How to install SonarQube

Prerequisites

You have a fresh Ubuntu instance (e.g., 22.04).

You have sudo access as your normal user.

Step 1: Install required software

sudo apt update

sudo apt install openjdk-17-jdk wget unzip ntp -y

Why:

openjdk-17-jdk → Java 17, required by SonarQube.
wget → to download SonarQube.
unzip → to extract the .zip.
ntp → keeps system clock synced (very important for token expiry, JWT, Elasticsearch timing).

Step 2: Find and confirm Java path (JAVA_HOME)

Find which Java was installed:

update-java-alternatives -l

Output looks like:

java-1.17.0-openjdk-amd64 1711 /usr/lib/jvm/java-1.17.0-openjdk-amd64

Use the part /usr/lib/jvm/java-1.17.0-openjdk-amd64 as JAVA_HOME.

(In most Ubuntu systems installed from apt, it usually is /usr/lib/jvm/java-17-openjdk-amd64.)

Verify Java works:

java -version

Should show:

openjdk version "17.x.x"

Step 3: Create a dedicated sonar user

sudo useradd -m -d /opt/sonarqube -U -r -s /bin/bash sonar

Why:

Command/Option	Meaning
useradd	create a new user
-m	create home directory
-d /opt/sonarqube	set /opt/sonarqube as home directory
-U	create a group named sonar
-r	make this a system user (non-login user usually, but we’ll give shell)
-s /bin/bash	assign Bash shell (so we can log in)

Step 4: Give sonar user sudo access without password

sudo visudo

At the end of the file, add:

sonar ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL

Why:

Allows sonar user to run any sudo command on any host.
NOPASSWD → no password prompt.
(handy in dev; risky in prod).

Step 5: Download and extract SonarQube

cd /opt

sudo wget https://binaries.sonarsource.com/Distribution/sonarqube/sonarqube-10.6.0.8109.zip

sudo unzip sonarqube-10.6.0.8109.zip

sudo mv sonarqube-10.6.0.8109/* /opt/sonarqube/

Why:

/opt is standard for optional/3rd party apps.
We move everything into /opt/sonarqube so it’s clean.

Step 6: Change ownership to sonar user

sudo chown -R sonar:sonar /opt/sonarqube

Why:

Make sure sonar user can read/write all files.
-R → recursive.

Step 7: Configure JAVA_HOME and PATH for sonar user

Switch to sonar user:

sudo su - sonar

Edit .bashrc:

echo 'export JAVA_HOME=/usr/lib/jvm/java-17-openjdk-amd64' >> ~/.bashrc

echo 'export PATH=$JAVA_HOME/bin:$PATH' >> ~/.bashrc

Then apply immediately:

source ~/.bashrc

Why:

SonarQube scripts use Java.
sonar user must know where Java is installed.

Verify:

java -version

Step 8: Set kernel and system parameters (important)

As your main sudo user (not sonar):

8.1 Increase max map count (needed by Elasticsearch inside SonarQube):

sudo nano /etc/sysctl.conf

Add:

vm.max_map_count=262144

fs.file-max=65536

Apply:

sudo sysctl -p

8.2 Increase user limits (number of open files and processes):

sudo nano /etc/security/limits.conf

Add:

sonar - nofile 65536

sonar - nproc 4096

Why:

Setting	Why
vm.max_map_count	Elasticsearch needs it; prevents memory map errors
fs.file-max	total max open files
nofile	max open files per user
nproc	max processes per user

Step 9: Enable and start NTP (time sync)

Why: Elasticsearch uses tokens with expiry; time drift can break login or cause cluster errors.

sudo systemctl enable ntp

sudo systemctl start ntp

timedatectl status

Make sure it says NTP synchronized: yes.(if you find some error and this line means just leave that error its due to some depreciated packages)

Step 10: Start SonarQube

Switch to sonar user:

sudo su - sonar

Start:

cd /opt/sonarqube/bin/linux-x86-64

./sonar.sh start

Check status:

./sonar.sh status

Step 11: Access SonarQube UI

Open browser:

http://<your-server-ip>:9000

Default login:

Username: admin
Password: admin (you’ll be asked to change).

After Successful Login It prompts you to change the default password, Change it and you are good to go !

Install SonarQube RIGHT NOW !!

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Prerequisites

Step 1: Install required software

Step 2: Find and confirm Java path (JAVA_HOME)

Step 3: Create a dedicated sonar user

Step 4: Give sonar user sudo access without password

Step 5: Download and extract SonarQube

Step 6: Change ownership to sonar user

Step 7: Configure JAVA_HOME and PATH for sonar user

Step 8: Set kernel and system parameters (important)

8.1 Increase max map count (needed by Elasticsearch inside SonarQube):

8.2 Increase user limits (number of open files and processes):

Step 9: Enable and start NTP (time sync)

Step 10: Start SonarQube

Step 11: Access SonarQube UI

Command Palette

Comments

More from this blog

Prerequisites

Step 1: Install required software

Step 2: Find and confirm Java path (JAVA_HOME)

Step 3: Create a dedicated sonar user

Step 4: Give sonar user sudo access without password

Step 5: Download and extract SonarQube

Step 6: Change ownership to sonar user

Step 7: Configure JAVA_HOME and PATH for sonar user

Step 8: Set kernel and system parameters (important)

8.1 Increase max map count (needed by Elasticsearch inside SonarQube):

8.2 Increase user limits (number of open files and processes):

Step 9: Enable and start NTP (time sync)

Step 10: Start SonarQube

Step 11: Access SonarQube UI