tushev / aojdk-updatewatcher

Automatic update tool for AdoptOpenJDK, Eclipse Temurin™ and/or IBM® Semeru® Open Edition releases

Update Watcher for AdoptOpenJDK *                  ¹

Automatic update tool for Eclipse Temurin™, IBM® Semeru® Open Edition                                     ⬇ Download
and AdoptOpenJDK releases

ℹ The AdoptOpenJDK project is moving to the Eclipse Foundation

• As you may know, AdoptOpenJDK project is moving to the Eclipse Foundation and rebranding:
  hotspot builds are now Eclipse Temurin™, while openj9 builds have become IBM® Semeru® Open Edition.
• Version 2.0.5 of the updater currently still relies on api.adoptopenjdk.net.
  This is a 'hotfix' release, that brings support for Eclipse Temurin™ and IBM® Semeru® builds.
  All other changes, such as rebranding and/or API change, will (possibly) happen in the future.

Please check Eclipse Adoptium Slack for more information about the transition or Adoptium project in general.
Please do not hesitate to open an issue if you've encountered a problem with the updater or have a suggestion.

💡 Key ideas

• The updater tries to list all AdoptOpenJDK installations on your machine - automatically
• Every time it launches (i.e., on logon - if scheduled), it checks for updates in background
• If there are new versions, you will be notified
• For advanced users: It also provides a lot of manual controls - but they require some fine-tuning. Just read the tooltips, there are tons of them.

When this app launches, it gets versions for your local installations of JDK/JRE (either from Windows Registry or from release file). Then it queries AdoptOpenJDK API to check if there are versions newer than yours. If there is, you will be notified. Otherwise app quits without showing any windows or alerts.

Configuration window will appear only on first run or if something goes wrong or if you have explicitly called it by the corresponding shortcut (or -config argument).

This app is designed to run on Windows startup. I recommend to turn on Check for AdoptOpenJDK updates on Logon setting in configuration. If you want another schedule, turn this on and press Edit task to configure it as desired.

🔃 New in v. 2.0.5:

• bugfix: API semver parsing is more reliable now
• Updated dependencies

Changelog:

New in v. 2.0.4

🔃 New in v. 2.0.4:

• Fix for recent changes in Temurin that affected auto-detection:
  • Added "Eclipse Adoptium" registry root (thanks to @mcpower for #35 !)
  • Added more supported values to IMPLEMENTOR field in RELEASE file
• Updated dependencies

New in v. 2.0.4

🔃 New in v. 2.0.3:

• Adds support for Eclipse Temurin™ and IBM® Semeru® Open Edition builds, especially auto-detection (#28)
• NEW! The updater detects whether the old installation was not removed during the update (can be caused by 4-th digit MSI updates, vendor change etc) and suggests to disable checking for updates for that entry. Fixes #9 :)
• Makes skip release functionality more easy-to-find - this may be useful in case you encounter an update loop.
• If MSI's installation process was cancelled or interrupted, the corresponding entry will remain in 'New versions available' window
• Bugfix for version comparison algorithm (versions with the same MSI revisions could be compared incorrectly)
• Release name and vendor are now available in the UI (update dialog)
• Improved auto-detection algorithms
• Updated dependencies
• Added 'Open in Explorer' context menu:

New in v. 2.0.2

🔃 New in v. 2.0.2:

• UX: Easily override any auto-discovered instance with context menu. Disabling an auto-discovered instance is way simpler now.
• Proxy support: AJUpdateWatcher now uses HTTP proxy - if it is configured in Windows Settings.
• 'Immediate check' shortcut now performs check with GUI
• Improved command line handling
• Other minor changes and fixes, updated dependencies

New in v. 2.0.1

🔃 New in v. 2.0.1:

