How to install Eclipse?

Question

I want to install the latest version of Eclipse but the Ubuntu Software Centre contains an older version.

Is there a PPA or some other way to install latest Eclipse? Please describe the steps for full installation.

Answer 1

If you've downloaded Eclipse from their official website, follow these steps for the installation.

1. Extract the eclipse.XX.YY.tar.gz using

   tar -zxvf eclipse.XX.YY.tar.gz
   

2. Become root and Copy the extracted folder to /opt

   sudo mv eclipse.XX.YY /opt
   

3. Create a desktop file and install it:

   gedit eclipse.desktop
   

   and copy the following to the eclipse.desktop file

   [Desktop Entry]
   Name=Eclipse 
   Type=Application
   Exec=env UBUNTU_MENUPROXY=0 eclipse44
   Terminal=false
   Icon=eclipse
   Comment=Integrated Development Environment
   NoDisplay=false
   Categories=Development;IDE;
   Name[en]=Eclipse
   

   and make sure that it has executable permission, then execute the following command to automatically install it in the unity:

   sudo desktop-file-install eclipse.desktop
   

4. Create a symlink in /usr/local/bin using

   sudo ln -s /opt/eclipse/eclipse /usr/local/bin/eclipse44
   

5. For eclipse icon to be displayed in dash, eclipse icon can be added as

   sudo cp /opt/eclipse/icon.xpm /usr/share/pixmaps/eclipse.xpm
   

6. Don't forget that you need to have either OpenJDK or Sun Java installed to be able to run eclipse. Check this question for more information about Java installation. Here is a simple example of installing Open JDK 1.6:

   sudo apt-get install openjdk-6-jdk
   

7. Launch Eclipse and then give it the required permissions to modify the osgi file:

   sudo chown -R $USER:$USER /opt/eclipse/configuration/org.eclipse.osgi
   

   NB! You must launch Eclipse first, because the org.eclipse.osgi directory is created only after the first launch.

That's it.

Answer 2

The preferred method: Software Center

1. In Ubuntu software center select Eclipse. I installed the Extensible Tool Platform and Java IDE as well, but installing that is optional.

   

2. Enter your password in the authentication dialog. This will get you 3.7.1 inside of a package management system.

The least preferred method: Portable

For a portable installation you can still download directly from the Eclipse website. This gives you the ability to customize several Eclipse installations for different languages CDT, Java, and PyDev or Aptana for instance. It doesn't allow automatic updates. Installing through Software Center is always the preferred method.

I tested the portable 3.7.1 and 3.7.2 tar balls and they work just fine on 12.04 LTS.

An added disadvantage to portable installs is that you have to update your launcher if you move the folder or launch it directly.

Answer 3

How to install Eclipse 4.2 on Ubuntu 12.04

Since the Eclipse packages in the Ubuntu repositories are out of date, if we want to install latest releases, we are going to have to do it manually. You can just download the tar.gz file from eclipse.org.

1. Download Eclipse. I got eclipse-jee-juno-SR1-linux-gtk.tar.gz

2. Extract it by executing a command line

   tar -xzf eclipse-jee-juno-SR1-linux-gtk.tar.gz
   

   Or with Archive Manager extraction.

3. Move extracted eclipse folder to /opt/ folder

   mv eclipse /opt/
   sudo chown -R root:root /opt/eclipse
   sudo chmod -R +r /opt/eclipse
   

4. Create an eclipse executable in your user path

   sudo touch /usr/bin/eclipse
   sudo chmod 755 /usr/bin/eclipse
   

   Create a file named eclipse in /usr/bin/ with your preferred editor (nano, gedit, vi...)

   Copy this into it

   #!/bin/sh    
   export ECLIPSE_HOME="/opt/eclipse"
   $ECLIPSE_HOME/eclipse $*
   

   And save the file

5. Create a Gnome menu item

   Create a file named eclipse.desktop in /usr/share/applications/ with your preferred editor (nano, gedit, vi...)

   Copy this into it

   [Desktop Entry]
   Encoding=UTF-8
   Name=Eclipse
   Comment=Eclipse IDE
   Exec=eclipse
   Icon=/opt/eclipse/icon.xpm
   Terminal=false
   Type=Application
   Categories=GNOME;Application;Development;
   StartupNotify=true
   

   And save the file

6. Launch Eclipse

   /opt/eclipse/eclipse -clean &

7. Now you can Lock Eclipse to the launcher bar by clicking right button on Lock to Laucher

Answer 4

I recommend you to download directly from the eclipse website. the installation process very easy, just extract the files tar.gz, to remove it is also quite easy, simply by deleting the eclipse folder :D

Answer 5

From your desktop, Click on the Ubuntu Software Center

Once it opens do a search for Eclipse

When the search is done, you will see Eclipse listed. all you have to do is click on install, sit back and relax until the installation is done.

If you still have any questions, do not hesitate to ask.

