Installing Liquibase Command Line for Windows


Once you have downloaded the Liquibase-Version#-bin.zip file, right-click the zipped file and select Extract All. You can place the extracted folder, anywhere on your local drive. Before you can use Liquibase, you must set a Path System Variable to the folder on your computer.

To set the Path System Variable:

  1. In your Windows Start Menu Search, type env and select the Edit the System Environment option in the Control Panel.
  2. In the System Properties Advanced tab, select Environment Variables.
  3. In the System Variables section, highlight the Path variable and click Edit.
  4. In the Edit environment variable window, select New, then add the path to the Liquibase-Version#-bin folder.

Example: C:\apps\liquibase-3.8.1-bin

  1. Click Ok on all windows to close them.

Verifying

Verification is an essential aspect of the Liquibase installation process, and there are three things you need to check:

  1. The Liquibase folder was correctly added to your Path System Variables.
  2. Java is installed on your system.
  3. You can run the Liquibase help command in PowerShell.

Verification #1: Check Path System Variables

To verify that you have correctly added the Liquibase folder to your Path System Variables:

  1. In your Windows Start Menu Search, type power and select Windows PowerShell.
  2. In the PowerShell window, type: $env:PATH

You should see the following:

Verification #2: Check for Java Installation

For Liquibase to run correctly, Java must be installed on your Windows machine. To verify that Java is installed on your computer:

  1. In your Windows Start Menu Search, Type cmd to open the Command Prompt.
  2. In the Command Prompt window, type: java.exe -version If you see the error: ‘java.exe’ is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file, navigate to https://www.java.com/en/download to install Java.

Verification #3: Run the Liquibase Help Command

Another way to verify that you installed Liquibase correctly on your computer is to run the Liquibase Help Command. To run the command:

  1. In your Windows Start Menu Search, Type cmd to open the Command Prompt.
  2. In the Command Prompt window, type: liquibase --help

Common Troubleshooting

  • If you cannot run the Liquibase Help command, verify that you have correctly installed Java. Also, ensure that the Liquibase folder you downloaded is set to your Path System Variables.
  • If you have installed Java, but are still receiving an error, add Java to your Path System Variables using the steps provided in the Installing section.