# JabRef 4.3.1 with Debian stable

**URL:** <https://discourse.jabref.org/t/jabref-4-3-1-with-debian-stable/1197>\
**Category:** Help\
**Created:** [June 13, 2018, 11:33am UTC](https://discourse.jabref.org/t/jabref-4-3-1-with-debian-stable/1197 "2018-06-13T11:33:46Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![buhtz](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/discourse.jabref.org/buhtz/32/372_2.png) [@buhtz](https://discourse.jabref.org/u/buhtz)\
**Post date:** [June 13, 2018, 11:33am UTC](https://discourse.jabref.org/t/jabref-4-3-1-with-debian-stable/1197/1 "2018-06-13T11:33:46Z")

</div>

I try to find out if it is possible to run the current JabRef stable release 4.3.1 on a Debian stable.

Everythink with openjdk-8\* openjfx-8\* \*headless and what ever is installed.

But the message is still

```
$ java JabRef-4.3.1.jar
Fehler: Hauptklasse JabRef-4.3.1.jar konnte nicht gefunden oder geladen werden

```

Meaning “mainclass not found”.

```
openjdk version "1.8.0_171"
OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 1.8.0_171-8u171-b11-1~deb9u1-b11)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (build 25.171-b11, mixed mode)
```

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Siedlerchr](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/discourse.jabref.org/siedlerchr/32/216_2.png) [@Siedlerchr](https://discourse.jabref.org/u/Siedlerchr)\
**Post date:** [June 13, 2018, 1:39pm UTC](https://discourse.jabref.org/t/jabref-4-3-1-with-debian-stable/1197/2 "2018-06-13T13:39:21Z")

</div>

should be possible in general, the error looks like that your java path is somehow wrong/pointing to a jdk9.  
try:  
sudo update-alternatives --config java

and chose the correct one.

had similiar things under ubuntu when I switched versions.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![tmancill](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/discourse.jabref.org/tmancill/32/427_2.png) [@tmancill](https://discourse.jabref.org/u/tmancill)\
**Post date:** [June 14, 2018, 4:41am UTC](https://discourse.jabref.org/t/jabref-4-3-1-with-debian-stable/1197/3 "2018-06-14T04:41:23Z")

</div>

Hi,

I was able to reproduce the same issue on a clean Debian stretch install until I installed openjfx. You might also need to install OpenGL libraries (libgl1-mesa-glx and libgl1-mesa-dri) if you get GLX errors during the startup.

**before openjfx**

```
java -jar JabRef-4.3.1.jar
Error: Could not find or load main class org.jabref.JabRefMain

```

**after openjfx install**

```
sudo apt install openjfx
java -jar JabRef-4.3.1.jar
(jabref starts)

```

Hope that helps.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![koppor](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/discourse.jabref.org/koppor/32/5_2.png) [@koppor](https://discourse.jabref.org/u/koppor)\
**Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 4:27pm UTC](https://discourse.jabref.org/t/jabref-4-3-1-with-debian-stable/1197/4 "2018-06-21T16:27:58Z")

</div>

Is this a FAQ?

> **[JabRef Bibliography Management](https://help.jabref.org/en/FAQlinux)**

> JabRef requires Java 8. Please follow the steps provided on our installation page. JabRef does not yet run under Java 9. See [Java 9/JDK9 compatibility - blocks: Java 11/JDK11 compatibility · Issue #2594 · JabRef/jabref · GitHub](https://github.com/JabRef/jabref/issues/2594)  
> You might see the error message Error: Could not find or load main class net.sf.jabref.JabRefMain. This means, you do not have JavaFX support activated in your Java runtime environment. This typically happens if you use OpenJDK, where one needs to setup OpenJFX seperately.

Our installation page recommends JDK from oracle - but one heading above, the installation for Ubuntu 16.04 is given - which is somehow similar to that was Tony says:

> **[JabRef Bibliography Management](https://help.jabref.org/en/Installation#ubuntu-1604-and-openjdk)**

> Just install JavaFX by executing sudo apt-get install openjfx

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![koppor](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/discourse.jabref.org/koppor/32/5_2.png) [@koppor](https://discourse.jabref.org/u/koppor)\
**Post date:** [June 21, 2018, 4:29pm UTC](https://discourse.jabref.org/t/jabref-4-3-1-with-debian-stable/1197/5 "2018-06-21T16:29:38Z")

</div>

buhtz, could you please update our help page accordingly? I mean, adding the hints to the Debian installation hints?

Source is at :[https://github.com/JabRef/help.jabref.org/blob/gh-pages/en/Installation.md](https://github.com/JabRef/help.jabref.org/blob/gh-pages/en/Installation.md)

Documentation how to update is available at [https://github.com/JabRef/help.jabref.org/blob/gh-pages/CONTRIBUTING.md](https://github.com/JabRef/help.jabref.org/blob/gh-pages/CONTRIBUTING.md).