IntelliJ IDEA 2018.2 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:

Configuration tab

Item

Description

Path to JAR

Specify here the filly-qualified path to the required JAR file.

VM options

In this text box, specify the string to be passed to the VM for launching an application, for example, -mx, -verbose, and so on.

If necessary, click icons general expandComponent svg and type the desired string in the VM Options dialog.

When specifying JVM 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 spaces in double quotes, for example, some" "arg or "some arg".

  • If an option includes double quotes (as part of the argument), escape the double quotes using backslashes, for example, -Dmy.prop=\"quoted_value\".

  • You can pass environment variable values to custom Java properties. For example, if you define a variable MY_ENV_VAR, you can pass it to the foo property as follows:

    -Dfoo=${MY_ENV_VAR}

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

Program arguments

In 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 icons general expandComponent svg button and type the desired arguments in the Program Parameters dialog box.

Use the same rules as for specifying the VM options.

Working directory

In this text box, specify the current directory to be used by the running application. 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 select the directory in the dialog that opens.

Click the run debug listView icon icon to view the list of available path variables that you can use as a path to your working directory.

Environment variables

Click Browse 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.

Include dependencies with 'Provided' scope

Enable this option to add dependencies with the Provided scope to the runtime classpath.

Shorten command line

Select a method that will be used to shorten the command line if the classpath gets too long or you have many VM arguments that exceed your OS command line length limitation:
  • none: IntelliJ IDEA will not shorten a long classpath. If the command line exceeds the OS limitation, IntelliJ IDEA will be unable to run your application and will display a message suggesting you to specify the shortening method.

  • JAR manifest: IntelliJ IDEA will pass a long classpath via a temporary classpath.jar. The original classpath is defined in the manifest file as a class-path attribute in classpath.jar. Note that you will be able to preview the full command line if it was shortened using this method, not just the classpath of the temporary classpath.jar.

  • classpath.file: IntelliJ IDEA will write a long classpath into a text file.

  • User-local default: this legacy option is set automatically for projects created before IntelliJ IDEA version 2017.3. IntelliJ IDEA will configure this setting depending on the properties set in the ide/workspace.xml and idea.config.path/options/options.xml files.

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 path

Use 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.

Item

Description

Choose 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.

Sampling

Select this option to measure code coverage with minimal slow-down.

Tracing

Select this option to collect accurate branch coverage. This mode is available for the IntelliJ IDEA code coverage runner only.

Track per test coverage

Select this check box to detect lines covered by one test and all tests covering line. If this check box is selected, junit2x becomes available on the toolbar of the coverage statistic pop-up window.

Refer to the section : view JUnit tests that cover the line at caret. .

Packages and classes to record code coverage data

Click icons toolbarDecorator addClass and icons toolbarDecorator addPackage 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 icons general remove svg button.

Enable coverage in test folders.

If this check box is selected, the folders marked as test root_Test.png are included in the code coverage analysis.

Logs tab

Use this tab to specify which log files generated while running or debugging should be displayed in the console, that is, on the dedicated tabs of the Run or Debug tool window.

Item

Description

Is Active

Select check boxes in this column to have the log entries displayed in the corresponding tabs in the Run tool window or Debug tool window.

Log File Entry

The read-only fields in this column list the log files to show. The list can contain:

  • Full paths to specific files.

  • Ant patterns that define the range of files to be displayed.

  • Aliases to substitute for full paths or patterns. These aliases are also displayed in the headers of the tabs where the corresponding log files are shown.

    If a log entry pattern defines more than one file, the tab header shows the name of the file instead of the log entry alias.

Skip Content

Select this check box to have the previous content of the selected log skipped.

Save console output to file

Select this check box to save the console output to the specified location. Type the path manually, or click the browse button and point to the desired location in the dialog that opens.

Show console when a message is printed to standard output stream

Select this check box to activate the output console and bring it forward if an associated process writes to Standard.out.

Show console when a message is printed to standard error stream

Select this check box to activate the output console and bring it forward if an associated process writes to Standard.err.

icons general add svg

Click this button to open the Edit Log Files Aliases dialog where you can select a new log entry and specify an alias for it.

icons actions edit svg

Click this button to edit the properties of the selected log file entry in the Edit Log Files Aliases dialog.

icons general remove svg

Click this button to remove the selected log entry from the list.

Common options

When you edit a run configuration (but not a run configuration template), you can specify the following options for it:

Item

Description

Name

In this text box, specify the name for the run/debug configuration. The name will help you identify the created configuration when you choose to edit it later, or when you invoke it, for example. from the Run popup (Shift+Alt+F10).

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.

Toolbar

The tree view of run/debug configurations has a toolbar that helps you manage configurations available in your project as well as adjust default configurations templates.

Item

Shortcut

Description

icons general add svgAlt+Insert

Create a run/debug configuration.

icons general remove svgAlt+Delete

Delete the selected run/debug configuration. Note that you cannot delete default configurations.

icons actions copy svg

Ctrl+D

Create a copy of the selected run/debug configuration. Note that you create copies of default configurations.

icons general settings svg

Edit Templates

View and edit the default template for the selected run/debug configuration. The templates are used for newly created configurations.

icons actions moveUp svg/icons actions moveDown svg

Alt+Up/Alt+Down

Move the selected run/debug configuration up and down in the list.

The order of configurations in the list defines the order, in which the configurations appear when you choose a run/debug configuration.

Default templates of run/debug configurations are always sorted alphabetically.

icons actions newFolder svg

Move into new folder / Create new folder

You can group run/debug configurations by placing them into folders.

