIK_HOME/bin/gu -L install python-installable-openjdk21.0.5+11-23.1.5+1-linux-amd64.jar

If Liberica Native Image Kit was installed via a package manager or in a location requiring root privileges, you might have to use sudo to perform administrative tasks, such as installing additional components or rebuilding the images.

Liberica NIK dependencies on Linux

Several libraries are required for Liberica Native Image Kit on Linux systems. Install these libraries on Debian-based systems with the following command:

sudo apt install g++ make zlib1g-dev

Installed components also have additional libraries dependencies, such as Truffleruby depends on libssl-dev.

You can use a similar command to install dependencies on rpm-based systems. See this example for CentOS:

sudo yum install gcc-c++ make zlib-devel

Other types of Linux systems may require different packages.

4. Alpine Linux

Installing APK package on Alpine Linux

Download the .dmg package.

Install the package using the appropriate package manager. See our example for Apt:

# Add public key to check signature
wget -P /etc/apk/keys/ https://apk.bell-sw.com/[email protected]
# Install package
sudo apk add ./bellsoft-liberica-vm-openjdk21.0.5+11-23.1.5+1-linux-x64-musl.apk

The package is installed to /opt/bellsoft/liberica-vm-23.1.5-openjdk21/.

For scripting purposes, we recommend adding the ${NIK_HOME} environment variable which would point to your Liberica Native Image Kit installation directory.

Installing standalone NIK package on Alpine Linux

To install Liberica NIK, download the .tar.gz package.

wget https://download.bell-sw.com/vm/23.1.5/bellsoft-liberica-vm-openjdk21.0.5+11-23.1.5+1-linux-x64-musl.tar.gz

Unpack it with the following command.

export INSTALL_DIR=<your directory>
tar -C $INSTALL_DIR -xzf bellsoft-liberica-vm-openjdk21.0.5+11-23.1.5+1-linux-x64-musl.tar.gz

This will unpack Liberica NIK to the selected directory. Either add $INSTALL_DIR/bellsoft-liberica-vm-openjdk21-23.1.5/bin to $PATH, or remember $INSTALL_DIR/bellsoft-liberica-vm-openjdk21-23.1.5 as the $NIK_HOME environment variable.

To uninstall Liberica NIK, simply remove this directory and unset the related environmental variables.

Installing language packages on Alpine Linux

Open the terminal and type:

$NIK_HOME/bin/gu available

You’ll see a list of available languages:

Downloading: Component catalog from download.bell-sw.com
ComponentId    Version  Component name      Stability    Origin
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
icu4j          23.1.5   ICU4J               Supported    download.bell-sw.com
js             23.1.5   Graal.js            Supported    download.bell-sw.com
llvm           23.1.5   LLVM Runtime Core   Supported    download.bell-sw.com
llvm-toolchain 23.1.5   LLVM.org toolchain  Supported    download.bell-sw.com
nodejs         23.1.5   Graal.nodejs        Supported    download.bell-sw.com
python         23.1.5   GraalVM Python      Experimental download.bell-sw.com
R              23.1.5   FastR               Experimental download.bell-sw.com
regex          23.1.5   TRegex              Supported    download.bell-sw.com
ruby           23.1.5   TruffleRuby         Experimental download.bell-sw.com
wasm           23.1.5   GraalWasm           Experimental download.bell-sw.com

Execute $NIK_HOME/bin/gu install [language] to install a specific language. For example, $NIK_HOME/bin/gu install python.

This can be also executed manually:

wget https://download.bell-sw.com/vm/23.1.5/python-installable-openjdk21.0.5+11-23.1.5+1-linux-x64-musl.jar
$NIK_HOME/bin/gu -L install python-installable-openjdk21.0.5+11-23.1.5+1-linux-x64-musl.jar

If Liberica Native Image Kit was installed via a package manager or in a location requiring root privileges, you might have to use sudo to perform administrative tasks, such as installing additional components or rebuilding the images.

Liberica NIK dependencies on Alpine Linux

Several libraries are required for Liberica Native Image Kit on Alpine Linux. Install these libraries with the following command:

sudo apk add bash g++ make zlib-static

Installed components also have additional libraries dependencies, such as Truffleruby depends on openssl-dev.

