Package a JavaFX Application as a Native Executable WITH resources

Question

Based on this article, and with a default JavaFX tree from IntelliJ Idea (see below), how do I add all resources to commands so that they can be used natively (with getClass().getResource("/style/style.css") or some other way)?

src
|_ main
   |_ java
      |_ helloworld
         |_ HelloWordlFX
      |_ module-info.java
   |_ resources
      |_ fonts
         |_ openssans
            |_ opensansregular.ttf
      |_ pictures
         |_ icon.ico
      |_ style
         |_ styles.css
      |_ fxml
         |_ sample.fxml
...

Sincerely,

I'm wondering if I should transform the resource folder into a jar, and load it as a module, if there is a specific command to include it in my module, or if the solution lies in using JPackage. I tried --resource-dir src/main/resources with jpackage but to no avail.

Answer 1

Based on the article, @slaw's answer, respecting the tree structure chosen in my question, and for a Microsoft Installer (msi) file:

1.Maven lifecycle > package

2.jpackage to msi :

jpackage 
 --dest output 
 --name ShiftingCircle 
 --type msi 
 --module-path "%PATH_TO_FX_JMODS%;target/<NAME>.jar" 
 --add-modules helloworldfx 
 --module helloworldfx/helloworld.HelloWorldFX 
 --win-shortcut --win-menu 
 --java-options -Xmx2048m

Answer 2

Look into Launch4j.

Package your app as a .jar file and then use Launch4j to convert it into an .exe file.

Answer 3

Take a look at "jpackage". It is the official tool for packaging Java applications.

It will fit all your needs, it is easy to use, it is complete documented and it comes preinstalled with the JDK.

https://docs.oracle.com/en/java/javase/14/docs/specs/man/jpackage.html

https://www.baeldung.com/java14-jpackage

Answer 4

The --resource-dir option is not for the kind of resources you're talking about. You can ignore this option for now; it's for more advanced use cases. The files under src/main/resources are meant to be embedded on the class-path/module-path. Typically, this means they should be packaged in a JAR file along with the class files of the project. This setup will continue to "just work" after adding your module to a custom run-time image.

Assuming you want to use jpackage manually, then based on your directory structure, the following sequence of (minimal) commands should work for you on Windows using PowerShell (Core 7.4.0):

$sources = Get-ChildItem src/main/java -r -i *.java | Resolve-Path -Relative
javac -sourcepath src/main/java -p "$env:path_to_fx_jmods" -d out/classes $sources
jar -cf out/app.jar -C out/classes .
jar -uf out/app.jar -C src/main/resources .
jpackage -t app-image -p "$env:path_to_fx_jmods;out/app.jar" -m <module> -d out/app-image

^{Note: All commands should be executed from the parent directory of src.}

Where <module> is replaced by the main module name and main class name. For example, if your main module's name is app and your main class's name is helloworld.HelloWorldFX, then you would replace <module> with app/helloworld.HelloWorldFX. If you set the main class attribute of the JAR file, then you can omit the class name (and the forward slash) and just specify the module name.

This also assumes you have an environment variable PATH_TO_FX_JOMDS and that it points to where the JavaFX JMOD files are located. I made this assumption because one of your comments suggests this environment variable exists. If this assumption is incorrect, then replace $env:path_to_fx_jmods with the correct value. Note it's paramount the appropriate native code of JavaFX is included in the application image. That means using the JAR files from Maven Central, as they embed the native code, or the JMOD files (the cleaner option when viable).

All that said, I recommend you use a build tool such as Maven or Gradle. It will make this all easier in the long run. See Getting Started with JavaFX for details on setting up a JavaFX project with Maven or Gradle. Note that build tools are something you use in addition to an IDE (and the IDE should delegate most, if not all, build tasks to the build tool). Both Maven and Gradle have plugins that can work with jpackage.

Answer 5

If you want to do it manually you can make a folder that contains the following elements

• bin : the compiled code of your app
• lib : dependencies (preferably as jar files)
• res : resources
• rt : java runtime (the version must be compatible with your compiled code)

The structure of the files is up to you and it might look something like this

└───build_folder
    ├───bin
    ├───lib
    ├───res
    └───rt

After that you can check if the setup is working by launching the compiled code using the copied jre, you can open a cmd inside the build folder and type this command

"rt/bin/java" -cp "bin;res;lib/*" MainClass

If it works you can make a simple bat file with only the command above in it, Running the bat file will launch the code in bin/ using the jre in rt/ while taking res and lib into the classpath

You can already zip the deploy folder and deploy it into another computer, and it should still work simply by extracting the folder and running the bat.

If you want a more native integration with Windows you can convert the bat into an Exe (there are tools for that online and I can't recommend any).

You can also package the deploy folder into a native installer, see InnoSetup or NSIS, a native installer would offer options like shortcuts and file type associations.

Also starting from java 11 you can make use of jlink and jdeps, which are command line tools that allow you to analyse the dependencies of your project and generate a minimal java runtime getting rid of unneeded modules.

Note :

every step starting from the creation of the bat file is specific to windows, targeting other operating systems would require a little effort, while the jpackage tool already does this

The jpackage tool will take as input a Java application and a Java run-time image, and produce a Java application image that includes all the necessary dependencies. It will be able to produce a native package in a platform-specific format, such as an exe on Windows or a dmg on macOS.