Java Version Manager (JVM)

A lightweight, high-performance, color-coded Windows command-line utility designed to dynamically discover, download, and switch Java Development Kits (JDKs) and the entire JVM Ecosystem (Maven, Gradle, Kotlin, Scala, Groovy) with native SDKMAN! parity.

📥 Installation

Open Windows PowerShell (no Administrator privileges required) and paste the following one-liner:

Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DiamTek/Java-Version-Manager-Windows/main/install.ps1" -OutFile "$env:TEMP\install.ps1"; & "$env:TEMP\install.ps1"

This instantly downloads the core engine, provisions %LOCALAPPDATA%\DiamTek\JVM, registers the Windows uninstaller, and updates your PowerShell Profile so the jvm command is available everywhere.

Or via your favorite Package Manager:

winget install DiamTek.JVM
scoop install jvm
choco install jvm-windows

Or grab the standalone jvm-windows-1.0.0.msi installer from Releases.

🗑️ Uninstallation

Easily remove JVM and all associated configurations:

• Windows Settings: Open Installed apps -> DiamTek Java Version Manager -> Uninstall.
• Start Menu: Search "Uninstall Java Version Manager" and hit Enter.
• Terminal: Run jvm self-uninstall or select Option 4 in the Settings menu.

🚀 Features

• Zero Dependencies (100% Native Windows): Unlike SDKMAN or similar Unix-ports that require heavy POSIX subsystems (WSL, MSYS2, Git Bash, curl, zip), this utility is built entirely on native Windows APIs. It leverages pure Batch and embedded .NET Framework endpoints for networking, zip extraction, and SHA256 cryptography to run instantly out-of-the-box on any Windows 10/11 machine.
• Windows Terminal & Modern Shell Integration: Automatically registers a native "Java Version Manager" profile in Windows Terminal with custom high-resolution branding (icon.png), seamless + new tab dropdown access, and auto-closing tab lifecycles (closeOnExit: always). Generates Start Menu application shortcuts and automatically synchronizes existing pinned taskbar shortcuts.
• Full JVM Ecosystem Support (SDKMAN Parity): Move beyond just Java! This tool features a powerful, UAC-free Universal Candidate Engine that natively resolves, downloads, and symlinks modern JVM build tools. Install and switch between Maven, Gradle, Kotlin, Scala, and Groovy instantly (jvm install maven latest, jvm gradle 8.5) — all without adding any heavy dependencies.
• Dynamic Vendor Architecture: Menus are dynamically grouped and filtered by vendor (Oracle, Adoptium, GraalVM, Corretto, Zulu, Microsoft) to keep your workspace clean and organized.
• Intelligent Background Sorting: Features a built-in, stable bubble-sort algorithm that organizes all discovered JDKs by their major version in descending order, ensuring your newest installations are always at the top of the list.
• Semantic Target Routing: Speak to the tool in human terms. Automatically jump to or install the latest available JDK using targets like jvm latest or jvm lts. The engine queries the Adoptium API at runtime to dynamically resolve the true latest feature release and LTS version numbers, so you never have to hardcode them.
• ARM64 / AArch64 Auto-Detection: Automatically detects your CPU architecture at startup (x64 vs ARM64) and routes all vendor API queries to the correct architecture-specific download endpoint. Zero configuration needed — it just works on both Intel/AMD and ARM Windows machines.
• Dual-Architecture Core (UAC-Free vs Registry): Toggle seamlessly between lightning-fast Symlink Mode (bypasses UAC completely using a Directory Junction at %LOCALAPPDATA%\DiamTek\JVM\current) and legacy Registry Mode (auto-elevating background scripts to update system HKLM environment variables) based on your system compatibility needs.
• Accurate Windows 11 Installed Apps Footprint: Calculates dynamic recursive file size across your installation and candidate stores, enforcing a 1,024 KB minimum floor so Windows 11 Settings displays your true storage footprint.
• Directory-based Auto-Switching (.java-version & .sdkmanrc): Instantly configure a project's required environment by simply running jvm inside any directory containing a .java-version or SDKMAN .sdkmanrc file. The tool parses the file and seamlessly swaps your environment in the background with True Session Isolation (doesn't pollute your global Windows Registry).
  • .java-version is strictly for JDKs, but our engine is incredibly advanced: it natively supports parsing full CLI flags directly from the file (e.g., 21 --vendor adoptium --legacy), allowing you to lock specific vendors or architecture modes on a strict per-project basis.
