How to fix javac is not recognized as an internal or external command

If you’re seeing the error message “javac is not recognized as an internal or external command” when trying to compile Java code on your computer, it means that your system is unable to find the Java compiler.

To fix this issue, you can try the following steps:

1. Check that Java is installed: Make sure that Java is installed on your computer and that the path to the Java executable is set in your system’s PATH environment variable. You can check this by opening a command prompt and typing “java -version”. If Java is installed, it should display the version number.
2. Set the Java path: If Java is installed, but the path is not set correctly, you can add the Java bin directory to your system’s PATH environment variable. To do this on a Windows computer, go to the Control Panel > System > Advanced System Settings > Environment Variables. Under System Variables, find the “Path” variable, select it, and click “Edit”. Add the path to the Java bin directory (e.g. “C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.8.0_281\bin”) at the end of the list, separated by a semicolon.
3. Restart the command prompt: After setting the Java path, close and reopen the command prompt window to ensure that the changes take effect.
4. Verify javac is working: Try typing “javac” in the command prompt to verify that the Java compiler is working correctly. If it is, it should display a list of available options.

If you’re still having issues, try reinstalling Java and ensuring that the installation directory is added to the system’s PATH environment variable.