Installing the Java Development Kit: Windows Guide Click here for instructions for Mac 1. Verify That You Have Java First, check if you have the Java Developer Kit, version 7 or greater already installed. To check if you have JDK installed (and which version), open a terminal window and type: java -version and hit enter. The example below shows Java version 8.0_05 -- the version number comes after the “1.” terminal If you have Java 7 or greater, you computer is set up! If the JDK is not available, or the version is lower than 7, go on to Step 2 below. 2. Download the Java Development Kit Download the Java Development Kit, aka, the JDK, from this page. Oracle, the company that maintains Java, has a lot of options and acronyms. We're looking for the plain old JDK. This is the kit you need to start developing your apps with Java. As of May 2015, the download icon for the JDK looked like this: JDK link After you click the download link, you'll see a list of options...