FAQ

When I first run soloist, I see a "...need java runtime" message. Should I install java?

No, you don't need to install java. It's an artifact of ohai, which tries to run /usr/bin/java --version, but /usr/bin/java is a wrapper to a dialogue which pops up a dialogue saying that you need to install java. You can safely ignore that message (because java was invoked to determine its version, not to actually run anything).