JavaPackager

JavaPackager is a hybrid plugin for Maven and Gradle which provides an easy way to package Java applications in native Windows, Mac OS X or GNU/Linux executables, and generate installers for them.

SNAPSHOT version is not released to Maven Central, so you have to install it manually.

👀 See JavaPackager changes and fixes.

History

It was born while teaching to my students how to build and distribute their Java apps, and after seeing that a chain of several plugins was needed to achieve this task, I decided to develop a plugin 💍 to govern them all.

How to use this plugin

Package your app with Maven

Add the following plugin tag to your pom.xml:

<plugin>
	<groupId>io.github.fvarrui</groupId>
	<artifactId>javapackager</artifactId>
	<version>1.5.1</version>
	<executions>
		<execution>
			<phase>package</phase>
			<goals>
				<goal>package</goal>
			</goals>
			<configuration>
				<!-- mandatory -->
				<mainClass>path.to.your.mainClass</mainClass>
				<!-- optional -->
				<bundleJre>true|false</bundleJre>
				<generateInstaller>true|false</generateInstaller>
				<administratorRequired>true|false</administratorRequired>
				<platform>auto|linux|mac|windows</platform>
				<additionalResources>
					<additionalResource>file path</additionalResource>
					<additionalResource>folder path</additionalResource>
					<additionalResource>...</additionalResource>
				</additionalResources>
				<linuxConfig>...</linuxConfig>
				<macConfig>...</macConfig>
				<winConfig>...</winConfig>
				[...]
			</configuration>
		</execution>
	</executions>
</plugin>

See Maven plugin configuration samples to know more.

And execute the next command in project's root folder:

mvn package

Package your app with Gradle

Apply JavaPackager plugin in build.gradle using legacy mode (because at the moment it's only available in Maven Central repository):

buildscript {
	repositories {
		mavenCentral()
	}
	dependencies {
		classpath 'io.github.fvarrui:javapackager:1.5.1'
	}
}

apply plugin: 'io.github.fvarrui.javapackager.plugin'

Create your packaging task:

task packageMyApp(type: io.github.fvarrui.javapackager.gradle.PackageTask, dependsOn: build) {
	// mandatory
	mainClass = 'path.to.your.mainClass'
	// optional
	bundleJre = true|false
	generateInstaller = true|false
	administratorRequired = true|false
	platform = auto|linux|mac|windows
	additionalResources = [ file('file path'), file('folder path'), ... ]
	linuxConfig {
		...
	}
	macConfig {
		...
	}
	winConfig {
		...
	}
	...
}

See Gradle plugin configuration samples to know more.

And execute the next command in project's root folder:

gradle packageMyApp

Generated artifacts

By default it will generate next artifacts in ${outputDirectory} folder:

⚠️ Installers generation will be ommited if target platform is different from current platform (see platform property).

⚠️ DEB and RPM package generation in Gradle is not yet available. Coming soon!

Plugin configuration properties

Some default values depends on the used building tool.

Platform specific properties

⚠️ Be careful when using the platform property if your project uses platform dependent libraries, so the libraries of the current platform will be copied, not those required for the target platform. You can solve this problem using classifiers. Also, intallers generation will be ommited.

Plugin assets

Some assets, such as application icons and Velocity templates, could be placed in ${assetsDir} folder organized by platform.

${assetsDir}/
├── linux/
├── mac/
└── windows/

Icons

If icons are located in ${assetsDir} folders, it would not be necessary to specify the iconFile property:

${assetsDir}/
├── linux/
│   ├── ${name}.png     # on GNU/Linux it has to be a PNG file for DEB package
│   └── ${name}.xpm     # and XPM file for RPM package
├── mac/
│   └── ${name}.icns    # on Mac OS X it has to be a ICNS file
└── windows/
    └── ${name}.ico     # on Windows it has to be a ICO file

⚠️ If iconFile plugin property is not specified and it can't find the correct icon in ${assetsDir} folder, it will use an icon by default for all platforms.

Velocity templates

Velocity templates (.vtl files) are used to generate some artifacts which have to be bundled with the app.

It is possible to use your own customized templates. You just have to put one of the following templates in the ${assetsDir} folder organized by platform, and the plugin will use these templates instead of default ones:

${assetsDir}/
├── linux/
|   ├── assembly.xml.vtl               # maven-assembly-plugin template to generate ZIP/TGZ bundles for GNU/Linux
|   ├── control.vtl                    # DEB control template
|   ├── desktop.vtl                    # Desktop template
│   └── startup.sh.vtl                 # Startup script template
├── mac/
|   ├── assembly.xml.vtl               # maven-assembly-plugin template to generate ZIP/TGZ bundles for Mac OS X
|   ├── customize-dmg.applescript.vtl  # DMG customization Applescript template
|   ├── Info.plist.vtl                 # Info.plist template
│   └── startup.vtl                    # Startup script template
└── windows/
    ├── assembly.xml.vtl               # maven-assembly-plugin template to generate ZIP/TGZ bundles for Windows
    ├── exe.manifest.vtl               # exe.manifest template
    ├── iss.vtl                        # Inno Setup Script template
    ├── msm.wxs.vtl                    # WiX Toolset WXS template to generate Merge Module
    └── wxs.vtl                        # WiX Toolset WXS template to generate MSI

Use default templates as examples.

An object called info of type PackagerSettings is passed to all templates with all plugin properties.

Additional JVM options at runtime

When you build your app, all configuration details are hardcoded into the executable and cannot be changed without recreating it or hacking with a resource editor. JavaPackager introduces a feature that allows to pass additional JVM options at runtime from an .l4j.ini file (like Launch4j does, but available for all platforms in the same way). So, you can specify these options in the packager's configuration (packaging time), in INI file (runtime) or in both.

The INI file's name must correspond to ${name}.l4j.ini and it has to be located next to the executable on Windows and GNU/Linux, and in Resources folder on Mac OS X.

The options should be separated with spaces or new lines:

# Additional JVM options
-Dswing.aatext=true
-Dsomevar="%SOMEVAR%"
-Xms16m

How to build and install the plugin

Useful to try SNAPSHOT versions.

Execute next commands in BASH (GNU/Linux or macOS) or CMD (Windows):

1. Download source code and change to the project directory:

git clone https://github.com/fvarrui/JavaPackager.git
cd JavaPackager

2. Compile, package and install the plugin in your local repository (ommit ./ on Windows):

./gradlew publishToMavenLocal

How to release the plugin to Maven Central

Run next command (ommit ./ on Windows):

./gradlew -Prelease uploadArchives closeAndReleaseRepository

Related guide.

How to release the plugin to Gradle plugin portal

Only the first time, run next command:

./gradlew login

And then, run (ommit ./ on Windows):

./gradlew publishPlugins

Related guide.

Future features

Check the TO-DO list to know the features we plan to add to JavaPackager.