Installing Oracle Instant Client Packages

Learn the different methods to install Oracle Instant Client on Linux x86-64 and Linux for Arm (aarch64) platforms.

Installing Oracle Instant Client Using Zip Files

Learn how to download and use zip files to install Oracle Instant Client on Linux x86-64 and Linux for Arm (aarch64) platforms.

Go to the Oracle Instant Client Downloads page:
https://www.oracle.com/database/technologies/instant-client/downloads.html
Download the desired Oracle Instant Client zip file. Select the correct platform, architecture, and packages of your choice. For example, if your application is 64-bit, then ensure that you select 64-bit Instant Client and download the Basic Package zip file.
Unzip each zip file into a single directory such as /opt/oracle/instantclient_19_27 that is accessible to your application.
For example, for Linux x86-64:
```
$ cd /opt/oracle      
$ unzip instantclient-basic-linux.x64-19.27.0.0.0dbru.zip
```
For example, for Oracle Linux 8 on Linux for Arm (aarch64):
```
$ cd /opt/oracle      
$ unzip instantclient-basic-linux.arm64-19.27.0.0.0dbru.zip
```
The various packages unzip into /opt/oracle/instantclient_19_27.
Install the operating system libaio package. This is available as libaio1 on some Linux distributions. For example, on Oracle Linux run:
```
$ sudo yum install libaio
```
If Oracle Instant Client is the only Oracle software installed on your system, then update the runtime link path, for example:
```
$ sudo sh -c "echo /opt/oracle/instantclient_19_27 > \
      /etc/ld.so.conf.d/oracle-instantclient.conf"
  $ sudo ldconfig
```
Alternatively, set the LD_LIBRARY_PATH environment variable prior to running applications. For example:
```
$ export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/opt/oracle/instantclient_19_27:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
```
Optionally, add the variable to configuration files such as ~/.bash_profile and to application configuration files such as /etc/sysconfig/httpd.
If you intend to colocate optional Oracle configuration files such as tnsnames.ora, sqlnet.ora, ldap.ora, or oraaccess.xml with Oracle Instant Client, then move these files to the network/admin subdirectory.
This is the default Oracle configuration directory for applications linked with this Oracle Instant Client.

Alternatively, you can move the Oracle configuration files to another, accessible directory. Then set the environment variable TNS_ADMIN to that directory name.
To use binaries such as sqlplus from the SQL*Plus package, unzip the package to the same directory as the Basic package and then update your PATH environment variable. For example:
```
$ export PATH=/opt/oracle/instantclient_19_27:$PATH
```
Start your application.

Installing Oracle Instant Client Using RPMs

Learn how to install Oracle Instant Client on Linux x86-64 and Linux for Arm (aarch64) platforms by downloading the RPMs using the dnf install or the yum install command.

Note:

Starting with 19c, by default, you can install only one version of the Oracle Instant Client RPM packages at a time. If you need multiple versions, use the Oracle Instant Client zip files.

Installing Oracle Instant Client From the yum Server

If you are using Oracle Linux and have configured your Oracle Linux yum server, then you can install Oracle Instant Client using the yum install command for Oracle Linux 7 and dnf install for Oracle Linux 8 and Oracle Linux 9.

Install the Oracle Linux release package to configure repository definitions for Oracle Instant Client:

For Oracle Linux 9:
```
$ sudo dnf install oracle-release-el9
```
For Oracle Linux 8:
```
$ sudo dnf install oracle-release-el8
```
For Oracle Linux 7:
```
$ sudo yum install oracle-release-el7
```
Go to the Oracle Instant Client repositories to view available Oracle Instant Client packages:
For Oracle Linux 9 on Linux x86-64:

https://yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL9/oracle/instantclient/x86_64/index.html

For Oracle Linux 8 on Linux x86-64:

https://yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL8/oracle/instantclient/x86_64/index.html

For Oracle Linux 7 on Linux x86-64:

https://yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL7/oracle/instantclient/x86_64/index.html

For Oracle Linux 8 on Linux for Arm (aarch64):

https://yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL8/oracle/instantclient/aarch64/index.html

For Oracle Linux 7 on Linux for Arm (aarch64):

https://yum.oracle.com/repo/OracleLinux/OL7/oracle/instantclient/aarch64/index.html

All installations require a Basic or Basic Light package. All other packages are optional.
Install Oracle Instant Client using yum for Oracle Linux 7 and dnf for Oracle Linux 8 and Oracle Linux 9. For example:

For Oracle Linux 8 and Oracle Linux 9 on Linux x86-64 and Linux for Arm (aarch64):
```
$ sudo dnf install oracle-instantclient19.27-basic
```
For Oracle Linux 7 on Linux x86-64:
```
$ sudo yum install oracle-instantclient19.27-basic
```
For Oracle Linux 7 on Linux for Arm (aarch64):
```
$ sudo yum install oracle-instantclient19.10-basic
```
To install other Oracle Instant Client packages like SQL*Plus, run:

For Oracle Linux 8 and Oracle Linux 9 on Linux x86-64 and Linux for Arm (aarch64):
```
$ sudo dnf install oracle-instantclient19.27-sqlplus
```
For Oracle Linux 7 on Linux x86-64:
```
$ sudo yum install oracle-instantclient19.27-sqlplus
```
For Oracle Linux 7 on Linux for Arm (aarch64):
```
$ sudo yum install oracle-instantclient19.10-sqlplus
```

Manually Downloading and Installing Oracle Instant Client RPM Packages

An alternative to installing Oracle Instant Client is to manually download and install the Oracle Instant Client packages.