  • .sdkmanrc natively supports the entire JVM Ecosystem! If you're collaborating with SDKMAN users on macOS/Linux, JVM will happily hijack their .sdkmanrc files on Windows, mapping their JDK vendor strings (-tem, -amzn, etc.) directly to your native JDKs, and automatically isolating and activating the project's exact required versions of Maven, Gradle, Kotlin, Scala, and Groovy for that specific terminal session.
• Interactive Ecosystem Auto-Updater: Engineered with a dynamic, vendor-sorted Updater menu that displays your active versions across JDKs and Ecosystem tools, queries GitHub/Apache APIs to resolve the absolute latest stable releases in real-time, and seamlessly prompts to upgrade any out-of-date binaries.
• Global Command & Shell Hooks: Features a built-in Settings menu that dynamically injects the jvm command into your system PATH, and can optionally install a native PowerShell Profile Hook to enable true, isolated --session support across multiple terminal tabs.
• Advanced CLI Quick-Switching: Supports intelligent argument parsing to bypass the UI entirely. If multiple vendors are installed for the same JDK version, it safely pauses to ask you which vendor you want to switch to, which can be bypassed on the fly with the --vendor flag.
• Multi-Vendor API Auto-Downloader: Connects directly to official vendor APIs (Oracle, GitHub for GraalVM, Adoptium v3, Azul, etc.) via a transparent, isolated PowerShell instance to dynamically resolve, download, and extract modern JDK versions.
• Enterprise-Grade Security: Enforces strict SHA256 checksum verification across all remote download pathways using native .NET Cryptography APIs. Validates payload integrity against official vendor signature mirrors before extraction, protecting against MITM attacks or corrupted binaries.
• Inline Multi-Vendor Update Checker: Dynamically generates and executes a self-contained PowerShell update script at runtime to query all six vendor APIs (Oracle, Adoptium, GraalVM, Corretto, Zulu, Microsoft) for newer builds. Compares SEMANTIC_VERSION and JAVA_VERSION strings from the local release file against live API responses, with automatic -LTS suffix normalization for Adoptium. Oracle uses a legacy HEAD-request date comparison against download.oracle.com for maximum reliability.
• Offline-Aware Error Handling: All network operations (downloads, update checks, API queries) are wrapped in structured error boundaries. If you are offline or an API is unreachable, the tool displays a clean [ ERROR ] Network connection failed. You appear to be offline. message with a [ DETAIL ] trace instead of crashing with raw exception dumps.
• Dynamic Environment Switching: Atomically updates JAVA_HOME and your user/system PATH globally while cleanly updating the environment variables of your active terminal session without spawning double paths.
• The "Phantom Path" Killer: Unlike other version managers that passively append to your PATH (which Windows often ignores if a hardcoded shortcut exists), JVM actively hunts down and scrubs rogue, hardcoded Oracle shortcuts (e.g., Common Files\Oracle\Java\javapath) that MSIs forcefully inject into the front of your PATH, ensuring your selected JAVA_HOME is always respected.
• Bring Your Own JDK (BYO-JDK): Have a custom JDK build or a GraalVM native-image compiler installed manually? Use jvm link <path> [name] to register it, and it will instantly integrate into the dynamic UI and CLI routing alongside your auto-downloaded JDKs.
• Instant Menu Navigation: Uses a smart NEEDS_RESCAN caching architecture to guarantee zero-latency navigation when moving back and forth between interactive submenus.
• Built-in Self-Updater with Integrity Verification: Run jvm version (or -v) to trigger the intelligent semantic versioning engine. If an update is available, jvm self-update dynamically bypasses CDN edge cache, chains execution to an external handoff runner (%TEMP%\jvm_updater_*.bat) to eliminate cmd.exe file-offset shifting, renders an interactive ANSI progress bar across all installation phases, validates a rem END OF SCRIPT integrity sentinel, and atomically hot-swaps the core script.
• Native Code Page Preservation: Built for professional environments. The tool temporarily leverages code page 65001 to perfectly render extended UTF-8 ANSI graphics and UI elements, but strictly records and restores your host's original code page upon exit, guaranteeing your terminal's character rendering is never permanently altered by a session.
• Headless CI/CD Automation: Every command is engineered with zero-prompt bypass flags. Run complex installations like jvm install lts --latest --vendor oracle or jvm uninstall 21 --vendor adoptium to bypass all interactive menus for frictionless integration into CI/CD pipelines, DevOps scripts, or automated machine provisioning workflows.

