How to Install Apache Maven on Ubuntu Linux

How to install Apache Maven with apt on Ubuntu Linux

As mentioned above, Apache Maven is available in Ubuntu’s default repositories. Let’s start with the APT package manager, which is usually the quickest way. To install a stable version of Ubuntu Linux, run the commands below.

This command installs OpenJDK (a free, open-source implementation of the Java Platform) alongside the stable version of Maven.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install maven

The commands above update your Ubuntu package index and install Apache Maven, along with all dependencies like OpenJDK. This is the fastest way if you don’t need the absolute latest version of Apache Maven.

To verify the installed version, run the commands below.

mvn --version

You should see something similar to the content below:

Apache Maven 3.5.2
Maven home: /usr/share/maven
Java version: 10.0.2, vendor: Oracle Corporation
Java home: /usr/lib/jvm/java-11-openjdk-amd64
Default locale: en_US, platform encoding: UTF-8
OS name: "linux", version: "4.15.0-36-generic", arch: "amd64", family: "unix"

How to download and install Maven on Ubuntu Linux

If you want to download the latest or a particular version, you’ll need to download Maven and install it yourself. You’ll first need to install OpenJDK, then install and configure Apache Maven to use it.

Run the commands below to install OpenJDK on Ubuntu Linux. This will install the current stable version of OpenJDK for Ubuntu Linux.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install default-jdk

After installing OpenJDK, continue below to get Maven installed and configured.

When writing this post, the latest version of Apache Maven is 3.8.3. Head over to the Maven download page to see if there’s a newer version available for you. If there are, select those and download them instead.

Run the commands below to download version 3.8.3.

cd /tmp
wget https://dlcdn.apache.org/maven/maven-3/3.8.3/binaries/apache-maven-3.8.3-bin.tar.gz

Next, run the commands below to extract the downloaded package to the /opt directory.

sudo tar xf /tmp/apache-maven-*.tar.gz -C /opt

You can create a symbolic link to the version folder. This is handy if you ever need to manage multiple versions and update them as new ones come out. Run the commands below to link version 3.8.3 to the Maven home folder in /opt/Maven.

sudo ln -s /opt/apache-maven-3.8.3 /opt/maven

When the next version is released, update the symbolic link to point to the new release folder. You can do this by running the command again and changing the release number in the folder name.

Setup Maven Environment Variables

After downloading and extracting the Maven package, go and set up its environment variables. To do that, run the commands below:

sudo nano /etc/profile.d/maven.sh

Then copy and paste the lines below and save them into the file.

export JAVA_HOME=/usr/lib/jvm/default-java
export M2_HOME=/opt/maven
export MAVEN_HOME=/opt/maven
export PATH=${M2_HOME}/bin:${PATH}

Finally, run the commands below to update and load the changes.

sudo chmod +x /etc/profile.d/maven.sh
source /etc/profile.d/maven.sh

That should do it! Now run the commands below to check the version number.

mvn --version

You should see the content below.

Apache Maven 3.8.3 (ff8e977a158738155dc465c6a97ffaf31982d739)
Maven home: /opt/maven
Java version: 11.0.11, vendor: Ubuntu, runtime: /usr/lib/jvm/java-11-openjdk-amd64
Default locale: en_US, platform encoding: UTF-8
OS name: "linux", version: "5.11.0-37-generic", arch: "amd64", family: "unix"

To wrap up,

• Apache Maven is a powerful tool for managing software projects.
• 💿 Installing Maven on Ubuntu is straightforward, with options to use package managers or manual installation.
• Using the apt package manager ensures a quick setup with stable versions.
• Manually ⬇️ downloading and configuring Maven is recommended for the latest features and capabilities.
• Setting up environment variables is essential for proper Maven functionality.
• Regularly 🔃 check for updates to stay on the latest version of Maven, enhancing your project management experience.