---
title: How to Install JMeter on a Mac
url: https://blog.octoperf.com/how-to-install-jmeter-on-a-mac/
date: '2017-10-26'
authors:
- jloisel
categories:
- JMeter
tags:
- JMeter
- Mac OS
description: Struggling to get JMeter working on Mac? Downloaded the tarball but don't know what to do next? Learn how to install JMeter on your Mac, Macbook, iMac.
---

# How to Install JMeter on a Mac

You have always wanted to use JMeter, on your Mac, but you don't know how to get started. You might have [downloaded JMeter](https://jmeter.apache.org/download_jmeter.cgi) so far, so now how do you get that software installed, up and running? Running a Java program on a Mac isn't obvious so we are going **to explain how to install and run JMeter within minutes using a few command lines**.

The great thing is JMeter is a Java program. Java programs are designed to be portable to Windows, Linux and MacOS.

## Install HomeBrew

First, we are going to install HomeBrew:

> Homebrew is a package manager for MacOS. It enables the user to install / update / remove applications at ease with a nice command line interface.


HomeBrew requires the [following configuration](https://docs.brew.sh/Installation.html):

- An Intel CPU,
- OS X 10.10 or higher,
- Command Line Tools (CLT) for Xcode: `xcode-select --install`, [developer.apple.com/download](https://developer.apple.com/download/) or Xcode,
- A Bourne-compatible shell for installation (e.g. _bash_ or _zsh_).

To install HomeBrew:

```sh
/usr/bin/ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install)"
```

It should take only a couple of minutes. Before installing **JMeter**, let's now update HomeBrew package definitions:

```sh
brew update
```

Make sure to update _brew_ before installing JMeter, otherwise you may run into issues like this one:

```bash
==> Downloading http://www.apache.org/dyn/closer.cgi?path=jmeter/binaries/ap‌​ache-jmeter-2.11.tgz ==> Best Mirror http://apache.mirrors.hoobly.com/jmeter/binaries/apache-jmet‌​er-2.11.tgz curl: (22) The requested URL returned error: 404 Not Found Error: Failed to download resource "jmeter" Download failed: http://apache.mirrors.hoobly.com/jmeter/binaries/apache-jmet‌​er-2.11.tgz
```

This issue happens often when a new JMeter version is available, but your local HomeBrew package definition still points to the old version.

## Install JMeter

It's almost finished now, run:

```sh
brew install jmeter
```

If you wish to install *jmeter-plugins* along with JMeter, add the `--with-plugins` flag. After a couple of minutes, JMeter should be installed and ready to use.

### Update JMeter

Willing to upgrade to JMeter's latest version? Simply run in a terminal:

```sh
brew upgrade jmeter
```

## Launch JMeter

JMeter should be now available as a command-line, try `jmeter -?` and you should see something like:

```sh
macos:~ macos$ jmeter -?
Writing log file to: /Users/macos/jmeter.log
    _    ____   _    ____ _   _ _____       _ __  __ _____ _____ _____ ____     
   / \  |  _ \ / \  / ___| | | | ____|     | |  \/  | ____|_   _| ____|  _ \   
  / _ \ | |_) / _ \| |   | |_| |  _|    _  | | |\/| |  _|   | | |  _| | |_) | 
 / ___ \|  __/ ___ \ |___|  _  | |___  | |_| | |  | | |___  | | | |___|  _ <  
/_/   \_\_| /_/   \_\____|_| |_|_____|  \___/|_|  |_|_____| |_| |_____|_| \_\ 3.3 r1770033

Copyright (c) 1999-2017 The Apache Software Foundation


....
```

To Launch JMeter, simply run:

```sh
macos:~ macos$ jmeter
```

### Configure JMeter

JMeter's configuration files are located in the following directories:

| Item | Standard |
|---|---|
Plugins folder |  JMETER_HOME/lib/ext/ 
Library folder for plugin dependencies 
Configuration folder  | JMETER_HOME/bin/


| Item |  Homebrew |
|---|---|
Plugins folder | CELLAR_HOME/jmeter/3.1/libexec/lib/ext |
Library folder for plugin dependencies  |  CELLAR_HOME/jmeter/3.1/libexec/lib/ |
Configuration folder  | CELLAR_HOME/jmeter/3.1/libexec/bin/ |

With the following constants:

- *JMETER_HOME*: JMeter's home, usually like `/home/ubuntu/jmeter-3.x`
- *CELLAR_HOME*: should be `/usr/local/Cellar`.

Enjoy using JMeter on your favorite Mac!