🏗️ Dual-Architecture Core (Symlink vs Legacy)

Windows Directory Junctions (Symlinks) provide a massive speed and workflow improvement because they allow the script to instantly swap your Java version without ever needing Administrator privileges (UAC). By routing your User PATH to a single junction (%LOCALAPPDATA%\DiamTek\JVM\current), 99% of modern tools (Gradle, Maven, IDEs) can natively resolve the path entirely in the background.

However, some ultra-legacy enterprise Java applications or obscure classloaders perform strict canonical path resolution that can occasionally fail to traverse Windows Directory Junctions. To ensure 100% unbreakable compatibility for all workflows, we built a Dual-Architecture Core.

By navigating to the Settings menu, users can freely toggle between the two modes:

Mode	Mechanism	Privileges Required	Legacy App Compatibility
Symlink Mode (Default)	Dynamically updates a junction pointer in your User PATH.	Standard User (UAC-Free)	Extremely High (99%)
Registry Mode (Legacy)	Hardcodes absolute paths directly into the Machine HKLM Registry.	Administrator (Prompts UAC)	100% Unbreakable

Warning

Architecture Conflicts: Windows evaluates Machine (HKLM) paths before User (HKCU) paths. If you use Registry Mode (which writes to the Machine level) and later switch back to Symlink Mode (which writes to the User level), the old Machine path would normally stubbornly override your new Symlink! To prevent this, toggling back to Symlink Mode inside the Settings Menu will now automatically scrub the legacy Machine pollution for you. (Note: If you manually bypass the menu using --legacy and --symlink CLI flags and experience an override, simply run jvm clear to wipe the slate).

You can even override your global setting dynamically on a per-command basis using the --symlink or --legacy CLI flags (e.g., jvm 21 --legacy).

⚡ Extreme Performance & Safety

Despite being nearly 100 KB in size, the jvm.bat engine is mathematically optimized to bypass the notorious bottlenecks and memory leaks of standard Windows Batch scripts:

• Zero Label-Scanning Latency: Standard scripts suffer severe performance penalties when using call :label for high-frequency loops (because cmd.exe searches the file linearly from top to bottom). Our heaviest logic, such as the multi-vendor Semantic Bubble Sort algorithm, is written as a strictly in-memory inline array swapper, ensuring instantaneous sorting regardless of file size.
• Leak-Proof SETLOCAL Boundaries: We completely sidestepped the dreaded Maximum setlocal recursion level reached crash. Every single utility function explicitly pops its scope boundary back to the system using terminal exit /b unwinds, guaranteeing zero memory leaks across thousands of loop iterations.
• Bulletproof Escape Boundaries: We utilize hexadecimal parsing and dedicated PowerShell payloads ($null) to ensure that cmd.exe never accidentally swallows caret characters (^), exclamation marks (!), or spaces when resolving UAC-elevated registry wrappers in the background.
• Quote-Safe PATH Export: All for /f loops that transfer variables across setlocal/endlocal boundaries use a double-quote encapsulation strategy (""!VAR!"" with %%~A stripping) to guarantee safe handling of PATH strings containing embedded double-quotes — a common Windows scenario that normally causes cmd.exe to misinterpret path segments as filenames.

📋 Prerequisites

Requirement	Specification	Notes
OS	Windows 10 or Windows 11	Full support for x64 and native ARM64 detection.
Privileges	Standard User	UAC is bypassed by default via the Symlink Architecture. Admin is only required for legacy Registry Mode.
Dependencies	None	Runs purely on native CMD and PowerShell. No WSL, Cygwin, or MSYS2 required.