• Added support for recently introduced changes in AdoptOpenJDK API and versioning scheme. This allows to receive patch and AdoptBuild updates for AdoptOpenJDK.
• Switched to MSI for installers. No more false positives on VirusTotal!
• Added support for post-install scripts/triggers (#5).
• Redesigned self-update UI, added an option to view new release name (+ release notes on hover)
• Added many new command line arguments
• Added .cmd file to open Configuration for installer-free version (#4)
• Fix for a bug during background check when autodiscovery was set to off
• Other minor changes and fixes

New in v. 2.0.0

🔃 New in v. 2.0.0:

• Support for multiple AdoptOpenJDK installations
• Automatic discovery of installations via Windows Registry
• Redesigned UI/UX
• App warns if N last consecutive background update checks were unsuccessful (default N=10)
• Limited support for Most recent/ Most recent LTS options
• Other improvements, perfomance optimisations etc.

ℹ Requirements

Ironically, this tool is written in C# 6 + WPF, because I am not a Java developer xD

• Windows 10 x64 (earlier versions are likely to work as well, but I did not test that. Icons may be missing in EOL versions of Windows (XP/7/8).
• .NET Framework 4.7.2 (must be installed beforehand)
• At least 1280x1024 or 1366x768 screen.

📩 Download

There's a built-in update mechanism.

👉 📥 Download version 2.0.5 👈 from here OR install using winget:

winget install ajupdatewatcher

If you find this app useful, stars are appreciated :)

• ❓ Read the wiki

🛠 Installation & configuration

0. Run the downloaded installer and run the app (internet connection highly recommended on first run :)
1. Turn on Check for AdoptOpenJDK updates on Logon. (If you want another schedule, turn this on and press Edit task to configure it as desired).
2. Turn on automatic discovery of AdoptOpenJDK installations.

👉 Please note that only MSI-installed JDKs/JREs can be discovered automatically (because only MSIs add corresponding registry keys automatically). ZIP-extracted JDKs/JREs or very old MSIs cannot be autodiscovered.

That's all!

If you don't have any JDKs/JREs installed, click on Download and install new instance from the web and the app will download and install them for you:

💡 Philosophy

• This app is silent during background checks. If there is a problem connecting to the internet or AdoptOpenJDK API does not respond, it will be silent, unless N consecutive update checks were unsuccessful (default N=10)
• However, it will not be silent in UI.
• I'm not going to actively develop this app, it's mostly 'fire-and-forget' thing. However, some functionality may be added in future, there's a built-in update mechanism.

ℹ Disclaimer

The author does not provide any support related to AdoptOpenJDK / Eclipse Temurin™ / IBM® Semeru® Open Edition.

For support, please visit their corresponding websites: https://adoptopenjdk.net / https://adoptium.net / https://developer.ibm.com/languages/java/semeru-runtimes/

⚠ This (independent) software does not GUARANTEE that you will always get the lastest version of AdoptOpenJDK, Eclipse Temurin™ and/or IBM® Semeru® Open Edition.
Normally, everything works OK, and you get timely updates.
However, if something breaks or changes in AdoptOpenJDK API (api.adoptopenjdk.net), then you may or may not get the latest version.
No warranties provided (see LICENSE), use at your own risk.

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.

The author is not affiliated with or endorsed by AdoptOpenJDK project, Eclipse.org Foundation, Inc. and/or IBM Corporation.
'AdoptOpenJDK' part of the name is used on fair use conditions, as this app uses AdoptOpenJDK API for updating AdoptOpenJDK releases & its successors.

Java™ and OpenJDK™ are trademarks or registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates.
Eclipse™ and Eclipse Temurin™ are trademarks of Eclipse Foundation, Inc.
IBM® and IBM® Semeru® are registered trademarks of IBM Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both.
Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

⚖ License: MIT

💻 Codestyle

📝 Codestyle notes

v.1.0: Please don't judge my coding style by this project, as I developed this app in less than a working day. It just works :)

v.2.0: The app was refactored. However, some codestyle issues still remain - for a single-person-maintained project, they are not a major issue. My top priority is app stability and robustness.

