IntelliJ IDEA 2016.1 Help

Run/Debug Configuration: Jar Application

This run/debug configuration enables you to run applications started via java -jar <name>.jar command.

The dialog box consists of the following tabs:

Click here for the description of the options that are common for all run/debug configurations.

Configuration tab

ItemDescription
Path to JARSpecify here the filly-qualified path to the required JAR file.
VM optionsIn this text box, specify the string to be passed to the VM for launching an application. Usually this string contains the options such as -mx, -verbose, etc.

If necessary, click shift-enter-button and type the desired string in the VM Options dialog.

When specifying the options, follow these rules:

  • Use spaces to separate individual options, for example, -client -ea -Xmx1024m.
  • If an option includes spaces, enclose the spaces or the argument that contains the spaces in double quotes, for example, some" "arg or "some arg".
  • If an option includes double quotes (e.g. as part of the argument), escape the double quotes by means of the backslashes, for example, -Dmy.prop=\"quoted_value\".

The -classpath option specified in this field overrides the classpath of the module.

Program argumentsIn this text box, type a list of arguments to be passed to the program in the format you would use in the command line. If necessary, click the shift-enter-button.png button and type the desired arguments in the Program Parameters dialog box.

Use the same rules as for specifying the VM options.

Working directoryIn this text box, specify the current directory to be used by the running test. This directory is the starting point for all relative input and output paths. By default, the field contains the directory where the project file resides. To specify another directory, click the Browse button browseButton.png select the directory in the dialog that opens.

Click this run_debug_listView_icon icon to view the list of available environment variables that you can use as a path to your working directory. In this case you do not need to specify any additional environment variables in the Environment variables field.

Environment variablesClick the Browse button browseButton.png to open the Environment Variables dialog box, where you can create variables and specify their values.

Note that you can copy-paste the contents of the Environment variables field without having to open the Environment Variables dialog box.

JRE By default, the newest JDK from the module dependencies is used to run the application. If you want to specify an alternative JDK or JRE here, select it from the drop-down list.
Search sources using module's class pathUse the drop-down list to choose the required module. This option tells the debugger and the feature Navigate from stacktrace, where the source code for the classes from JAR archive should be sought for.

Code Coverage tab

Use this tab to configure code coverage monitoring options.

ItemDescription
Choose code coverage runner Select the desired code coverage runner.

By default, IntelliJ IDEA uses its own coverage engine with the Sampling mode. You can also choose JaCoCo or Emma for calculating coverage.

SamplingSelect this option to measure code coverage with minimal slow-down.
TracingSelect this option to collect accurate branch coverage. This mode is available for the IntelliJ IDEA code coverage runner only.
Track per test coverageSelect this check box to detect lines covered by one test and all tests covering line. If this check box is selected, junitIcon becomes available on the toolbar of the coverage statistic pop-up window.

Refer to the section Viewing Code Coverage Results.

Merge data with previous resultsWhen you run your unit testing or application configuration several times, use this item to calculate statistics in the Project View, taking into account the statistics of each time you have run the configuration.
Packages and classes to record code coverage dataClick add-class and add-package buttons to specify classes and packages to be measured. You can also remove classes and packages from the list by selecting them in the list and clicking the delete button.
Enable coverage in test folders.If this check box is selected, the folders marked as test rootTest are included in the code coverage analysis.

Toolbar

ItemShortcutDescription
add Alt+Insert Click this button to add a new configuration to the list.
delete Alt+Delete Click this button to remove the selected configuration from the list.
copy Ctrl+D Click this button to create a copy of the selected configuration.
settings Edit defaultsClick this button to edit the default configuration templates. The defaults are used for newly created configurations.
arrowUp or arrowDown Alt+Up or Alt+Down Use these buttons to move the selected configuration or folder up and down in the list.

The order of configurations or folders in the list defines the order in which configurations appear in the Run/Debug drop-down list on the main toolbar.

folder Move into new folder / Create new folder Use this button to create a new folder.

