Salesforce Data Loader said “Install Windows 10 or Better” so I installed Linux!

So, you wanna use Linux, but Data Loader requires Windows or Mac? Well, turns out that’s not completely true. Data Loader is an open source, Java based application. As long as you install JRE 11 or later, you can run Data Loader on any computer. Just head over to github to grab the Data Loader code. It even has all the instructions on how to build and run it! The instructions I’m posting on this page are accurate as of the date of this post, but I’d still check out the github page first just in case.

INSTALL JRE 11 OR NEWER (I recommend OpenJDK)

BUILD DATA LOADER: in the terminal, input the following commands

git clone https://github.com/forcedotcom/dataloader.git (i know this line looks different on github. i used the working link on this page)
cd dataloader
git submodule init
git submodule update
./dlbuilder.sh -n

RUN DATA LOADER: use the following command

java -jar target/dataloader-x.y.z-uber.jar (replace x.y.z with the version of Data Loader you have)

Two considerations to keep in mind.

1. While Data Loader is running, do not close the terminal. Closing the terminal will exit Data Loader.
2. The Sentinel software used for proctoring online certification exams is not available on Linux at this time, so you will still need access to a Windows or Mac machine if you intend on taking the exam at home.

All this begs the question. Why use Linux? Well that depends on you. Linux might not make sense for you. As for me, I like open source software, I like that I can tweak Linux to be whatever I want it to be, and EVERYONE uses Linux. Think of any company. Their servers are probably Linux. Yes that includes Microsoft. Yes, Salesforce uses Linux, they even have openings for Linux Admins. Learning Linux opens up a TON of opportunity down the road. If none of that matters to you, then it’s purely preference. I’m not here trying to convince you to use Linux. I’m here making sure Data Loader doesn’t stop you from using Linux.