(¹) _{Please note that blank-line related rules such as The code must not contain multiple blank lines in a row., A closing curly bracket must not be preceded by a blank line., An opening curly bracket must not be followed by a blank line etc are disabled in CodeFactor.}

🔕 Known not-a-bugs

• JAVA_HOME value is updated when the app is launched (either in configuration mode or during background check). If you change JAVA_HOME value while running configuration screen, the value will not be updated in the app. However, you can close the configuration window safely: when the next background check occurs, actual value of JAVA_HOME at that time will be used
• ⚠ Please keep in mind that if JAVA_HOME installation significantly changes (i.e., 8 → 11, or JRE → JDK), you should update API parameters manually (because the app cannot decide whether this is intended or not).
  You can use Detect (reset) API settings for selected button to do it.
• If the configuration app continiously reminds you to turn on scheduled task (even if you opted out before), this happens because you have not either added some installations manually, or turned auto-discovery on. Once you set at least one of these, the app will consider itself as 'configured' and will remember your opt-out.
• For manually added installations that were released prior to Sep 16 2020, it may be not always possible to detect build number. Thus you may miss an update, say, from 8.0.265+1 to 8.0.265+2 - but only for manually added installations (custom path or JAVA_HOME). It is highly recommended to use automatic discovery (which detects build numbers) for releases downloaded and installed prior to 16 September 2020.
• Unfortunately, if you install a release with partially incorrect metadata, such as Eclipse Temurin™ 8.0.302+8.1, you may experience an "update loop". This is not a bug in Update Watcher, this is caused by a bug in release metadata.
  ✔ SOLUTION: "skip" the 8.0.302+8.1 release after you've installed it - so no further suggestions for updating to 8.0.302+8.1 will appear. Please see https://github.com/tushev/aojdk-updatewatcher/wiki/Skipping-releases on how to do it.

See all 🔕 Known not-a-bugs

aojdk-updatewatcher's Issues

Add "Latest" and "Latest LTS" to the "Select Release" combo box

Add "Latest" and "Latest LTS" to the "Select Release" combo box so that, this way, one can set it to always live on the Latest LTS release or in the Latest Release, what ever the number might be, and just forget about it as opposed to having to manually change the version every time a new major release is out.

AdoptOpenJdk has moved/rebrended to Adoptium

AdoptOpenJdk was rebrended to Adoptium https://adoptium.net/

Original AdoptOpenJdk has only JDK16, whereas Adoptium has already 17. Would be amazing if you would update your watcher to use new Adoptium

Update for old installed version still detected

Describe the bug
After a successful update (11.0.9+11 to 11.0.9.1+1), the watcher keep detecting the same update for the old 11.0.9+11 version.

I'm sure that it's not a 'known-not-a-bug'
See: https://github.com/tushev/aojdk-updatewatcher/wiki/Known-not-a-bugs
[X] Yes
It's related to the known-not-a-bug 'Update resulted in duplicate installation of AdoptOpenJDK': it seems to happen only when the old version is not manually uninstalled.

To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Install AdoptOpenJDK (I installed the 11.0.9+11 version on November 2020)
2. Install 'Update Watcher for AdoptOpenJDK'
3. Wait for the next update notification (11.0.9.1+1 in my case) and install it --> you now have 2 installed versions; do not uninstall the old one.
4. When 'Update Watcher for AdoptOpenJDK' runs again (a few days later in my case), it asks again for the same update.

Expected behavior
The watcher should not ask again for the same update, it has already been done.

Workaround
Uninstall the old version.

Screenshots

Desktop (please complete the following information):

• AJUpdateWatcher-2.0.2.0-setup.msi

allow setting install prefix for jdks, create junction point / symlink for multiple LTS versions

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.

Whenever a jdk is updated, it breaks the path for those apps that need a particular LTS version. If you have general apps JAVA_HOME set for jdk 11 LTS which seems to work for most things. But then when you want more modern LTS 17 for things ( even very old things that use JDK 8) that want to support a particular LTS the path breaks.