📚 Documentation

For deep technical details, CI/CD automation, and advanced usage, refer to the official documentation:

Document	Description
Usage Guide	Semantic routing, .java-version isolation, BYO-JDK, and Ecosystem commands.
Architecture	Technical deep-dive into Directory Junctions and PowerShell Native execution.
SDKMAN! Comparison	Why this is the premier native alternative to SDKMAN! for Windows.
FAQ	Common questions about UAC, global routing, and Windows Registry bridging.
Changelog	Detailed chronological release history and bug fixes.

🛠️ Usage

1. Launch jvm.bat to open the interactive menu, or run it from any terminal.
2. Navigate to Settings (Global Command & Setup) to install the jvm global command.
3. Once installed globally, you can use the following commands from anywhere:

⚡ Quick-Switching (CLI)

Instantly update your JAVA_HOME and system PATH without opening menus. If there are duplicates, you will be prompted to pick a vendor.

Command	Action / Description
jvm 21	Switch to JDK 21 globally.
jvm 21 --session	Switch locally for the current terminal only (requires PowerShell Profile hook).
jvm 21 --symlink	Force switch using Symlink Mode (UAC-Free) for this command.
jvm 21 --legacy	Force switch using Registry Mode (Requests UAC) for this command.
jvm 21 --vendor adoptium	Override priority and explicitly switch to Adoptium's JDK 21.
jvm latest	Dynamically switch to the absolute highest installed JDK version.
jvm lts	Dynamically switch to the highest installed LTS version.
jvm	Silently parses .java-version and auto-switches locally (or opens UI if missing).
jvm --global	Parses .java-version and forces the switch globally to your registry.

Note on .java-version: Your file can contain inline CLI flags (e.g., 21 --vendor adoptium --legacy). Make sure the version and flags are on a single line. Architecture flags (--legacy) only apply when using jvm --global.

📥 Installations

Command	Action / Description
jvm install	Opens the fully interactive Installation Wizard UI.
jvm install 21	Initiates the installation of JDK 21 (pauses to prompt for Vendor).
jvm install 21 --vendor oracle	Bypasses all prompts to silently download and install Oracle JDK 21.
jvm install lts	Prompts you to pick an LTS version (e.g., 17, 21), then prompts for Vendor.
jvm install lts --latest	Locks onto the highest available LTS, but still pauses for Vendor prompt.
jvm install lts --latest --vendor oracle	100% automated headless installation of the newest Oracle LTS version.
jvm install 17 --vendor oracle -y	Aggressively bypasses all safety warnings (caps, overwrites) for CI/CD automation.

📦 Ecosystem Build Tools (SDKMAN Parity)

JVM supports downloading, switching, and managing tools natively alongside Java. You can manage these via the command line or through the interactive Ecosystem Management sub-menu (Option 2 in the main UI).

Command	Action / Description
jvm install maven latest	Installs the absolute newest version of Maven directly from Apache.
jvm install gradle 8.9	Installs a specific version of Gradle.
jvm kotlin 2.0.20	Instantly switches your active KOTLIN_HOME (and PATH) to the specified version.
jvm list	Lists Ecosystem tools and their currently [ACTIVE] versions at the bottom.
jvm uninstall groovy 4.0.23	Safely uninstalls the tool and cleanly scrubs its environment variables.

🔄 Updates & Uninstalls

Command	Action / Description
jvm update	Opens the dynamic, vendor-sorted Updater menu UI.
jvm update --all	Silently patches all installed JDKs and Ecosystem Tools to their newest releases.
jvm update --all --vendor oracle	Silently checks and automatically patches only your Oracle JDKs.
jvm uninstall	Opens the dynamic, vendor-sorted Uninstaller menu UI.
jvm uninstall 21	Headless uninstallation for JDK 21. Pauses if multiple vendors exist.
jvm uninstall 21 --vendor oracle	100% headless uninstallation targeting Oracle (bypasses all prompts).