Go to the Oracle Instant Client Downloads page:
https://www.oracle.com/database/technologies/instant-client/downloads.html
Download the desired Oracle Instant Client RPM package. Select the correct platform, architecture, and packages of your choice. For example, if your application is 64-bit, then ensure that you select 64-bit Instant Client and download the Basic Package RPM file.

Install the packages using yum for Oracle Linux 7 and dnf for Oracle Linux 8 and Oracle Linux 9. For example:

For Oracle Linux 8 and Oracle Linux 9 on Linux x86-64:

$ sudo dnf install oracle-instantclient19.27-basic-19.27.0.0.0-1.x86_64.rpm

For Oracle Linux 7 on Linux x86-64:

$ sudo yum install oracle-instantclient19.27-basic-19.27.0.0.0-1.x86_64.rpm

For Oracle Linux 8 on Linux for Arm (aarch64):

$ sudo dnf install oracle-instantclient19.27-basic-19.27.0.0.0-1.aarch64.rpm

For Oracle Linux 7 on Linux for Arm (aarch64):

$ sudo yum install oracle-instantclient19.10-basic-19.10.0.0.0-1.aarch64.rpm

Additionally, you may have to perform the following tasks before you start your application:

If you intend to colocate optional Oracle configuration files such as tnsnames.ora, sqlnet.ora, ldap.ora, or oraaccess.xml with Oracle Instant Client, then move these files to the /usr/lib/oracle/19.27/client64/lib/network/admin or /usr/lib/oracle/19.10/client64/lib/network/admin subdirectory.
This is the default Oracle configuration directory for applications linked with this Oracle Instant Client.

Alternatively, you can move the Oracle configuration files to another, accessible directory. Then set the environment variable TNS_ADMIN to that directory name.
To use binaries from the tools package, use yum to install the package and then update your PATH environment variable. For example:

For Oracle Linux 8 and Oracle Linux 9:
```
$ export PATH=/usr/lib/oracle/19.27/client64/bin:$PATH
```
For Oracle Linux 7:
```
$ export PATH=/usr/lib/oracle/19.10/client64/bin:$PATH
```

Installing Oracle Instant Client Using the Setup Wizard

Use the runInstaller command to start the Oracle Instant Client installation.

Log in as the Oracle installation owner user account (oracle).
Use any browser to access the Oracle Database Software Downloads page:
https://www.oracle.com/database/technologies/oracle-database-software-downloads.html
Download the Oracle Database Client installation zip file to a directory of your choice. For example, you can download the zip file to the /tmp directory.
Extract the client zip file and use the runInstaller command to start the installation.
```
$ ./runInstaller
```
In the Select Installation Type screen, select Instant Client. Click Next.
In the Specify Installation Location screen, enter an OFA-compliant Oracle home directory path like /u01/app/oracle/product/19.0.0/client_1. Click Next.
Note the information in the Summary screen and click Next.
The Finish screen displays the status of the Oracle Instant Client installation. Click Close to complete the installation and exit the installer.
The Oracle Instant Client shared libraries like libociei.so, libclntsh.so.19.1, libclntshcore.so.19.1, and libnnz19.so are available in the Oracle client home directory /u01/app/oracle/product/19.0.0/client_1
Set the operating system shared library path LD_LIBRARY_PATH environment variable to the Oracle client home directory.
```
$ export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/u01/app/oracle/product/19.0.0/client_1:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
```
If you intend to colocate optional Oracle configuration files such as tnsnames.ora, sqlnet.ora, ldap.ora, or oraaccess.xml with Oracle Instant Client, then move these files to the network/admin subdirectory.
This is the default Oracle configuration directory for applications linked with this Oracle Instant Client.

Alternatively, you can move the Oracle configuration files to another, accessible directory. Then set the environment variable TNS_ADMIN to that directory name.
To use binaries such as sqlplus from the SQL*Plus package, unzip the package to the same directory as the Basic package and then update your PATH environment variable. For example:
```
$ export PATH=/u01/app/oracle/product/19.0.0/client_1:$PATH
```
Start your application.

To remove this Oracle Instant Client installation use the runInstaller command along with the -deinstall -home options:

$ ./runInstaller -deinstall -home /u01/app/oracle/product/19.0.0/client_1