Also, the updater always defaults to the msi installer's notion of a default location, usually somewhere on C: which if you have a PC or laptop with C: SSD smaller disk and D: larger spinning disk, it's usually a battle to keep C: less full, as Windows OS and Programs insist on using C: ( Windows Docker Desktop ) to install.

Also OCD people might like everything in D:\Java\ or some such convention.

I'm sure that it's not a 'known-not-a-bug'
[X] Yes

Describe the solution you'd like

It'd be nice to specify a filesystem prefix where new jdks are installed by update watcher, when the msi's are run you could specify the prefix for the installer, and default to prefix baked into the .msi installer if there was no default prefix.

Also it'd be nice if it could create a junction point / symbolic link for each major/LTS version. This used to be a feature in the old oracle installer ( but it ignored LTS's only did one version ) to make a junction point, and handle the modern multi LTS world and not just one latest version. There is another LTS coming soon, at the end of the year. Already I can see use case for java only supporting 8 or 11, while the most recent version is 17. The release LTS 21 might make some things only supporting 17 ?

If javas installed in default prefix D:\Java, say there is D:\Java\jdk-17.0.8.7-hotspot a windows junction point could be created ( D:\Java\jdk-17 -> D:\Java\jdk-17.0.8.7-hotspot ) and programs than wanted LTS 17 specifically, rather than the default version in JAVA_HOME it could point at D:\Java\jdk-17, then not break when the java updates ( the update watcher would create/update the junction point when installing a new version )

Describe alternatives you've considered

A simple option might be to set a custom java home, eg LEGACY_JAVA_HOME for jdk versions 8 (instead of JAVA_HOME for eg. the jdk8* versions)for compiling older code or test cases, and the usual JAVA_HOME for most things.

But that would be less ideal, as there is less opportunity to use custom java home, it would require developer or shell script etc., prior to app running and most people who are app users may not be able to do this, and JAVA_HOME is universally supported for most apps.

Additional context
Add any other context or screenshots about the feature request here.

32-bit openj9 installation auto-discovered as "large heap"

I have a x64 Windows with installed 32-bit AdoptOpenJDK's "OpenJDK8U-jdk_x86-32_windows_openj9_8u275b01_openj9-0.23.0.msi". That installation was auto-discovered as "large heap". As it's 32-bit, I think it really can only be "normal heap". So, I assumе there is a bug somewhere in the auto-discovery of the heap size.

The incorrect heap size leads to an error when checking for updates for this installation (the checker doesn't find any distribution with the requested parameters). To workaround this, I manually override the auto-discovered heap size to "normal".

The app version on the affected machine currently is 2.0.2, but it was 2.0.1 when I noticed this problem for the first time.

Interestingly, the app auto-discovered the previous 32-bit JDK 8 installation on the same machine (AdoptOpenJDK's "OpenJDK8U-jdk_x86-32_windows_openj9_8u242b08_openj9-0.18.1.msi") correctly as "normal heap". And successfully updated it to the current version!

Update doesn't work anymore - input string not in correct format.

Describe the bug
New version of Eclipse Temurin is out but the update seems to have issues finding it.

I'm sure that it's not a 'known-not-a-bug'
Check https://github.com/tushev/aojdk-updatewatcher/wiki/Known-not-a-bugs
[X] Yes

Expected behavior
new version detected and no error shows in GUI.

Screenshots

Desktop (please complete the following information):

• AdoptOpenJDK [tushev.org.AJUpdateWatcher] Version 2.0.4.0'
• Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.22621.0
• JDK Temurin-17.0.8.1+1

Program fails to launch, gives error [Configuration system failed to initialize]

For several weeks on my system the application has opened to an error dialogue reading "There was an error: [Configuration system failed to initialize]". I have attempted to reinstall the application with no success.

