How to Fix Javac Is Not Recognized as an Internal or External Command, Operable Program or Batch File

1. Javac in Java
2. 'javac' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file
3. Causes of 'javac' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file
4. Solution to 'javac' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file

This article shows the possible causes of Java’s 'javac' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file and the possible solutions to this error. To start, let’s look at what javac is.

Javac in Java

Javac is the primary Java compiler included in the JDK (Java Development Kit) that Oracle Corporation developed. The name javac is pronounced as java-see.

The source code must comply with the JLs (Java Language standards) for the compiler to accept. The compiler then transforms the source code into Java bytecode compatible with the JVMs (Java Virtual Machine Specification).

Environment Variables

A key-value pair such as windir=C:WINDOWS is an environment variable. Most of them were packaged together with the operating system, and some are necessary for the device to operate in its intended manner.

When any program including cmd is started, a list of them is supplied to it as an argument. Windows provides users with two environment variable options.

1. User environment variables
2. System environment variables

'javac' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file

This standard error occurs in the Windows command line when you type a command not present in the System PATH. In this case, the error occurs because the javac command, which is used to compile Java source files and create class files, is not present in the PATH.

The best approach to check this is to use the following command.

echo % PATH %

You have access to the included bin directory when you can locate your JDK installation folder or JAVA HOME in the PATH environment variable. This directory contains all java binaries, such as javac and java commands, which are required to compile and run Java programs.

If that’s the case, you must add the JDK folder’s bin folder to your PATH. It may be that your PATH doesn’t contain the JDK or bin directory.

Causes of 'javac' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file

This error occurs when the Command Prompt cannot locate the Java PATH variable in its current working environment. The following are some of the possible reasons for this.

1. JDK (Java Development Kit) is not on the system. This generally occurs due to the user’s false assumption that the Java Compiler (javac) is installed together with the JRE (Java Runtime Environment).

2. It appears that the path to javac has not been specified or that it has been set incorrectly. The system must be aware of the location of javac to compile code using the Command Prompt and to ensure that other application server utilities operate as expected.

   In this scenario, you will have to set the location manually.

3. Setting PATH with an incorrect directory is another potential error cause. For example, the path might be missing a forward slash or contain something else entirely.

Solution to 'javac' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file

Let’s solve this issue so that the Java program can be compiled and launched from the command line.

1. To bring up the command prompt on Windows, click the Start button, select the Run window, type sysdm.cpl and click on OK to open System Properties.
2. Navigate to the Advanced tab of the System Properties window, and then click on the Environment Variables.
3. Click the New button under the System variable heading in the Environment Variables window that has just popped up.
4. In the New System Variable window, give the variable JAVA_HOME as its name and specify the path to the directory that contains your JDK software as its value. Simply clicking the OK button will save the changes.
5. Once we’ve navigated back to the Environment Variables window, search for a variable named path located under the System variables heading. Click the Edit button while selecting the Path variable.
6. To create a new environment variable, use the New button in the Edit window for the variable.
7. After creating the new environment variable, give it the name %JAVA_HOME%\bin and press the Enter key. After that, click on the OK.
8. The Java environment will be configured after this step. Applications will be able to be compiled from the command prompt.

Ensure the Java environment variable path is configured and ready to use. Checking to determine if your configuration is correctly functioning can be done by following the steps below.

1. To open the command prompt on Windows, click the Start button, select the Run window, type cmd, and click on OK.
2. In the window, type echo %JAVA_HOME% and then press Enter to find out which result you receive. If there is a print with the directory to the JDK, you may rest assured that JAVAC is running correctly.