Switch the version of java installed by SDKMAN when moving directories

You can use .sdkmanrc to switch versions of java, scala, etc. installed by SDKMAN when moving directories like direnv. It was added relatively recently, so update SDKMAN to the latest version (5.8.3 at the time of writing) to use it.

Generate .sdkmanrc

Run sdk env init in the directory where you want to specify the version.

$ cd sdkenv-test/
$ sdk env init
.sdkmanrc created.

A .sdkmanrc is generated and looks like this:

$ cat .sdkmanrc
# Enable auto-env through the sdkman_auto_env config
# Add key=value pairs of SDKs to use below
java=8.0.202.j9-adpt

Setting

Specify the version you want to use for the generated .sdkmanrc.

# Enable auto-env through the sdkman_auto_env config
# Add key=value pairs of SDKs to use below
java=13.0.2.j9-adpt

Set to sdkman_auto_env = true in ~ / .sdkman / etc / config. By setting sdkman_auto_env = true, it will switch automatically when you move to a directory like direnv.

Restart the shell.

$ exec $SHELL -l

Execution example

$ cd sdkenv-test/

Using java version 13.0.2.j9-adpt in this shell.

You need to switch manually if sdkman_auto_env = false

If sdkman_auto_env = false is set, it will not switch automatically even if you move to the directory containing .sdkmanrc. You have to run sdk env to switch.

$ cd sdkenv-test/
$ java --version
openjdk 14.0.1 2020-04-14
OpenJDK Runtime Environment AdoptOpenJDK (build 14.0.1+7)
Eclipse OpenJ9 VM AdoptOpenJDK (build openj9-0.20.0, JRE 14 Linux amd64-64-Bit Compressed References 20200416_44 (JIT enabled, AOT enabled)
OpenJ9   - 05fa2d361
OMR      - d4365f371
JCL      - 5757187cae based on jdk-14.0.1+7)
$ sdk env

Using java version 13.0.2.j9-adpt in this shell.