SDKMAN
Ranked 4 of 7 version managers by recommenders
Developers recommend SDKMAN to install and switch between Java versions and build tools per project, without fighting the OS package manager.
Developers recommend SDKMAN to install and switch between Java versions and build tools per project, without fighting the OS package manager.
13 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 12
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 92%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 12 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 12 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Switches Java versions per project
“Tools like sdk man are for developers that need to switch between specific versions in different projects.”
Comment from 28 Nov 2025 in “Installing Java in 2025, and Version Managers” “That's useful when you are running two tools on different Java versions which interact.”
Comment from 28 Nov 2025 in “Installing Java in 2025, and Version Managers” “It's really handy for switching between projects that are on different Java versions”
Comment from 28 Nov 2025 in “Installing Java in 2025, and Version Managers” - Comment from 28 Nov 2025 in “Installing Java in 2025, and Version Managers”
Easy, quick Java tooling installs
“makes installing and managing basic java tooling a breeze”
Comment from 6 Jul 2026 in “Latta Java” “provides an easy to understand interface for toolchains”
Comment from 28 Nov 2025 in “Installing Java in 2025, and Version Managers” “All painless, quick, and easy.”
Comment from 28 Nov 2025 in “Installing Java in 2025, and Version Managers” Avoids OS package manager conflicts
“quickly install and quickly switch jvms without worrying about any opinions the os package manager may have”
Comment from 28 Nov 2025 in “Installing Java in 2025, and Version Managers” “focus on the project instead of managing JDKs”
Comment from 28 Nov 2025 in “Installing Java in 2025, and Version Managers” Used reliably for many years
“sdkman! is awesome. I've been using sdkman! for a decade to manage Java installations.”
Comment from 28 Nov 2025 in “Installing Java in 2025, and Version Managers” “Happy sdkman user for many years.”
Comment from 28 Nov 2025 in “Installing Java in 2025, and Version Managers”
Other version managers people recommend
The four most recommended other version managers, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mise | 137 | 22 | 86% | 12 | 1 yr4 owners | Approved |
| asdf version manager | 17 | 3 | 85% | 8 | — | Approved |
| rustup | 14 | 5 | 74% | 8 | — | Approved |
| SDKMANThis page | 12 | 1 | 92% | 2 | — | — |
| nvm | 7 | 13 | 35% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
13 of the 15 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“makes installing and managing basic java tooling a breeze”
“All painless, quick, and easy.”
“provides an easy to understand interface for toolchains”
“I would say as well as using SDKMan, you should use”
“quickly install and quickly switch jvms without worrying about any opinions the os package manager may have”
“Then SDKMAN! will perform the switch automatically when you enter the directory.”
“Tools like sdk man are for developers that need to switch between specific versions in different projects.”
“sdkman! is awesome. I've been using sdkman! for a decade to manage Java installations.”
“focus on the project instead of managing JDKs”
“That's useful when you are running two tools on different Java versions which interact.”
“sdkman works fine for what I need it for and usually you only need one instance of gradle and maven installed.”
“It's really handy for switching between projects that are on different Java versions”
“Happy sdkman user for many years.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.