🧹 Global Environment Management

Command	Action / Description
jvm list	Lists all installed JDKs (version, vendor, path), highlighting the [ACTIVE] one.
jvm env	Displays the current JAVA_HOME environment variable path.
jvm clear	Instantly wipes JAVA_HOME and purges Java from your PATH.
jvm link <path> [name]	Manually links a custom JDK directory (e.g., jvm link C:\my-jdk jdk-custom).
jvm unlink <name>	Removes a custom linked JDK.
jvm version	Checks your current jvm.bat build number against GitHub for updates.
jvm self-update	Automatically downloads and atomic-swaps the core script if an update exists.
jvm self-uninstall	Launches the deep uninstaller with UAC elevation (full system wipe).
jvm help / --help / /?	Displays the complete CLI command reference and flag overrides.
jvm <semantic-alias>	Routes dynamically (e.g., jvm latest, jvm lts, jvm 21).

🎨 Interface Guide

The utility uses native ANSI terminal color formatting to protect system stability:

• 🔹 Cyan [ ACTION ] / [ INFO ] — Indicates system operations, network lookups, and diagnostic information. Version numbers are highlighted in cyan for rapid scanning.
• 🔸 Yellow [ WARNING ] / [ UPDATE ] — Points out non-critical issues, available patches, or destructive prompts.
• 🔺 Red [ ERROR ] — Warns of network failures, blocked file permissions, or locked folders.
• 🔹 Green [ACTIVE] / [ OK ] — Highlights the JDK entry currently actively powering your terminal environment, or signifies a successful operation.
• ◽ Gray — Mutes absolute file paths to reduce terminal clutter.

🛡️ Safety Defaults

To prevent catastrophic accidental deletions on local filesystems, all critical prompts obey standard developer conventions:

• The uninstaller and update prompts use a strict (y/N) validation.
• Pressing Enter or typing anything other than an explicit Y/y acts as an immediate safe abort.
• Custom loops trap premature Ctrl+C commands gracefully, and auto-close countdowns can be interrupted with any keystroke.

