How to Install Scala on macOS, Linux, and Windows

Scala runs on Windows, Linux, Unix, and macOS, but it requires a Java JDK (version 1.5 or higher) to be installed and the JAVA_HOME environment variable set.

Step 1: Verify Java installation

$ java -version
java version "1.8.0_31"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.8.0_31-b13)
Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 25.31-b07, mixed mode)

$ javac -version
javac 1.8.0_31

If Java is not installed, follow a Java development environment setup guide.

Step 2: Download Scala

Visit the official Scala download page (http://www.scala-lang.org/downloads) and download the binary package for version 2.11.7 .

On macOS/Linux, extract the archive and move it to /usr/local/share:

mv scala-2.11.7 scala
# rename if desired
mv /download/scalapath /usr/local/share   # adjust the source path to your actual download location

On Windows, run the downloaded .msi installer and accept the default installation directory.

Step 3: Configure environment variables

Edit the system profile (e.g., /etc/profile on Unix) with sudo if necessary:

vim /etc/profile
# or
sudo vim /etc/profile

Add the following line at the end of the file:

export PATH="$PATH:/usr/local/share/scala/bin"

On Windows, set SCALA_HOME to the installation directory (e.g., D:\Program Files (x86)\scala) and prepend %SCALA_HOME%\bin;%SCALA_HOME%\jre\bin to the Path variable. Also set CLASSPATH to

.;%SCALA_HOME%\bin;%SCALA_HOME%\lib\dt.jar;%SCALA_HOME%\lib\tools.jar.

Step 4: Verify the installation

Open a new terminal or command prompt and run:

$ scala
Welcome to Scala version 2.11.7 (Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM, Java 1.8.0_31).
Type in expressions to have them evaluated.
Type :help for more information.

If the Scala REPL starts, the installation was successful. Note that Chinese characters may appear garbled; refer to a Scala Chinese‑encoding fix guide if needed.

The table below summarizes typical environment variable settings for Unix and Windows:

System

Variable

Example Value

Unix

$SCALA_HOME

/usr/local/share/scala

Unix

$PATH

$PATH:$SCALA_HOME/bin

Windows

%SCALA_HOME%

c:\Progra~1\Scala

Windows

%PATH%

%PATH%;%SCALA_HOME%\bin