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Vultr profile image Sanskriti Harmukh
Sanskriti Harmukh for Vultr

Posted on with Aashish Chaurasiya Originally published at docs.vultr.com

Installing Gradle on Ubuntu 24.04

#gradle #ubuntu #java #linux

Gradle is an open-source build automation tool that streamlines multi-language development workflows, especially for large-scale Java applications. It automates tasks such as compiling, testing, packaging, and deploying applications using Java, Kotlin, Scala, Android, Groovy, C++, or Swift, and integrates with other tools and platforms to simplify build, test, and deployment processes. This guide installs Gradle on Ubuntu 24.04 using three different methods — the latest release file, APT, and Snap — then builds a sample Java application, adds a web server dependency, and covers uninstalling Gradle. By the end, you'll have Gradle installed and a working Java web application built and running with it.

Prerequisites: an Ubuntu 24.04 server and a non-root user with sudo privileges.

Install Gradle on Ubuntu 24.04

You can install Gradle using the latest release file, APT, or Snap on Ubuntu 24.04. Pick one of the three methods below.

Method 1: Install Gradle Using the Latest Release File

The Gradle release ZIP archive lets you install the latest or a specific version from source, ensuring compatibility and access to up-to-date features.

1. Update the server's package index:

$ sudo apt update
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2. Install the required Java Development Kit (JDK) package:

$ sudo apt install default-jdk -y
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3. View the installed Java version:

$ java --version
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4. Visit the Gradle release page, identify the latest version, and copy its binary direct download link. Then use wget to download the file. For example, Gradle 8.12:

$ wget https://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-8.12-bin.zip
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5. Extract the Gradle ZIP archive contents to a system-wide directory such as /opt:

$ sudo unzip -d /opt/gradle gradle-8.12-bin.zip
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Set up environment variables. Setting up a global environment variable with your Gradle installation directory lets you execute the Gradle binary as a global system-wide command.

6. Create a new gradle.sh script in the /etc/profile.d directory:

$ sudo nano /etc/profile.d/gradle.sh
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7. Add the following directives to the gradle.sh file:

export GRADLE_HOME=/opt/gradle/gradle-8.12 
export PATH=${GRADLE_HOME}/bin:${PATH}
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Save and close the file.

8. Enable execute permissions on the script:

$ sudo chmod +x /etc/profile.d/gradle.sh
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9. Load the Gradle environment configuration in your active shell:

$ source /etc/profile.d/gradle.sh
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10. Verify the installed Gradle version:

$ gradle --version
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Output:

Welcome to Gradle 8.12!
Here are the highlights of this release:
 - Enhanced Error and Warning Messages
 - IDE Integration Improvements
 - Daemon JVM Information
For more details see https://docs.gradle.org/8.12/release-notes.html
------------------------------------------------------------
Gradle 8.12
------------------------------------------------------------
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Method 2: Install Gradle Using APT

Gradle is available in the default APT package repositories on Ubuntu 24.04, though the packaged version isn't the latest.

1. Update the server's package index:

$ sudo apt update
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2. Install Gradle:

$ sudo apt install gradle -y
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3. View the installed Gradle version:

$ gradle --version
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Output:

openjdk version "21.0.5" 2024-10-15
OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 21.0.5+11-Ubuntu-1ubuntu124.04)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (build 21.0.5+11-Ubuntu-1ubuntu124.04, mixed mode, sharing)
------------------------------------------------------------
Gradle 4.4.1
------------------------------------------------------------
Build time:   2012-12-21 00:00:00 UTC
Revision:     none
Groovy:       2.4.21
Ant:          Apache Ant(TM) version 1.10.14 compiled on September 25 2023
JVM:          21.0.5 (Ubuntu 21.0.5+11-Ubuntu-1ubuntu124.04)
OS:           Linux 6.8.0-48-generic amd64
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Method 3: Install Gradle Using Snap

Gradle is available in the Snap Store, but the included version might not be the latest. Snap offers a direct installation procedure with faster updates.

1. Install the Snap daemon if it's not installed:

$ sudo apt install snapd -y
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2. Search the available Gradle version in the Snap Store:

$ sudo snap search gradle
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Output:

Name           Version   Publisher      Notes    Summary
gradle         7.2       snapcrafters✪  classic  An open-source build automation tool
gum            0.13.0    aalmiray       classic  Gum is a Gradle/Maven/Ant/Bach/JBang wrapper written in Go
jreleaser      1.0.0-M1  aalmiray       -        Release Java projects quickly and easily with JReleaser
om26er-gradle  4.7       om26er         -        Accelerate developer productivity
jrel-test      1.0.0-M9  aalmiray       -        Release projects quickly and easily with JReleaser
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Gradle 7.2 is the available version in the Snap Store based on the above output.

