Since we will be using the installer package that's bundled with Java, you can skip this section. However, if you are using the archive option, you need to make sure that you have Java installed on your system.

Jira 8 requires JRE version 8 (1.8) to run. You can verify the version of Java you have by running the following command in a Command Prompt:

    java -version

The preceding command tells us which version of Java is running on your system, as shown in the following screenshot:

If you do not see a similar output, then chances are you do not have Java installed. You will need to perform the following steps to set up your Java environment. We will start by installing JDK on your system:

1. Download the latest JDK from http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html.

2. Double-click on the downloaded installation file to start the installation wizard.
3. Select where you would like to install Java, or you can simply accept the default values. The location where you install JDK will be referred to as JAVA_HOME for the remainder of this book.

4. Create a new environment variable named JAVA_HOME with the value set to the full path of the location where you installed Java. You can do this as follows:

1. Open the System Properties window by holding down your Windows key and pressing the Pause key on your keyboard.

2. Select the Advanced system settings option.

3. Click on the Environment Variable button from the new popup:

5. Edit the PATH environment variable and append the following to the end of its current value:

        ;%JAVA_HOME%in

6. Test the installation by typing the following command in a new Command Prompt:

        java -version

This will display the version of Java installed, provided everything is done correctly. In Windows, you have to start a new Command Prompt after you have added the environment variable to see the change.