IntelliJ IDEA 2020.3 Help

Application Servers

File | Settings | Build, Execution, Deployment | Application Servers for Windows and Linux
IntelliJ IDEA | Preferences | Build, Execution, Deployment | Application Servers for macOS
From the Run/Debug Configurations dialog: Configure when editing a run/debug configuration for an application server.

Use this page or dialog to manage configurations for the supported application servers and their settings.

The servers that are already defined in IntelliJ IDEA are shown in the pane under the Add button and the Remove button. When you select a server in this pane, the corresponding configuration settings and associated controls are shown in the area to the right. (If you are editing a run configuration for a particular server (for example, Tomcat), only the existing configurations for this particular server are shown.)

Use the Add button to create server configurations and the Remove button to remove them.

By the time you start creating a server configuration, the corresponding server must already be installed on your computer.

Note that the list of servers you can work with depends on which server integration plugins are currently enabled.

Toolbar

ItemDescription
the Add button Alt+Insert

Use this icon or shortcut to create a server configuration (that is, to define a server in IntelliJ IDEA):

  1. If the server list is shown, select the server of interest.

  2. In the dialog that opens, specify the server settings and click OK.

    For most of the servers, you just need to specify the server installation directory (referred to as the server home). For more information, see Main settings and controls.

the Remove button Alt+DeleteUse this icon or shortcut to remove the selected application server configuration.

Main settings and controls

ItemDescription
NameThe server configuration name.
<Server> Home

The path to the application server installation folder.

Click the Browse button and select the necessary folder.

<Server> VersionThe detected application server version (readonly).
<Server> base directory (for Jetty, Tomcat and TomEE)

The path to the server base directory.

Click the Browse button and select the directory in the dialog that opens.

Register schemas (for JBoss)

To be able to validate JBoss XML configuration files (such as standalone.xml, domain.xml, and so on) when editing them in IntelliJ IDEA, you can register XML schemas (XSDs) available in the JBoss installation:

  1. Click Register schemas.

  2. To register all the schemas, just click OK in the dialog that opens.

    If there are schemas that you don't want to register, select those schemas under External Schemas and DTDs, click the Remove button and then click OK.

To view or edit the schema list at a later time, use the Schemas and DTDs page in the Settings dialog.

See also, Libraries, Additional Libraries for Frameworks and Configuration file list (for Jetty 7 or later versions).

When you create a server configuration, normally, an associated application server library is created. As a rule, this library includes Servlet, JSP and EJB implementations available in the server distribution.

Use the controls under Libraries to manage the contents of the library.

ItemDescription
the Add button Alt+Insert

Add items (classes, sources, documentation, and so on) to the library.

In the dialog that opens, select the necessary files and folders. These may be individual class and java files as well as directories and archives jar and zip containing such files.

IntelliJ IDEA will analyze the selected files and folders, and automatically assign their contents to the appropriate library categories (Classes, Sources, Documentation, and so on).

When IntelliJ IDEA cannot guess the category (for example, when you select an empty folder), a dialog will be shown, in which you will be able to specify the category yourself.

the Specify Documentation URL buttonTo be able to use external documentation available online, click this icon and specify the URL of the external documentation.
the Execute buttonExclude an item (see Exclude library items). In the dialog that opens, select the items that you want IntelliJ IDEA to ignore (folders, archives and folders within the archives), and click OK.
the Remove button Delete

This option allows you to:

  • Remove the selected ordinary library from the library.

  • Restore the selected excluded items. The items themselves will stay in the library.

For certain application server configurations (e.g. GlassFish), there is an Additional Libraries for Frameworks list with checkboxes.

Each item in this list, potentially, is a library that implements the corresponding framework. (Corresponding library files are included in the server distribution.)

When you select a checkbox in the list, the corresponding application server library is created. The dialog that opens lets you select the modules in which this library should be used. (As a result, the library is added to dependencies of the selected modules.)

For Jetty 7 or later versions, there is a section where the server configuration (.xml) or module (.mod) files are listed.

This section provides a GUI for editing the file <jetty_home>\start.ini. (start.ini contains the options for <jetty_home>\start.jar which is used to start Jetty.)

Use the checkboxes to make the files active or inactive. Use Icons general add, Icons general remove, Icons actions edit, Icons actions previous occurence and Icons actions next occurence to add, remove, replace and reorder the files.

ItemDescription
ActiveUse the checkboxes to make the files active or inactive.

As soon as you deselect a file, the corresponding line in start.ini is commented. When you make a file active, the corresponding entry in start.ini is uncommented.

PathThe paths to the corresponding files are shown (readonly).

For the files within the Jetty installation directory, the paths are relative to the installation directory. For all the rest of the files, the absolute paths are shown.

Icons general add or Alt+InsertUse this icon or shortcut to add a file to the list. In the dialog that opens, select the necessary file and click OK.

Adding a file to the list leads to adding a new (commented) entry to start.ini.

Icons general remove or Alt+DeleteUse this icon or shortcut to remove the selected file from the list. Note that this operation does not delete the file physically. However, the corresponding entry is removed from start.ini.
Icons actions edit or EnterUse this icon or shortcut to replace the selected file. In the dialog that opens, select the replacement file and click OK.
Icons actions previous occurence or Alt+UpUse this icon or shortcut to move the selected file one line up in the list.
Icons actions next occurence or Alt+DownUse this icon or shortcut to move the selected file one line down in the list.
Last modified: 23 April 2021