3. Install Gradle using Snap:

$ sudo snap install gradle --classic
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4. View the installed Gradle version:

$ sudo snap run gradle --version
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Output:

Welcome to Gradle 7.2!
Here are the highlights of this release:
 - Toolchain support for Scala
 - More cache hits when Java source files have platform-specific line endings
 - More resilient remote HTTP build cache behavior
For more details see https://docs.gradle.org/7.2/release-notes.html
------------------------------------------------------------
Gradle 7.2
------------------------------------------------------------
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Create a Basic Java Application Using Gradle

1. Create a new sample_project directory to use with Gradle:

$ mkdir sample_project
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2. Switch to the sample_project directory:

$ cd sample_project
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3. Initialize the Gradle project to create a basic Gradle project structure:

$ gradle init --type java-application
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Output:

.........
BUILD SUCCESSFUL in 6s
2 actionable tasks: 2 executed
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During initialization, press Enter to use the default Java version, verify the project name, select 1 for a single application project, select your build script DSL (for example, 1 for Kotlin), select your test framework (for example, 1 for JUnit 4), and answer yes to use the new APIs. A successful build looks like:

BUILD SUCCESSFUL in 1m 5s
1 actionable task: 1 executed
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4. Create the src/main/java directory to store your application files:

$ mkdir -p src/main/java
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5. Create a new App.java Java application file in the src/main/java directory using a text editor such as nano:

$ nano src/main/java/App.java
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6. Add the following contents to the file:

public class App {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        System.out.println("Hello from Gradle!");
    }
}
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Save and close the file. The program prints a greeting message when executed.

7. Open the build.gradle file to ensure it includes the Java plugin and specifies the main class:

$ nano build.gradle
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8. Add the following contents to the file:

plugins {
    id 'application'
}

application {
    // Define the main class
    mainClass = 'App'
}

jar {
    manifest {
        attributes(
            'Main-Class': 'App'
        )
    }
}

repositories {
    mavenCentral()
}

dependencies {
    // Add dependencies here if needed
}
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Save and close the file.

9. Build and compile the Java application into a single file using Gradle:

$ gradle build
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This compiles the application, runs tests, and packages it into a single .jar file.

Output:

Calculating task graph as no cached configuration is available for tasks: build

BUILD SUCCESSFUL in 1m 12s
12 actionable tasks: 12 executed
Configuration cache entry stored.
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10. Run the application using Gradle:

$ gradle run
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Output:

> Task :run
Hello from Gradle!

> Task :app:run
Hello World!

BUILD SUCCESSFUL in 1s
4 actionable tasks: 2 executed, 2 up-to-date
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11. Run the bundled .jar file using Java:

$ java -jar build/libs/sample_project.jar App
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Output:

Hello from Gradle!
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Add Web Server Dependencies for Gradle

Gradle supports multiple dependencies to perform specific application functions. Install the Spark Java web server dependency to run web applications on a dedicated port.

1. Open the build.gradle file:

$ nano build.gradle
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2. Modify the dependencies section to include a new SparkJava directive:

dependencies {
    // Add Spark Java for lightweight HTTP server
    implementation 'com.sparkjava:spark-core:2.9.4'
}
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Save and close the file. Your modified dependencies section should look like this:

dependencies {
    // Add dependencies here if needed
    // Add Spark Java for lightweight HTTP server
    implementation 'com.sparkjava:spark-core:2.9.4'
}
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3. Back up the App.java application file:

$ mv src/main/java/App.java src/main/java/App.ORIG
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4. Create the App.java file again:

$  nano src/main/java/App.java
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5. Add the following code to the App.java file to enable a basic HTTP server using Spark Java:

import static spark.Spark.*;

public class App {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        port(8080); // Set the port number

        // Define a route for the root URL
        get("/", (req, res) -> {
            res.type("text/html");
            return "<h1>Hello from Gradle!</h1>";
        });

        System.out.println("Server is running at http://localhost:8080/");
    }
}
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Save and close the file. This imports the Spark Java package, runs the application on port 8080, and prints a greeting message when accessed.

6. Allow connections to port 8080 through the firewall:

$ sudo ufw allow 8080
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7. Reload UFW to apply the firewall changes:

$ sudo ufw reload
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8. Start the application using Gradle:

$ gradle run
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Output:

> Task :run
SLF4J: Failed to load class "org.slf4j.impl.StaticLoggerBinder".
SLF4J: Defaulting to no-operation (NOP) logger implementation
SLF4J: See http://www.slf4j.org/codes.html#StaticLoggerBinder for further details.
Server is running at http://localhost:8080/
<====---------> 37% EXECUTING [49s]
> :run
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9. Access your server's IP address on port 8080 using a web browser and verify that your web application displays.

Uninstall Gradle on Ubuntu 24.04

Follow the steps below to uninstall Gradle depending on your installation method.

1. Delete the Gradle binary to disable it:

$ sudo rm -rf /opt/gradle/gradle-8.12/bin/gradle
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2. Remove the Gradle environment variable script:

$ sudo rm /etc/profile.d/gradle.sh
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3. Uninstall Gradle if you installed it using APT:

$ sudo apt autoremove gradle -y
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4. Uninstall Gradle if installed using Snap:

$ sudo snap remove gradle
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Next Steps

  • Integrate Gradle with a CI/CD pipeline to automate builds, tests, and deployments
  • Explore Gradle plugins for Kotlin, Android, or Spring Boot projects
  • Configure the Gradle wrapper (gradlew) so your project builds consistently across machines
  • Add unit and integration test suites using JUnit or Spock

For the full guide with additional tips, visit the original article on Vultr Docs.

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