Answer 6

This is the instructions copied from http://www.inforbiro.com/blog-eng/ubuntu-12-04-eclipse-installation/

How to install Eclipse IDE platform on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS Precise Pangolin

1) Open a terminal and enter the command

sudo apt-get install eclipse-platform

2) After Eclipse is installed you can install development plugins based on your needs, e.g.:

will install Java Development Tools (JDT) package for Eclipse

sudo apt-get install eclipse-jdt

will install C/C++ development tools packages for Eclipse

sudo apt-get install eclipse-cdt

Answer 7

You can use ubuntu-make to install Eclipse on Ubuntu :

Installing Ubuntu Make :

For Ubuntu 14.04 LTS :

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-desktop/ubuntu-make
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install ubuntu-make

For Ubuntu 16.04 LTS and newer :

Ubuntu make is already in the official repositories.

sudo apt-get install ubuntu-make

---

Installing Eclipse :

umake ide eclipse

Uninstall Eclipse :

umake ide eclipse --remove

Answer 8

Always download the packaged eclipse from their website. Its best for you to place the eclipse.tar.gz into your opt directory and create symbolic to it and use that around your system.

So if you end up upgrading in the future, all your shortcuts and links wont die.

This is the preferred setup for eclipse. IMO

Answer 9

I created this little script to install on a bunch of Cinnamon machines. You might have to change specific stuff for your needs but you can use this as a template for your own.

#!/usr/bin/env bash

wget -P /tmp/ http://eclipse.mirror.triple-it.nl/technology/epp/downloads/release/kepler/SR1/eclipse-standard-kepler-SR1-linux-gtk-x86_64.tar.gz

tar -xzf /tmp/eclipse-standard-kepler-SR1-linux-gtk-x86_64.tar.gz -C /opt/
chown -R root: /opt/eclipse/

cat <<- 'EOF' > /usr/bin/eclipse42
    #!/bin/sh    
    export ECLIPSE_HOME="/opt/eclipse"
    $ECLIPSE_HOME/eclipse "$@"
EOF

chmod +x /usr/bin/eclipse42

cat <<- EOF > /usr/share/applications/eclipse42.desktop
    [Desktop Entry]
    Encoding=UTF-8
    Name=Eclipse
    Comment=Eclipse IDE
    Exec=eclipse42
    Icon=/opt/eclipse/icon.xpm
    Terminal=false
    Type=Application
    Categories=GNOME;Application;Development;IDE;
    StartupNotify=true
EOF

You can now run Kepler by typing eclipse42 or wait for the menu to refresh (or enter restart) to find it there.

Feel free to comment changes you'd recommend.

Answer 10

As with any other Eclipse version, you don't have to get it from the repositories. Just download the appropriate archive from eclipse.org, extract and run Eclipse.

Eclipse in the repositories is often outdated. It is usually updated every ubuntu release.

Answer 11

Use the official installer (instructions).

For the Mars release, we are introducing a new Eclipse installer. This is a new and more efficient way to install Eclipse. It is a proper installer, so no more zip files, with a self extracting download that will lead you through the installation experience. For those not into installers, we still have the packages and zip files available on our download pages. -- Eclipse Downloads

Answer 12

I'm using Ubuntu GNOME 16.04 and the version in the software center is old. I followed the start of the community answer by downloading eclipse from their website then unpackaged with:

tar -zxvf eclipse.XX.YY.tar.gz

After that it was as simple as doing:

cd eclipse-isntaller/
./eclipse-inst

Then a GUI walk through will pop up.

After that you can delete both the tar.gz and the folder:

rm eclipse-inst-linux64.tar.gz 
rm -rf ./eclipse-installer/

Answer 13

If you are asking about the eclipse classic the latest version from the eclipse project is 3.7.2: and you you can download the tar ball from the website for your OS here:

http://www.eclipse.org/downloads/packages/eclipse-classic-372/indigosr2

The latest version in the Ubuntu Software Center is Eclipse 3.7.1; either download it from there or use the terminal with this command line:

 sudo apt-get install eclipse && sudo apt-get update

As far as a PPA? There appears to be no current or maintained PPA for eclipse classic. The PPA page at LaunchPad still exists but there has not been any activity for what appears to be two years now. You can check out the PPA page here:

https://launchpad.net/~eclipse-team/+archive/ppa

The best way to install eclipse classic and the latest version 3.7.2 is from the Eclipse Classic project download page for your OS version. Warning: Eclipse 3.7.2 is built and developed for Ubuntu 10.04 LTS according to the Eclipse Project "Read Me" html documentation. There have been known "will not start issues" with later Ubuntu versions due to the compatibility of Java Runtime Enviroments; it works with JRE6 rather than JRE7. Good Luck :)

Answer 14

The eclipse snap package provides an easy way to install the latest stable version of Eclipse IDE for Java Developers in all currently supported versions of Ubuntu. Different Eclipse versions are distinguished by their codenames. Eclipse releases from September 2018 and onward are named after the year and month of the release date, for example Eclipse 2020-06. This naming scheme also applies to the eclipse snap package.

To install the eclipse snap package open the terminal and type:

sudo snap install eclipse --classic  

This command would install Eclipse 2019-12 at the time this was posted. Eclipse 2019-12 supports openjdk-13-jdk which is provided by the default Ubuntu repositories in Ubuntu 20.04 and later. It also supports openjdk-8-jdk and openjdk-11-jdk.

