How to install Apache Netbeans on Linux

Apache Netbeans is an IDE for Java developed by the Apache Software Foundation. If you’re a Linux user that works on Java apps, you’ll likely need to know how to install this app.

In this guide, we’ll go over how to set up Apache Netbeans on all major Linux distributions. Also, we’ll cover the Snap and Flatpak instructions so that no matter what distro you use, you’ll be able to run Netbeans!

Ubuntu installation instructions

Apache Netbeans is available to Ubuntu Linux users and has been since Ubuntu 14.04 LTS. However, keep in mind that this release is significantly older than the one available on the app’s website.

If you don’t have an issue with Netbeans in the Ubuntu repos being slightly old, you’ll be able to easily install the app on your computer.

First, open up a terminal window by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T or Ctrl + Shift + T on the keyboard. Then, once the terminal window is open on the desktop, use the Apt command below to install Netbeans.

sudo apt install netbeans

For the most part, this version of Netbeans will be satisfactory, and you’ll be able to get your work done with it on Ubuntu. That said, if you require the newer version, we highly recommend following either the Flatpak or Snap instructions instead. Both the Flatpak and Snap versions of Netbeans are more up-to-date and contain version 12 (the latest) rather than version 10 in the Ubuntu software sources.

Debian installation instructions

Debian Linux has a relatively recent release of Netbeans in their software sources. If you’re a Debian Linux user, you’ll be able to install the app easily. First, open up a terminal window on the desktop by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T or Ctrl + Shift + T on the keyboard. Then, from there, use the Apt-get command to get the latest release of Netbeans working.

Note: on some versions of Debian you may not be able to get Netbeans working with the command below. If this happens to you, follow the Snap, Flatpak, or Generic installation instructions instead.

sudo apt-get install netbeans

It should be noted that Debian Linux, even the latest iteration (Debian 11) is seriously out of date. As a result, the version of Netbeans that you can install from the Debian “Main” software sources is significantly behind in features. For most users, this is no problem, and they’ll be able to use this version of Netbeans to do their work without issue. However, if you need a newer release of the app, we highly recommend following the Snap or Flatpak instructions. They package the latest release of Netbeans, and it’s incredibly easy to set up on Debian.

Arch Linux installation instructions

Arch Linux has multiple ways to install Apache Netbeans. The first way to install the app is via the “Community” software repository. However, “Community” has only version 11.3, which is not the latest. The second way — and the method we’ll cover in this guide, is the AUR. The AUR version of Netbeans is 12.0, which is the latest release.

To start the installation of Apache Netbeans on Arch Linux, you must install the “Git” and “Base-devel” packages. Using the pacman command below, get the packages installed.

sudo pacman -S base-devel git

Once the two packages are set up, use the git clone command to download the Trizen AUR helper. This tool will make it much easier to download and install the latest Apache Netbeans, as it handles dependencies automatically, rather than forcing the user to do it by hand.

git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/trizen.git

Install Trizen with the commands below.

cd trizen

makepkg -sri

With Trizen installed, you’ll be able to quickly set up Apache Netbeans with a single trizen -S command.

trizen -S apache-netbeans

Fedora/OpenSUSE installation instructions

Both Fedora and OpenSUSE Linux do not have Apache Netbeans in their software repositories. If you want to get the app working on either of these distributions, you will need to follow the Flatpak or Snap package installation instructions.

Flatpak installation instructions

Apache Netbeans is on the Flathub app store as a Flatpak, which is great news, as it gives Linux users of all stripes an incredibly easy way to get the latest release. To start the installation, follow this guide on how to set up the Flatpak runtime. Once you’ve got the Flatpak runtime working, use the two commands below to get the app installed.

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

flatpak install flathub org.apache.netbeans

Snap package installation instructions

Apache Netbeans is available in the Ubuntu Snap Store. So, if you’re running a Linux operating system that has support for Snaps, you’ll be able to get the Snap version of Netbeans working easily. To start the installation, follow our guide on how to enable Snaps on Linux. Then, when you’ve got Snaps enabled, enter the command below to install Netbeans!