5. Microsoft Windows

Installing with Microsoft Windows Installer package

  1. Double-click the Windows installation file you downloaded. The Liberica NIK Setup Wizard opens.

  2. Click Next on the Welcome screen.

  3. On the Custom Setup window, choose the features you need. Select a feature to see its description. In most cases, you can use the default setup. Click Disk Usage to see the available and required space on your disk. Click Next.

  4. The package is ready to install. Press Install. If you see the User Account Control warning, verify the publisher (BELLSOFT) and click Yes.

  5. After the installation is complete, click Finish to quit the Liberica NIK Setup Wizard.

Note:
The installer screens above may vary in different releases.

If you want to install Liberica NIK silently, open the command line and run the following command:

msiexec /quiet /i bellsoft-liberica-vm-openjdk21.0.5+11-23.1.5+1-windows-amd64.msi

Liberica NIK is installed to the C:\Program Files\BellSoft\LibericaNIK-23-OpenJDK-21 directory by default. For scripting purposes, we recommend adding the $NIK_HOME environment variable that points to your Liberica Native Image Kit installation directory.

Installing standalone package on Microsoft Windows

To install Liberica NIK as a standalone package on your computer, download the .zip package file and unpack it to a folder. You can also use Windows PowerShell to download and unpack the zip file as follows:

Invoke-WebRequest "https://download.bell-sw.com/vm/23.1.5/bellsoft-liberica-vm-openjdk21.0.5+11-23.1.5+1-windows-amd64.zip"
Expand-Archive bellsoft-liberica-vm-openjdk21.0.5+11-23.1.5+1-windows-amd64.zip -DestinationPath .

This will unpack Liberica NIK to the current directory. Either add bin subdirectory to PATH, or remember this directory as the $NIK_HOME environment variable.

Installing language packages on Windows

Open the command prompt and type:

"%NIK_HOME%\bin\gu.cmd" available

You’ll see a list of available languages:

Downloading: Component catalog from download.bell-sw.com
ComponentId    Version  Component name      Stability    Origin
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
icu4j          23.1.5   ICU4J               Supported    download.bell-sw.com
js             23.1.5   Graal.js            Supported    download.bell-sw.com
llvm           23.1.5   LLVM Runtime Core   Supported    download.bell-sw.com
llvm-toolchain 23.1.5   LLVM.org toolchain  Supported    download.bell-sw.com
nodejs         23.1.5   Graal.nodejs        Supported    download.bell-sw.com
regex          23.1.5   TRegex              Supported    download.bell-sw.com
wasm           23.1.5   GraalWasm           Experimental download.bell-sw.com

Execute "%NIK_HOME%\bin\gu.cmd" install [language] to install a specific language. For example, "%NIK_HOME%\bin\gu.cmd" install nodejs.

Liberica NIK dependencies on Windows

Microsoft Visual Studio 2017 with Microsoft Visual C++ (MSVC) 15 or later is required for Liberica Native Image Kit.

Start x64 Native Tools Command Prompt to allow native-image and other utilities to find development tools and work from command prompt.

6. Verifying downloaded files

It is a good practice to verify the downloaded installation file by comparing its size on your drive to the size on the Downloads page.

A more advanced approach is to obtain the checksum of the downloaded file in a command-line interface and compare it to the one you can find next to the Liberica NIK link on the Downloads page. Check the OS-specific commands below.

Windows

To get the checksum of the downloaded file in the command-line, run the following command in Windows PowerShell. To run PowerShell, open the Start menu or press the Windows key + R, type powershell in the Run dialog box, and click OK.

(Get-FileHash .\bellsoft-liberica-vm-openjdk21.0.5+11-23.1.5+1-windows-amd64.msi -Algorithm SHA1).Hash

Apple macOS

To get the checksum of the downloaded file, use the following command.

shasum -a 1 bellsoft-liberica-vm-openjdk21.0.5+11-23.1.5+1-macos-amd64.dmg

Linux

To get the checksum of the downloaded file, use the following command. The installation file extension depends on the Linux version.

shasum -a 1 bellsoft-liberica-vm-openjdk21.0.5+11-23.1.5+1-linux-amd64.deb
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