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VisualVM is distributed as a standalone tool at GitHub, and as an optional component of the GraalVM. Both are the same bits with the same features. Standalone tool runs on any compatible JDK, component is configured to run using the host GraalVM.

VisualVM has also been distributed in Oracle JDK 6~8 as Java VisualVM. It has been discontinued in Oracle JDK 9. See the Upgrading Java VisualVM page to learn how to upgrade to the latest VisualVM.

Systems:

Microsoft Windows
Linux
macOS

Java:

Oracle JDK 8~20
OpenJDK 8~20
GraalVM 19~22

What's New:

Support for JDK 20
Heap Viewer improvements
Performance improvements

See the Release Notes for details on system requirements, new features, API changes and fixed bugs.

Follow the Getting Started guide to learn how to use VisualVM. To get more details, see the Features and Plugins sections and read the VisualVM Documentation. See the Troubleshooting Guide if experiencing any problems with starting or using the tool.

First Steps

  1. Unzip the downloaded archive. The archive already contains the top-level visualvm directory.
  2. Start VisualVM by invoking the binary appropriate for your OS:
    visualvm\bin\visualvm.exe or visualvm/bin/visualvm
    You may provide additional options to define JDK and/or VisualVM user directory:
    --jdkhome "<path to JDK>" --userdir "<path to userdir>"
  3. Check out the Getting Started document, it's designed to help you start using VisualVM.

Possible Problems

  • VisualVM doesn't start: there are several problems which could prevent VisualVM from starting without any obvious reason:
    • The download is broken - make sure you've got the correct bits (archive managers typically notify you when the archive is broken)
    • VisualVM waits for license confirmation - make sure you haven't overlooked the License Agreement dialog
    • Incorrect JDK is used for running VisualVM - if you haven't defined a JDK to run VisualVM manually, make sure that the default Java on your system is Oracle JDK 8+
    • Incorrectly set JDK for running VisualVM - if you have defined a JDK to run VisualVM manually, make sure the path to the JDK is correct and doesn't end with a slash
    • Incorrectly set VisualVM user directory - if you have defined VisualVM user directory manually, make sure it is outside of VisualVM installation directory
  • VisualVM startup terminates by Error Starting VisualVM Dialog - unsupported version of Java: this typically happens when JRE or incorrect JDK version is used to run VisualVM, make sure VisualVM is running using Oracle JDK 8+
  • VisualVM startup terminates by Warning - could not install some modules message: this can happen if you unzip the VisualVM archive over an older VisualVM version, make sure you are unzipping the VisualVM to a new directory
  • Local Applications Cannot Be Detected dialog is shown after VisualVM startup: this can happen on Windows systems, see the Troubleshooting Guide for more details and steps to fix the problem

Still having problems? See the Troubleshooting Guide, let us know using the Feedback page or file a bug.