How to specify the JDK version in Android Studio?

Android Studio is giving me a Gradle build error that looks like this:

Error:(3, 22) compileSdkVersion android-22 requires compiling with JDK 7

Now it gives me these clickable prompts:

Download JDK 7
Select a JDK from the File System
Open build.gradle File

And I have already downloaded and installed JDK 7. The problem is when I go to select it in the "File System" i can only find a directory named 1.6.0 JDK. Furthermore, the installation of JDK 7 skipped the bullet point where I would've selected the install directory, so I'm really not sure where it is. My java control panel says I have "Java 7 Update 79" so I'm pretty sure I'm close, I just need to tell android studio where it is. I also ran the java -version command in the terminal and it says my version is "1.7.0_79".

Any help would be appreciated!

You can use cmd + ; for Mac or Ctrl + Alt + Shift + S for Windows/Linux to pull up the Project Structure dialog. In there, you can set the JDK location as well as the Android SDK location.

To get your JDK location, run /usr/libexec/java_home -v 11 in terminal. Send 1.7 for Java 7, 1.8 for Java 8, or 11 for Java 11.

Android Studio Arctic Fox (2020.3.1)

In Android Studio Arctic Fox (2020.3.1 Patch 4), the JDK Location setting is moved to:

File > Settings > Build, Execution, Deployment > Build Tools > Gradle > Gradle JDK

Up to Android Studio 4.2

You can follow the answer from Ben Kane, the JDK Location setting is located in:

File > Project Structure > SDK Location

For new Android Studio versions, go to C:\Program Files\Android\Android Studio\jre\bin(or to location of Android Studio installed files) and open command window at this location and type in following command in command prompt:-

java -version

This is old question but still my answer may help someone

For checking Java version in android studio version , simply open Terminal of Android Studio and type

java -version 

This will display java version installed in android studio

In Android Studio 4.0.1, Help -> About shows the details of the Java version used by the studio, in my case:

Android Studio 4.0.1
Build #AI-193.6911.18.40.6626763, built on June 25, 2020
Runtime version: 1.8.0_242-release-1644-b01 amd64
VM: OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM by JetBrains s.r.o
Windows 10 10.0
GC: ParNew, ConcurrentMarkSweep
Memory: 1237M
Cores: 8
Registry: ide.new.welcome.screen.force=true
Non-Bundled Plugins: com.google.services.firebase

The gradle sync uses the following JDK location:

In Android Studio, File -> Project Structure

Navigate to the SDK Location.

cd /Applications/Android\ Studio\ 4.1.0.app/Contents/jre/jdk/Contents/Home

➜  Home ./bin/java --version
openjdk 11.0.8 2020-07-14
OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 11.0.8+10-b944.6916264)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (build 11.0.8+10-b944.6916264, mixed mode)

On a Mac, you can use terminal to go to /Applications/Android Studio.app/Contents/jre/jdk/Contents/Home (or wherever your Android SDK is installed) and enter the following in the command prompt:

./java -version

1. gradle.properties:org.gradle.java.home=/Applications/Android\ Studio.app/Contents/jre/Contents/Home
2. ./gradlew assembleDebug -Dorg.gradle.java.home=/Applications/Android\ Studio.app/Contents/jre/Contents/Home