Answer 15

mkdir ~/opt

Change directory to the folder where your browser downloaded the Eclipse package to. Then unpack Eclipse into the opt folder:

cd {directory where your browser downloaded the package to}
tar -zxvf eclipse-jee-juno-SR1-linux-gtk.tar.gz && mv eclipse ~/opt

Make a bin folder in your home directory, this will be used for the startup script:

mkdir ~/bin

Next create an executable for Eclipe at ~/bin/eclipse with your favorite text editor by typing vi ~/bin/eclipse or nano ~/bin/eclipse into the command line. Add the following content:

export MOZILLA_FIVE_HOME="/usr/lib/mozilla/"
export ECLIPSE_HOME="$HOME/opt/eclipse"
$ECLIPSE_HOME/eclipse $*

Finally, allow the script to be executed:

chmod +x ~/bin/eclipse

HINT: If you are a gtk user and experience problems with the mouse buttons you should try add an export:

export GDK_NATIVE_WINDOWS=true

to the starter file.

You can now execute that file to start up Eclipse.

Answer 16

If you have already installed eclipse from the software center, there is an easier way.
If you haven't, do that first.

cd ~/Downloads  # (or wherever your tar.gz is)
sudo tar -xf eclipse.*.tar.gz '/opt'
sudo ln -s /opt/eclipse/eclipse /usr/local/bin/eclipse

Note: much of this process is just tweaked from the top answer to be easier.

Answer 17

I found it very easy to install from the repository. But because that is probably an outdated version, I also went to eclipse.org and downloaded from there; installing that is also very easy.

What you will get today, as of june 2016, is the eclipse Mars installer. Just save the download somewhere, untar with tar xvf bla...tgz, find the biggest file, i.e. eclipse-inst, file eclipse-inst will confirm that is an executable, and run it with ./eclipse-inst.

The installer gives you a choice of several kinds of eclipse. Choose one, and go ahead. After a few minutes you will see the button Launch, and you are running the recent version of eclipse.

I did not care about the dependencies, and everything just worked. I assume that by the previous install from the ubuntu repository, the JRE etc. are taken care of.

The only thing left is that the Ubuntu menu system only knows the outdated version from the repository. To start the new version, you would have to get to the executable in the location that is mentioned by the installer during the installation of the version you chose, most probably in a directory very near to that of the installer.

The easiest way to get the new eclipse in the menu system might be to use the ubuntu package classicmenu-indicator, enable the menu for Alacarte and use that to alter the icon for Programming/Eclipse to change the path from the old version from the repository to the new version from the download.

Answer 18

1) See what eclipse programs Ubuntu has in its Store

apt-cache search eclipse

Breakdown: search in apt-cache for any programs called “eclipse”.

2) sudo apt-get install eclipse

Result is that Ubuntu will install Eclipse

Answer 19

I agree with Nabil Kadimi and nickguletskii. Essentially you get a compressed download from eclipse.org. I want to post my answer here because I want to add some details.

Why this answer was written

Unlike most of the answers here, my answer does not involve Ubuntu Software Centre which will often be out-of-date, and it does not involve the command line, and does not introduce variability associated with the command line (Example: exactly what are the minimum chmod permissions? Exactly what tar options do I need?) and other uncertainties. It does not involve apt or apt-get. It does not involve editing files with vi. It does not involve setting up environment variables. It's not that those answers are wrong, it's just that I think that if we avoid the command line it is easier and it means more of us end up with exactly the same setup which is good for (uncompensated) testing and feedback. The following assumes you are already using an older version of Eclipse which I believe makes this answer more relevant to many readers.

The answer

1. Backup your source code by backing up the entire Eclipse workspace that you have been using up until this point in time.
2. In recent releases of Eclipse an "Installer" is available from eclipse.org. It might have a file name similar to eclipse-inst-linux64.tar.gz. Recognize that it has "inst" or something similar in the file name. Download it.
3. Cut and paste it to wherever you prefer. There is a convention that the opt directory in the Linux file system hierarchy is suitable but you do not have to follow that convention and Eclipse does not care.
4. Use the GUI to extract the file. The GUI would be Nautilus by default in 16.04.
5. Use the GUI to invoke the executable installer eclipse-inst.
6. The installer lets you launch Eclipse immediately so go ahead. Browse to the Eclipse workspace you have been using. The new version of Eclipse will upgrade the meta-data of your workspace (projects). This is irreversible so that's why you made a backup.
7. Quit Eclipse.
8. Delete the Eclipse icon from the Ubuntu Launcher.
9. Delete the file ~/.local/share/applications/eclipse.desktop.
10. Use the GUI to browse to the new installation of Eclipse and invoke the executable called eclipse.
11. Find the Eclipse icon on the Ubuntu Launcher and right-click and Lock to Launcher. This will create a new file at ~./local/share/applications/eclipse.desktop but you don't need to be aware of it until some time in the future when you want to upgrade Eclipse again. At that time, you would delete the file in step 9.