📜 Version History

• v1.0.0 (Latest): Official General Availability release. Added complete package manager distribution (Scoop, Chocolatey, Winget, and WiX v4 MSI installer). Introduced deep UAC uninstaller engine (uninstall.ps1), native Windows Settings "Installed apps" integration, Start Menu uninstaller shortcuts, interactive Settings menu uninstaller, and jvm self-uninstall CLI command. Migrated the entire storage architecture from the user profile to %LOCALAPPDATA%\DiamTek\JVM for enterprise-grade path compliance. Introduced a bulletproof one-liner installation script (install.ps1) for frictionless setup and automatic code sanitization. Overhauled the Self-Updater to utilize the Universal Candidate Downloader engine, granting it native ANSI progress bars. Fixed critical Windows cmd.exe UTF-8 BOM interpretation bugs and UNIX (LF) line-ending crashes (the cho bug) by enforcing explicit CRLF encoding during downloads. Added native terminal code page preservation and restoration to seamlessly handle UTF-8 rendering without corrupting the user's host environment. Hardened the Global Command installer, resolved subshell variable slicing errors, and patched multiple path-parsing faults and update-checker hangs for maximum stability. Massive architecture overhaul: migrated core architecture to use Directory Junctions (%LOCALAPPDATA%\DiamTek\JVM\current), enabling 100% UAC-free, instantaneous version switching that dynamically syncs across all open terminal windows. Built a Dual-Architecture engine, allowing users to seamlessly toggle between the new Symlink Mode and the legacy Registry Mode directly from the Settings Menu. Re-engineered legacy Registry Mode to utilize background PowerShell wrappers, fixing a major historical bug where switching versions would fail silently for non-Admin users. Introduced dynamic Vendor grouping (Oracle, Adoptium, GraalVM, Corretto, Zulu, Microsoft) across all menus. Built an optimized, strictly in-memory Bubble Sort algorithm to organize JDKs by newest version. Added .java-version and .sdkmanrc directory-based auto-switching (defaults to session-mode isolation) with an explicit --global CLI override flag, support for passing full CLI flags directly inside .java-version, and a native .sdkmanrc parser to dynamically hijack cross-platform SDKMAN workflows with True Session Isolation across all ecosystem tools. Built a Universal Candidate Engine to natively support the JVM Ecosystem (Maven, Gradle, Kotlin, Scala, Groovy), downloading, extracting, and symlinking binaries with inline progress bars and dynamic SHA256/SHA512 validation (with automatic SHA1 fallback for older Maven legacy endpoints). Consolidated the Main Menu into two unified "JDK Management" and "Ecosystem Management" sub-hubs, each mirroring the same "Switch Active" / "Version Management" architecture. Engineered an interactive Ecosystem Auto-Updater with a vendor-selection menu that displays active versions, lets the user check individual tools or all at once, resolves the absolute latest releases from GitHub/Apache APIs, and seamlessly prompts to upgrade out-of-date binaries. Replaced duplicated code in UpdateJDKs and UninstallJDK with a shared generic vendor menu builder for massive code reduction. Enforced consistent, unified UI layouts (--- Manage by Vendor/Tool --- and --- Actions ---) across all JDK and Ecosystem menus. Fixed the notorious Windows setx 1024-character PATH truncation bug by completely replacing all environment variable updates with infinite-length .NET API calls. Implemented enterprise-grade SHA256 checksum verification for all JDK downloads using native .NET Cryptography APIs to protect against corrupted payloads. Added semantic CLI routing (jvm latest, jvm lts) and flag overrides (--symlink, --legacy, --vendor, --latest, -y). Added ARM64/AArch64 hardware auto-detection, routing all vendor API queries to architecture-specific download endpoints. Built a dynamic FetchLatestVersions resolver that queries the Adoptium API at runtime to resolve the true latest feature release and LTS version numbers, eliminating hardcoded version constants. Re-engineered the UpdateChecker as a fully self-contained inline PowerShell script generated at runtime for all six vendors, removing all external .ps1 file dependencies. Added structured offline-aware error handling across all network operations with clean [ ERROR ] / [ DETAIL ] output instead of raw exception dumps. Eliminated hardcoded UI prioritization in favor of interactive vendor-selection prompts. Restored native extraction progress bars (with a forced final 100% frame to fix a rounding edge case) and stabilized interactive installer UI layout. Improved navigation speed via a smart caching NEEDS_RESCAN architecture. Fixed cross-architecture registry conflicts between User and Machine environment variables. Fixed UAC elevation deadlocks, delayed expansion engine parsing bugs affecting the --global flag and exclamation marks, character-encoding path bugs for user profiles, and critical bugs that corrupted paths containing exclamation marks (!). Fixed Oracle update checks crashing with '$' is not recognized by switching the PowerShell payload to pipe-safe string concatenation. Replaced deprecated wmic environment queries with direct reg query calls for forward compatibility with Windows 11. Hardened all for /f variable export loops with double-quote encapsulation to prevent cmd.exe from misinterpreting PATH strings containing embedded quotes as file lists. Added conditional rmdir guard to prevent extracted files from being destroyed on move failure. Added a rem END OF SCRIPT sentinel integrity check to the self-updater to reject truncated or corrupted downloads. Aligned all UI tags to a strict 10-character padded format. Built a seamless semantic self-updater engine (jvm version, jvm self-update) that securely compares build numbers using the native .NET [version] class before automatically downloading and atomic-swapping the core script. Patched a variable state-leak during cross-menu navigation and stabilized the back-navigation structural loop across all interactive UI hubs.
• v0.5.0: Introduced CLI Quick-Switching (jvm <version>) for silent background execution. Added Global Command Installer (Settings menu). Overhauled UI with strict ANSI color hierarchy, path muting, and interruptible auto-close countdowns. Hardened UAC elevation and menu scanning against Windows PATH corruption bugs.
• v0.4.0: Re-engineered dynamic auto-scanner supporting developer toolkits (Scoop, Gradle, IntelliJ), fast release-file parsing, and a massive architectural UI overhaul for robust sub-menu navigation.
• v0.3.0: Relicensed the project to the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 (AGPL-3.0).
• v0.2.0: Added intelligent update checker (via HTTP HEAD requests), "Update All" bulk-patching, and automated directory hot-swapping.
• v0.1.1: Patched PATH variable corruption bugs and improved delayed-expansion safety protocols during active session switching.
• v0.1.0: Initial Release.

📄 License

Copyright (c) 2026 DiamTek / Alexéy Shishkin.

This project is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 (AGPL-3.0). See the LICENSE file for details.

Note: Oracle JDK downloads triggered by this tool are subject to the Oracle No-Fee Terms and Conditions (NFTC).