To create a folder, select the configurations within a category, click folder, and specify folder name. If only a category is in focus, an empty folder is created.

Then, to move a configuration into a folder, between the folders or out of a folder, use drag-and-drop or icons actions moveUp svg and icons actions moveDown svg buttons.

To remove grouping, select a folder and click icons general remove svg.

icons objectBrowser sorted svg

Sort configurations

Click this button to sort configurations in the alphabetical order.

Templates

Under the Templates node in the tree view of run configurations, you can select a run configuration template and edit its default settings. This will not affect the configurations that are already created, but will be used as defaults when creating new configurations of the corresponding type.

When you select the Templates node itself, you will be able to adjust general settings that apply to all run/debug configurations:

Item

Description

Configurations available in Run Dashboard

In this section you can create a list of run configurations available in the Run Dashboard — a tool window that helps you execute and manage multiple run/debug configurations.

Note that the dashboard will only display the configuration types for which you have created one ore more configurations.
Thus, if you add a configuration type for which no configurations exist in the project, this type will not be displayed on the dashboard until you create a configuration of this type.

Confirm rerun with process termination

The behavior of this checkbox depends on whether the Single instance only option is selected for a particular run/debug configuration.
  • If this checkbox is selected, in case of a single instance, launching a new process (for example, by clicking icons toolwindows toolWindowRun on the main toolbar) while another process is still running, results in showing a dialog box prompting to terminate the current process before launching a new one.

  • If this checkbox is not selected (or in case of multiple instances), IntelliJ IDEA starts the new process silently.

Temporary configurations limit

Specify the maximum number of temporary configurations to be stored and shown in the Select Run/Debug Configuration drop-down list.

Before Launch options

In this area you can specify tasks that must be be performed before starting the selected run/debug configuration. The tasks are performed in the order they appear in the list.

Item

Shortcut

Description

icons general add svgAlt+Insert

Click this icon to add one of the following available tasks:

  • Run External tool: select to run an external application. In the dialog that opens, select one or multiple applications you want to run. If it is not defined in IntelliJ IDEA yet, add its definition. For more information, see Configuring Third-Party Tools and External Tools.

  • Run Another Configuration: select to execute another run/debug configuration. In the dialog that opens, select the configuration to be run.

  • Build: select to compile the specified module. The Build Module command will be executed.

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

  • Build Project: select to compile the entire project. The Build Project command will be executed.

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

  • Build, no error check: the same as the Build option, but IntelliJ IDEA will try to start the run/debug configuration irrespective of the compilation results.

  • Build Artifacts: select this option to build an artifact or artifacts. In the dialog that opens, select the artifact or artifacts that should be built.

  • Run Ant target: select this option to run an Ant target. In the dialog that opens, select the target to be run.

  • Run Grunt task: select this option to run a Grunt task. In the Grunt task dialog box that opens, specify the Gruntfile.js where the required task is defined, select the task to execute, and specify the arguments to pass to the Grunt tool.

    Specify the location of the Node.js interpreter, the parameters to pass to it, and the path to the grunt-cli package.

  • Run Gulp task: select this option to run a Gulp task. In the Gulp task dialog box that opens, specify the Gulpfile.js where the required task is defined, select the task to execute, and specify the arguments to pass to the Gulp tool.

    Specify the location of the Node.js interpreter, the parameters to pass to it, and the path to the gulp package.

  • Run Maven Goal: select this option to run a Maven goal. In the dialog that opens, select the goal to be run.

  • Run npm Script: select this option to execute an npm script. In the NPM Script dialog box that opens, specify the npm run/debug configuration settings.

  • Compile TypeScript: select to run the built-in TypeScript compiler and thus make sure that all the changes you made to your TypeScript code are reflected in the generated JavaScript files. In the TypeScript Compile Settings dialog that opens, select or clear the Check errors checkbox to configure the behaviour of the compiler in case any errors are detected:
    • If the Check errors checkbox is selected, the compiler will show all the errors and the run configuration will not start.

    • If the Check errors checkbox is cleared, the compiler will show all the detected errors but the run configuration still will be launched.

  • Generate CoffeeScript Source Maps: select this option to generate the source maps for your CoffeeScript sources. In the dialog that opens, specify where your CoffeeScript source files are located.

  • Run Remote External tool: adds a remote SSH external tool.

  • Run Rake task: add a Rake task to be executed prior to running or debugging. To choose a Rake task, click the browse button browseButton, and select the desired task from the list of available tasks.

    Note that code completion is available here.

    runConfigRakeTask
  • Run JRuby compiler: choose this option to execute JRuby compiler with the specified target path, compiler process heap size, and command line parameters (if any).

icons general remove svgAlt+Delete

Click this icon to remove the selected task from the list.

icons actions edit svg

Enter

Click this icon to edit the selected task. Make the necessary changes in the dialog that opens.

icons actions moveUp svg/icons actions moveDown svg

Alt+Up/Alt+Down

Click these icons to move the selected task one line up or down in the list. (The tasks are performed in the order that they appear in the list.)

Show this page

Select this checkbox to show the run/debug configuration settings prior to actually starting the run/debug configuration.

Activate tool window

If this checkbox is selected, which it is by default, the Run or the Debug tool window opens when you start the run/debug configuration.

Otherwise, the tool window isn't shown. However, when the configuration is running, you can open the corresponding tool window for it yourself by pressing Alt+4 or Alt+5.

Last modified: 20 November 2018

See Also