Installing Robocode

This guide covers the system requirements and native installation methods for Robocode Tank Royale.

Requirements

Java 11 or newer

Robocode Tank Royale runs on the Java Runtime Environment and requires Java 11 or newer.

What you need:

• Java Runtime Environment (JRE) for running the GUI, server, booter, and recorder
• Java Development Kit (JDK) if you plan to develop bots in Java

You do not need Java 11 specifically. Any newer Java release works.

Where to get Java:

• Oracle JDK: Oracle Java Downloads
• OpenJDK: Adoptium Eclipse Temurin
• Distribution help: whichjdk.com

Verifying Java installation

Open a terminal and run:

java -version

You should see the installed Java version and vendor. If the command is not recognized, install Java first and make sure it is available on your PATH.

Native installers

Robocode Tank Royale provides native installers through the project's GitHub Releases.

Platform	Installer File
🪟 Windows	robocode-tank-royale-gui-{VERSION}.msi
🍎 macOS	robocode-tank-royale-gui-{VERSION}.pkg
🐧 Linux	robocode-tank-royale-gui-{VERSION}.rpm or robocode-tank-royale-gui-{VERSION}.deb

Unsigned installers

⚠️ Security notice: The installers are not code-signed, so your operating system may show warnings before installation. You can verify authenticity using the release checksums.

Verifying installer authenticity

Each release includes SHA256SUMS and SHA256SUMS.asc.

# Verify the GPG signature
gpg --verify SHA256SUMS.asc SHA256SUMS

# Verify the installer checksum
sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS 2>/dev/null | grep robocode-tank-royale-gui

On Windows PowerShell:

Get-FileHash robocode-tank-royale-gui-{VERSION}.msi -Algorithm SHA256

Compare the hash with the value from SHA256SUMS.

Installation instructions

Windows (MSI)

1. Ensure Java 11 or newer is installed and JAVA_HOME is set
2. Download the .msi file from GitHub Releases
3. Double-click the .msi file to start the installation

When Windows SmartScreen shows "Windows protected your PC":

1. Click More info
2. Click Run anyway
3. Confirm any User Account Control prompt

You can also install from an elevated command prompt:

msiexec /i robocode-tank-royale-gui-{VERSION}.msi

macOS (PKG)

1. Ensure Java 11 or newer is installed and JAVA_HOME is set
2. Download the .pkg file from GitHub Releases
3. Double-click the .pkg file

macOS Gatekeeper blocks the installer because it is from an unidentified developer. To continue:

1. Open System Settings
2. Go to Privacy & Security
3. Find the blocked installer entry
4. Click Open Anyway
5. Confirm and enter your administrator password

You can also install from Terminal:

xattr -d com.apple.quarantine robocode-tank-royale-gui-{VERSION}.pkg
sudo installer -pkg robocode-tank-royale-gui-{VERSION}.pkg -target /

Linux (RPM)

1. Ensure Java 11 or newer is installed and JAVA_HOME is set
2. Download the .rpm file from GitHub Releases
3. Install it with either:

sudo rpm -ivh robocode-tank-royale-gui-{VERSION}.rpm

or:

sudo dnf install ./robocode-tank-royale-gui-{VERSION}.rpm

Linux (DEB)

1. Ensure Java 11 or newer is installed and JAVA_HOME is set
2. Download the .deb file from GitHub Releases
3. Install it with either:

sudo apt install ./robocode-tank-royale-gui-{VERSION}.deb

or:

sudo dpkg -i robocode-tank-royale-gui-{VERSION}.deb
sudo apt-get install -f

Next step

After installation, either launch the GUI from your application menu or continue with Running the GUI if you want the portable JAR workflow.