• App Version 2.0.5.0
• Windows 11 Pro 22H2
• Temurin 17.0.10+7, Temurin 8u402-b02-b06

I am very new to submitting bugs, please let me know what I can do to improve this report or what other helpful information I can provide.

Icons missing in Windows 7/8

There are icons missing in both Configuration and Check windows (see attached pictures). It is version 2.0.1.0 (was the same in previous versions too) and it is the same on both of my computers - one Windows 8 and the other Windows 7.

Manage symbolic links for JDKs to avoid the need for system restarts

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
Update Watcher doesn't understand the symbolic link I use to point at the latest JDK, so it thinks I have two copies of Java 8, plus it doesn't help me to keep the symlink up to date automatically. This leads to postponing upgrades.

After updating a JDK, I create a symlink from C:\Program Files\AdoptOpenJDK\jdk-8.0 to the new installation, eg C:\Program Files\AdoptOpenJDK\jdk-8.0.275.1-hotspot. The symlink path C:\Program Files\AdoptOpenJDK\jdk-8.0 is what I use for the environment variables JAVA_HOME and in PATH (and in IntelliJ IDEA).

This symlink scheme ensures that all new invocations of java or javac will automatically pick up the new JDK, without needing a restart to propagate changes in environment variables. But this scheme doesn't quite fit with Update Watcher yet.

I'm sure that it's not a 'known-not-a-bug'
See: https://github.com/tushev/aojdk-updatewatcher/wiki/Known-not-a-bugs
[X] Yes

Describe the solution you'd like
I would like Update Watcher to understand this symlink scheme, or implement a similar scheme.

Update Watcher would need to understand that the symlink (or junction) and the target directory represent the same JDK installation, and to update the symlink when a new JDK in the same "family" is installed. A family could be Java 8, most recent LTS, or most recent.

Describe alternatives you've considered
A slightly simpler solution: update any symlink which points to the old version of an updated JDK. This is essentially automating what I do manually.

If Update Watcher knows it has just installed an upgrade from version X.Y to X.Z, it could replace a symlink which points to X.Y and make it point to the new installation X.Z. This would probably require some way of registering symlinks (to opt them in for this management), but it might be simpler than managing the concept of JDK families. Any registered symlinks could then be ignored as installations, to avoid having them show up as duplicate installations.

Additional context
What I have with my symlink is basically a "junction directory approach" as mentioned in adoptium/installer#133, but I think Update Watcher is better placed to solve the problem, since it knows the old and new locations. Also Update Watcher shows all installations, which causes junctions and symlinks to show up as duplicates (at least if they are used in JAVA_HOME).

[Feature Request] Install / Unpack selector

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
I have 3+ unpacked JRE and will be great have feature to update it.

I'm sure that it's not a 'known-not-a-bug'

• Yes

Describe the solution you'd like
Keep unpacked JRE up-to-date.

Describe alternatives you've considered
None? Manual unpacking?

Additional request
Also support of minification (removing all files that not required to launch like docs).

New installation path (Eclipse Temurin [Adoptium] or IBM Semeru) not automatically detected

Describe the bug
The new installation paths after the migration from AdoptOpenJDK binaries to Eclipse Foundation are not automatically detected any more.

After upgrade, new JRE/JDK are installed to:
C:\Program Files\Eclipse Foundation

I'm sure that it's not a 'known-not-a-bug'
See: https://github.com/tushev/aojdk-updatewatcher/wiki/Known-not-a-bugs
[X] Yes

To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Update your JREs/JDKs to latest version
2. Observe that they are not in the list anymore

Expected behavior
Installed versions should be detected

Desktop (please complete the following information):

• App Version [e.g. 2.0.2]

[FALSE POSITIVE] programm categorized as malicious/malware

Your programm is categorized by multiple anti-virus programms as Malicious/Malware:
https://www.virustotal.com/gui/file/25662cec109284f2d702c58531d88002fd6c7c7515f911b8e1d04f73b1ba6edb/detection