If one or more run/debug configurations are in focus, the selected run/debug configurations are automatically moved to the newly created folder. If only a category is in focus, an empty folder is created.

Move run/debug configurations to a folder using drag-and-drop, or the arrowUp arrowDown buttons.

sortAlphabetically Sort configurations Click this button to sort configurations in alphabetical order.

Common options

ItemDescription
NameIn this text box, specify the name of the current run/debug configuration. This field does not appear for the default run/debug configurations.
Defaults This node in the left-hand pane of the dialog box contains the default run/debug configuration settings. Select the desired configuration to change its default settings in the right-hand pane. The defaults are applied to all newly created run/debug configurations.
Share Select this check box to make the run/debug configuration available to other team members.

If the directory-based project format is used, the settings for a run/debug configuration are stored in a separate .xml file in the .idea\runConfigurations folder if the run/debug configuration is shared, or in the .idea\workspace.xml file otherwise.

If the file-based format is used, the settings are stored in the .ipr file for shared configurations, or in the .iws file otherwise.

This check box is not available when editing the run/debug configuration defaults.

Single instance onlyIf this check box is selected, this run/debug configuration cannot be launched more than once.

Every time a new run/debug configuration is launched, IntelliJ IDEA checks the presence of the other instances of the same run/debug configuration, and displays a confirmation dialog box. If you click OK in the confirmation dialog box, the first instance of the runner will be stopped, and the next one will take its place.

This makes sense when the usage of certain resources can cause conflicts, or when launching two run/debug configurations of the same type consumes too much of the CPU and memory resources.

If this check box is not selected, it is possible to launch as many instances of the runner as required. So doing, each runner will start in its own tab of the Run tool window.

Before launchSpecify which tasks must be performed before applying the run/debug configuration. The specified tasks are performed in the order they appear in the list.
ItemKeyboard shortcutDescription
add Alt+Insert Click this icon to add a task to the list. Select the task to be added:
  • Run External tool. Select this option to run an application which is external to IntelliJ IDEA. In the dialog that opens, select the application or applications that should be run. If the necessary application is not defined in IntelliJ IDEA yet, add its definition. For more information, see Configuring Third-Party Tools and External Tools.
  • Make. Select this option to have the project or module compiled. The Make Module command will be carried out if a particular module is specified in the run/debug configuration, and the Make Project command otherwise.

    If an error occurs during the compilation, IntelliJ IDEA won't attempt to start the run/debug configuration.

  • Make, no error check. The same as the Make option but IntelliJ IDEA will try to start the run/debug configuration irrespective of the compilation result.
  • Build Artifacts. Select this option to have an artifact or artifacts built. In the dialog that opens, select the artifact or artifacts that should be built.

    See also, Configuring Artifacts.

  • Run Another Configuration. Select this option to have another run/debug configuration executed. In the dialog that opens, select the configuration to run.

    This option is available only if you have already at least one run/debug configuration in the current project.

  • Run Ant target. Select this option to have an Ant target run. In the dialog that opens, select the target to be run. For more information, see Ant.
  • Generate CoffeeScript Source Maps. Select this option to have the source maps for your CoffeeScript sources generated. In the dialog that opens, specify where your CoffeeScript source files are located. For more information, see CoffeeScript Support.
  • Run Maven Goal. Select this option to have a Maven goal run. In the dialog that opens, select the goal to be run.

    For more information, see Maven.

  • Run Remote External tool: Add a remote SSH external tool. Refer to the section Remote SSH External Tools for details.
delete Alt+Delete Click this icon to remove the selected task from the list.
edit1 Enter Click this icon to edit the selected task. Make the necessary changes in the dialog that opens.
arrowUp Alt+Up Click this icon to move the selected task one line up in the list.
arrowDown Alt+Down Click this icon to move the selected task one line down in the list.
Show this page Select this check box to have the run/debug configuration settings shown prior to actually starting the run/debug configuration.
Active tool windowSelect this option if you want the Run/Debug tool windows to be activated automatically when you run/debug your application. This option is enabled by default.

See Also

Last modified: 13 July 2016