How to Set Environment Variable to Control java.io.tmpdir

1. Set the Temporary Directory in Java
2. Retrieve the Default Value of the java.io.tmpdir

This article will cover the environment variable named java.io.tmpdir that can be used to regulate Java’s temporary file directory.

The Java Virtual Machine (JVM) can produce temporary files and store them in the directory specified by the java.io.tmpdir system parameter. This directory will be used to create temporary files.

Typically, /tmp is what is set as the default setting.

The C:WINNTTEMP is generally used as the value for the java.io.tmpdir property on Microsoft Windows systems.

Set the Temporary Directory in Java

Setting the system property with java.io.tmpdir is the method suggested for determining the location of the temporary directory. You can do this, for example, by supplying the following command.

java - Djava.io.tmpdir = / shaniitempdir

On Windows-based systems, this value should, by default, be derived from the TMP environment variable. It is also possible to modify the property inside a program by using the below command to make the changes.

System.setProperty("java.io.tmpdir", "/shaniitempdir");

At startup, the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) will initialize the java.io.tmpdir property to a value that is particular to the platform if you do not specify it explicitly. A method from the Win32 API must be used to acquire the default value for Windows.

Retrieve the Default Value of the java.io.tmpdir

You can retrieve the system’s default temporary directory using the Java property shown below.

Firstly, you will need to create a string variable and set the temporary directory of the system to it using the System.getProperty() function, as shown in the following example.

String tempdirectory = System.getProperty("java.io.tmpdir");

You can print the directory at this stage using the line of code below.

System.out.println(" Default value of java.io.tmpdir : \"" + tempdirectory + "\"\n");