Please adress these security concerns

Configure AJUpdater not available if using ZIP release

Describe the bug
As title says, there is no shortcut in start menu to configure AJUpdater after first run if installed by extracting the zip file.
I'm sure that it's not a 'known-not-a-bug'
See: https://github.com/tushev/aojdk-updatewatcher/wiki/Known-not-a-bugs
[X] Yes

To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Download, extract and run AJUpdater
2. Do nothing and close the window
3. Run it again to be met by the silent updates notice with info on how to configure it
4. Can't run it because no start menu shortcut is created

Expected behavior
Some way of configuring the updater after running the first config even if it was just extracted from a zip.
Screenshots
Not needed
Desktop (please complete the following information):

• App Version 2.0.0.0 latest

Additional context
Add any other context about the problem here.

new temurin 8.0.412+8 is not detected

Describe the bug
i need a good program, that updates my temurin 8 automatically. i found aojdk-updatewatcher and installed it on windows 2012. on 18th april 2024 adoptium published temurin 8.0.412+8 but aojdk-updatewatcher is not finding it.

I'm sure that it's not a 'known-not-a-bug'
Check https://github.com/tushev/aojdk-updatewatcher/wiki/Known-not-a-bugs
[X] Yes

To Reproduce

1. start pc
2. login
3. you can see aojdk-updatewatcher in the task-manager and after a few seconds it disappears.
4. i open aojdk-updatewatcher and see that it can't find updates.
   Expected behavior
   i don't know what would happen if i start the pc and aojdk-updatewatched gets started as scheduled and tells me there is an update.

Screenshots

Desktop (please complete the following information):

• App Version? where can i see it?
• Windows Server 2012
• Temurin 8.0.402+6

Additional context
Add any other context about the problem here.

Error: [Configuration system failed to initialize]

Describe the bug
Update watcher won't launch

I'm sure that it's not a 'known-not-a-bug'
Check https://github.com/tushev/aojdk-updatewatcher/wiki/Known-not-a-bugs
[X] Yes

To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Launch either an update check or the configuration

Expected behavior
Successful update check

Screenshots

Desktop (please complete the following information):

• App Version 2.0.4
• Windows Version Windows 11 22H2
• JDKs/JREs Temurin 17.0.7+7

Additional context
Tried a fresh install of updatewatcher with the same result

Updates change custom directory setting

First of all, thanks for this great tool! It really compensates a major disadvantage of Adopt OpenJDK!

My issue:
I have installed an Adopt OpenJDK in a custom path (C:\Program Files\Java\jdk-11) and added that manually to the List. When I update the installation, the updates go into the default directory (C:\Program Files\AdoptOpenJDK\jdk-11.0.9.11-hotspot). Then I have two installations all of a sudden, including the old one.

Is it possible when having a custom path to update this location?

Thanks!

Add ability to connect through proxy

I installed this app on a Windows system, which connects to Internet only through http proxy. The proxy settings are configured at system level. When I start the app configurator, an error box pop-ups, saying "Unable to get list of AdoptOpenJDK releases". Using the web browser, I can access https://api.adoptopenjdk.net/v3/info/available_releases and I see the result (a JSON document). Also, I don't see any hint in the app configuration UI and documentation about using a proxy.

I will be pleased if there is a way to use the app with at least http proxy.

[Feauture Request] CLI Output

First of all, thank you for creating this!!!!
Its really useful!
Now the Feature Request :D

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
When running it from command line, there is no output.

I'm sure that it's not a 'known-not-a-bug'
✅ Yes

Describe the solution you'd like
It would be nice if it would output some kind of status indicators e.g.
Checking for Updates (xyz)...
(xyz) is up to date! or Downloading (xyz)... Installing (xyz)... Update successfull! or Error (xyz): Error

Describe alternatives you've considered
Only having the output when using a -verbose Flag

Additional context
This is just a draft. The output could also look different, the main thing is that users see whats happening and don't just stare at a blinking cursor xD