Oracle has a poor record for making it easy to install and configure Java, but using Homebrew, the latest OpenJDK (Java 14) can be installed with:

brew install --cask adoptopenjdk8

For the many use cases depending on an older version (commonly Java 8), the AdoptOpenJDK project makes it possible with an extra step.

brew tap adoptopenjdk/openjdk
brew install --cask adoptopenjdk8

Existing users of Homebrew may encounter Error: Cask adoptopenjdk8 exists in multiple taps due to prior workarounds with different instructions. This can be solved by fully specifying the location with brew install --cask adoptopenjdk/openjdk/adoptopenjdk8.

You need to install the JDK rather than just the JRE to get full Java support on OS X.

The official Oracle download site is http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html Click on 'Java Platform (JDK)' and download 'Mac OS X x64'

Fastest Solution

Use the adoptopenjdk cask

See also https://discourse.brew.sh/t/how-to-install-openjdk-with-brew/712/4

To install latest:

brew install --cask adoptopenjdk

To install a specific version

brew tap AdoptOpenJDK/openjdk
brew install --cask adoptopenjdk8
brew install --cask adoptopenjdk9

Manual Solution

If you are looking to just bring down the binary without actually installing it, simply navigate to https://adoptopenjdk.net

Homebrew does not support OpenJDK@8 on Apple Silicon (M1/M2) but Zulu Community 8 is present as a cask. You just have to enable cask-versions repository and install zulu8 cask.

Copybrew tap homebrew/cask-versions
brew install --cask zulu8

It will install the JDK in /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/zulu-8.jdk/Contents/Home. You should then configure your JAVA_HOME variable for development tools to use it.

Copyexport JAVA_HOME=`/usr/libexec/java_home -v 1.8`

Please note that Zulu Community 8 will only be supported until March 2026.

I tested this answer using a clean install of High Sierra 10.13.6. All updates from Apple were installed.

The downloads of the JDKs can be found at Java Downloads. I could not correctly view this site using Safari under High Sierra. Instead, I installed and used Firefox ESR (Extend Support Release). This link for Firefox download can be successfull viewed from Safari. The file I downloaded and installed was Firefox 115.16.1esr.dmg.

I tried JDK 23 by downloading and installing jdk-23_macos-x64_bin.dmg. This was not recognized by Java. Next, I tried JDK 21 by downloading and installing jdk-21_macos-x64_bin.dmg. This was recognized by Java.

Instructions for uninstalling a JDK can be found here. Personally, I just used the Finder to move the /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/jdk-23.jdk folder to the Trash.

I tested by using the simple code given below. The code was stored in the file named Simple.java.

class Simple{  
    public static void main(String args[]){  
     System.out.println("Hello Java");  
    }  
}

Example of testing is given below.

dmas-Mac:Desktop dma$ javac Simple.java 
dmas-Mac:Desktop dma$ java Simple
Hello Java

BTW, I tested JDK 23 using macOS Monterey and did not encounter the problems that occurred with High Sierra.