[java] How can I create an executable JAR with dependencies using Maven?

See executable-jar-with-maven-example (GitHub)

Notes

Those pros and cons are provided by Stephan.


For Manual Deployment

  • Pros
  • Cons
    • Dependencies are out of the final jar.

Copy Dependencies to a specific directory

<plugin>
  <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
  <artifactId>maven-dependency-plugin</artifactId>
  <executions>
    <execution>
      <id>copy-dependencies</id>
      <phase>prepare-package</phase>
      <goals>
        <goal>copy-dependencies</goal>
      </goals>
      <configuration>
        <outputDirectory>${project.build.directory}/${project.build.finalName}.lib</outputDirectory>
      </configuration>
    </execution>
  </executions>
</plugin>

Make the Jar Executable and Classpath Aware

<plugin>
  <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
  <artifactId>maven-jar-plugin</artifactId>
  <configuration>
    <archive>
      <manifest>
        <addClasspath>true</addClasspath>
        <classpathPrefix>${project.build.finalName}.lib/</classpathPrefix>
        <mainClass>${fully.qualified.main.class}</mainClass>
      </manifest>
    </archive>
  </configuration>
</plugin>

At this point the jar is actually executable with external classpath elements.

$ java -jar target/${project.build.finalName}.jar

Make Deployable Archives

The jar file is only executable with the sibling ...lib/ directory. We need to make archives to deploy with the directory and its content.

<plugin>
  <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
  <artifactId>maven-antrun-plugin</artifactId>
  <executions>
    <execution>
      <id>antrun-archive</id>
      <phase>package</phase>
      <goals>
        <goal>run</goal>
      </goals>
      <configuration>
        <target>
          <property name="final.name" value="${project.build.directory}/${project.build.finalName}"/>
          <property name="archive.includes" value="${project.build.finalName}.${project.packaging} ${project.build.finalName}.lib/*"/>
          <property name="tar.destfile" value="${final.name}.tar"/>
          <zip basedir="${project.build.directory}" destfile="${final.name}.zip" includes="${archive.includes}" />
          <tar basedir="${project.build.directory}" destfile="${tar.destfile}" includes="${archive.includes}" />
          <gzip src="${tar.destfile}" destfile="${tar.destfile}.gz" />
          <bzip2 src="${tar.destfile}" destfile="${tar.destfile}.bz2" />
        </target>
      </configuration>
    </execution>
  </executions>
</plugin>

Now you have target/${project.build.finalName}.(zip|tar|tar.bz2|tar.gz) which each contains the jar and lib/*.


Apache Maven Assembly Plugin

  • Pros
  • Cons
    • No class relocation support (use maven-shade-plugin if class relocation is needed).
<plugin>
  <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
  <artifactId>maven-assembly-plugin</artifactId>
  <executions>
    <execution>
      <phase>package</phase>
      <goals>
        <goal>single</goal>
      </goals>
      <configuration>
        <archive>
          <manifest>
            <mainClass>${fully.qualified.main.class}</mainClass>
          </manifest>
        </archive>
        <descriptorRefs>
          <descriptorRef>jar-with-dependencies</descriptorRef>
        </descriptorRefs>
      </configuration>
    </execution>
  </executions>
</plugin>

You have target/${project.bulid.finalName}-jar-with-dependencies.jar.


Apache Maven Shade Plugin

  • Pros
  • Cons
<plugin>
  <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
  <artifactId>maven-shade-plugin</artifactId>
  <executions>
    <execution>
      <goals>
        <goal>shade</goal>
      </goals>
      <configuration>
        <shadedArtifactAttached>true</shadedArtifactAttached>
        <transformers>
          <transformer implementation="org.apache.maven.plugins.shade.resource.ManifestResourceTransformer">
            <mainClass>${fully.qualified.main.class}</mainClass>
          </transformer>
        </transformers>
      </configuration>
    </execution>
  </executions>
</plugin>

You have target/${project.build.finalName}-shaded.jar.


onejar-maven-plugin

  • Pros
  • Cons
    • Not actively supported since 2012.
<plugin>
  <!--groupId>org.dstovall</groupId--> <!-- not available on the central -->
  <groupId>com.jolira</groupId>
  <artifactId>onejar-maven-plugin</artifactId>
  <executions>
    <execution>
      <configuration>
        <mainClass>${fully.qualified.main.class}</mainClass>
        <attachToBuild>true</attachToBuild>
        <!-- https://code.google.com/p/onejar-maven-plugin/issues/detail?id=8 -->
        <!--classifier>onejar</classifier-->
        <filename>${project.build.finalName}-onejar.${project.packaging}</filename>
      </configuration>
      <goals>
        <goal>one-jar</goal>
      </goals>
    </execution>
  </executions>
</plugin>

Spring Boot Maven Plugin

  • Pros
  • Cons
    • Add potential unecessary Spring and Spring Boot related classes.
<plugin>
  <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
  <artifactId>spring-boot-maven-plugin</artifactId>
  <executions>
    <execution>
      <goals>
        <goal>repackage</goal>
      </goals>
      <configuration>
        <classifier>spring-boot</classifier>
        <mainClass>${fully.qualified.main.class}</mainClass>
      </configuration>
    </execution>
  </executions>
</plugin>

You have target/${project.bulid.finalName}-spring-boot.jar.

Examples related to java

Under what circumstances can I call findViewById with an Options Menu / Action Bar item? How much should a function trust another function How to implement a simple scenario the OO way Two constructors How do I get some variable from another class in Java? this in equals method How to split a string in two and store it in a field How to do perspective fixing? String index out of range: 4 My eclipse won't open, i download the bundle pack it keeps saying error log

Examples related to maven-2

Maven:Non-resolvable parent POM and 'parent.relativePath' points at wrong local POM Failed to execute goal org.apache.maven.plugins:maven-surefire-plugin:2.12:test (default-test) on project. Plugin org.apache.maven.plugins:maven-clean-plugin:2.5 or one of its dependencies could not be resolved Maven Error: Could not find or load main class MAVEN_HOME, MVN_HOME or M2_HOME Where is my m2 folder on Mac OS X Mavericks Maven won't run my Project : Failed to execute goal org.codehaus.mojo:exec-maven-plugin:1.2.1:exec 'mvn' is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file SLF4J: Class path contains multiple SLF4J bindings Create local maven repository

Examples related to build-process

how to get docker-compose to use the latest image from repository How do I generate sourcemaps when using babel and webpack? How do I put all required JAR files in a library folder inside the final JAR file with Maven? How do I print a list of "Build Settings" in Xcode project? Running CMake on Windows Why maven? What are the benefits? How to get a dependency tree for an artifact? Can I compile all .cpp files in src/ to .o's in obj/, then link to binary in ./? How do I get Maven to use the correct repositories? Maven: add a dependency to a jar by relative path

Examples related to build-automation

What is Gradle in Android Studio? Maven: Non-resolvable parent POM Controlling Maven final name of jar artifact How do I clear my Jenkins/Hudson build history? How can I get CMake to find my alternative Boost installation? Ant: How to execute a command for each file in directory? Xcode variables Why does Maven have such a bad rep? How can I create an executable JAR with dependencies using Maven? Ant task to run an Ant target only if a file exists?

Examples related to executable-jar

Running JAR file on Windows 10 How do I tell Spring Boot which main class to use for the executable jar? Reference jars inside a jar Run java jar file on a server as background process What causes "Unable to access jarfile" error? "Could not find the main class" error when running jar exported by Eclipse how to check the version of jar file? How to run a class from Jar which is not the Main-Class in its Manifest file How to make an executable JAR file? how to run or install a *.jar file in windows?