Sun JRE is available in the non-free repository. You need to update your repositories configuration file (/etc/apt/sources.list). Add the following line: deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ etch main contrib non-free Update apt with apt-get update command and you’re ready to install the JRE. $ apt-get install sun-java5-jre Check your java binary: $ java -version java version “1.5.0_14” Java(TM) … →