3 Installing and Removing Oracle Database Instant Client

The Oracle Database Instant Client software is available on Oracle Technology Network website. This chapter describes the following sections:

Downloading and Installing the Oracle Database Instant Client Software

Download and install Oracle Database Instant Client 12c Release 2 (12.2) by completing the following steps:

  1. Download the Instant Client for Mac OS X (Intel) (64-bit) package from the Instant Client Downloads page on Oracle Technology Network at
  2. Create a directory on your computer, for example, instantclient. Choose a directory to install the Oracle Instant Client and unzip the downloaded zip file in that directory. The unzipped file creates the instantclient_12_2 directory.
  3. Set the NLS_LANG environment variable to the required character set. For example, an NLS_LANG of american_america.utf8 is a valid setting. It is in the following format: [NLS_LANGUAGE]_[NLS_TERRITORY].[NLS_CHARACTERSET].

    Refer to "Instant Client Light Requirements" for information about setting the NLS_LANG environment variable to the required character set.

    This completes the installation of Oracle Database Instant Client.

Removing the Oracle Database Instant Client Software

To remove the Oracle Database Instant Client software, delete the instantclient_12_2 directory.