Oracle
  Instant Client

Free, light-weight and easily installed Oracle Database libraries and SDKs for building and connecting client applications to local or remote Oracle Databases.

Oracle Instant Client enables development and production deployment of Oracle Database applications. It is used for popular languages and environments including Node.js, Python and PHP, as well as providing access for OCI, OCCI, JDBC, ODBC and Pro*C applications.

ISVs and Partners can benefit greatly from being able to bundle Instant Client in their applications.

Instant Client Downloads

Please note that Instant Client is provided under a separate Oracle Technology Network License Agreement that allows most licensees to download, redistribute, deploy in production environments, and provide third party training and instruction on the use of Oracle Instant Client, without charge. Please consult the license agreement and your legal department for clarification, if necessary.

Package Descriptions

Instant Client Package Description Notes
Basic All files required to run OCI, OCCI, and JDBC-OCI applications OCI
OCCI
JDBC
Basic Lite* Smaller version of the Basic package, with only English error messages and Unicode, ASCII, and Western European character set support OCI
OCCI
JDBC
JDBC Supplement* Additional support for XA, Internationalization, and RowSet operations under JDBC JDBC
SQL*Plus* Additional libraries and executable for running SQL*Plus with Instant Client SQL*Plus
ODBC Supplement* Additional libraries for enabling ODBC applications with Instant Client (Not all platforms) ODBC
SDK* Additional header files and an example makefile for developing Oracle applications with Instant Client  
ODAC* Includes ODP.NET, Oracle Services for MTS, Oracle Providers for ASP.NET, Oracle Provider for OLE DB, and OO4O with Oracle Instant Client  
Optional packages are marked with a *.

Installing

The general steps to install Instant Client are:

1. Download the appropriate Instant Client packages for your platform. All installations require the Basic or Basic Lite package.

2. Unzip the packages into a single directory such as "instantclient_12_1".

3. Set your environment's library loading path (for example LD_LIBRARY_PATH on Linux, or PATH on Windows) to the directory created in Step 2.

4. Start your application.

Refer to any detailed instructions on the download page of your platform for more information.

More Information

Related Technologies

Other Developer Resources