How to Create an Executable JAR with Maven?

To create an executable JAR with dependencies using Maven, you can use the maven-assembly-plugin or spring-boot-maven-plugin. Edit the pom.xml file, then run the Maven clean package, and your jar will be created.

Table of Contents:

• What is a JAR file?
• Creating a JAR Using the Maven Assembly Plugin
• Creating a JAR Using the Maven Shade Plugin
• Creating a JAR Using the Spring Boot Maven Plugin
• Create a Web Application With Executable Tomcat
• Create an Executable Using Launch4J in Maven
• Advantages and Disadvantages of JAR and EXE Creation Tools in Java
• Conclusion

What is a JAR file?

A JAR file (Java ARchive) is a file that is used to package multiple files into one single file. It is used to combine Java class files, images, sounds, and other resources. JAR files make it easier to share and distribute Java applications. 

Creating a runnable JAR with all dependencies can be done easily using Maven. You can use plugins like Assembly, Shade, or Spring Boot Maven Plugin, depending on your project type. For Windows, the JAR can be converted into an .exe using Launch4J. 

Now, we will see the detailed steps of building the jar or an exe with different methods.

Creating a JAR Using the Maven Assembly Plugin

The following steps should be followed to build a jar file using IntelliJ.

Step 1: Create or Open a Maven Project in IntelliJ

• 1. Open IntelliJ IDEA
• 2. Create New Project           

Now you will be able to see the pom.xml file and a src/main/java structure.

Step 2: Write Your Main Class

Create a simple Java class under src/main/java/com/example

package org.example;
public class Main {
   public static void main(String[] args) {
       System.out.println("Hello from Intellipaat ");
   }
}

Step 3: Add the Maven Assembly Plugin to pom.xml

Edit your pom.xml and add the following.

   <build>
       <plugins>
           <!-- Maven Compiler Plugin -->
           <plugin>
               <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
               <version>3.10.1</version>
               <configuration>
                   <source>${maven.compiler.source}</source>
                   <target>${maven.compiler.target}</target>
               </configuration>
           </plugin>

           <!-- Maven Assembly Plugin to create a fat JAR -->
           <plugin>
               <artifactId>maven-assembly-plugin</artifactId>
               <version>3.6.0</version>
               <configuration>
                   <descriptorRefs>
                       <descriptorRef>jar-with-dependencies</descriptorRef>
                   </descriptorRefs>
                   <archive>
                       <manifest>
                           <mainClass>org.example.Main</mainClass>
                       </manifest>
                   </archive>
               </configuration>
               <executions>
                   <execution>
                       <id>make-assembly</id>
                       <phase>package</phase>
                       <goals>
                           <goal>single</goal>
                       </goals>
                   </execution>
               </executions>
           </plugin>
       </plugins>
   </build>
</project>

Step 4: Build the Project in IntelliJ

Open the Maven window on the right sidebar, which will appear like an “M” tab. Expand it like project > Lifecycle > and then double-click on the package

Step 5: Find the Output JAR

Go to the target folder inside your project, where you will see a JAR.

Step 6: Run the JAR

Open a terminal and run:

java -jar target/Intellipaat-1.0-SNAPSHOT-jar-with-dependencies.jar

Output:

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Creating a JAR Using the Maven Shade Plugin

The following steps should be followed to build a jar file using IntelliJ.

Step 1: Create or Open a Maven Project in IntelliJ

1. Open IntelliJ IDEA

2. Create New Project         

Now you will be able to see the pom.xml file and a src/main/java structure.

Step 2: Write Your Main Class

Create a simple Java class under src/main/java/com/example/Main.java

public class Main {
   public static void main(String[] args) {
       System.out.println("Hello from Intellipaat ");
   }
}

Step 3: Add the Maven Shade Plugin to pom.xml

Edit your pom.xml and add the following inside the <build><plugins> section:

<build>
    <plugins>
        <!-- Maven Shade Plugin -->
        <plugin>
            <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
            <artifactId>maven-shade-plugin</artifactId>
            <version>3.5.0</version>
            <executions>
                <execution>
                    <phase>package</phase>
                    <goals>
                        <goal>shade</goal>
                    </goals>
                    <configuration>
                        <transformers>
                            <transformer implementation="org.apache.maven.plugins.shade.resource.ManifestResourceTransformer">
                                <mainClass>com.example.Main</mainClass>
                            </transformer>
                        </transformers>
                    </configuration>
                </execution>
            </executions>
        </plugin>
    </plugins>
</build>

Step 4: Build the Project in IntelliJ

Open the Maven window on the right sidebar, which will appear like an “M” tab. Expand it like project > Lifecycle > and then double-click on the package.

Step 5: Find the Output JAR

Go to the target folder inside your project, where you will see a JAR like Intellipaat-1.0-SNAPSHOT-shaded.jar

Step 6: Run the JAR

Open a terminal and run:

java -jar .Intellipaat-1.0-SNAPSHOT-shaded.jar

Output:

Creating a JAR Using the Spring Boot Maven Plugin

The following steps should be followed to build a jar file using IntelliJ.

Step 1: Create or Open a Maven Project in IntelliJ

• 1. Open IntelliJ IDEA
• 2. Create New Spring-Boot Project            

Now you will be able to see the pom.xml file and a src/main/java/com.example.demo structure.

Note: Spring Boot dependencies are added automatically when you create a new Spring project.

Step 2: Write Your Main Class

Create a simple Java class under src/main/java/com/example/demo.java

package com.example.demo;
import org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication;
import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.SpringBootApplication;
@SpringBootApplication
public class DemoApplication {
   public static void main(String[] args) {
       SpringApplication.run(DemoApplication.class, args);
       System.out.println("Hello from INTELLIPAAT");
   }
}

Step 3: Build the Project in IntelliJ

Open the Maven window on the right sidebar, which will appear like an “M” tab. Expand it like project > Lifecycle > and then double-click on the package.

Step 4: Find the Output JAR

Go to the target folder inside your project, inside which you will see a JAR like demo-0.0.1-SNAPSHOT.jar

Step 5: Run the JAR

Open a terminal and run:

java -jar demo-0.0.1-SNAPSHOT.jar

Output:

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Explore Program

Create a Web Application With Executable Tomcat

The following steps should be followed to build a jar file using IntelliJ.

Step 1: Create or Open a Maven Project in IntelliJ

• 1. Open IntelliJ IDEA
• 2. Create New Spring-Boot Project            

Now you will be able to see the pom.xml file and a src/main/java/com.example.demo structure.

Step 2: Write Your Main Class

Create a simple Java class under src/main/java/com/example/Main.java

package org.example.intellipaat;
import org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication;
import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.SpringBootApplication;
@SpringBootApplication
public class IntellipaatApplication {
   public static void main(String[] args) {
       SpringApplication.run(IntellipaatApplication.class, args);
       System.out.println("Hello from Intellipaat");
   }
}

Create one more file RestController.java to get the output in the web browser by the @GetMapping(“/Intellipaat”) method .

package org.example.intellipaat;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.GetMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RestController;
@RestController
public class Rest {
   @GetMapping("/Intellipaat")
   public String hello() {
       return "Hello from Spring Boot with Intellipaat";
   }
}

Step 3: Build the Project in IntelliJ

Open the Maven window on the right sidebar, which will appear like an “M” tab. Expand it like project > Lifecycle > and then double-click on the package.

Step 4: Find the Output JAR

Go to the target folder inside your project, where you will see a JAR like

Intellipaat-0.0.1-SNAPSHOT.jar

Step 5: Run the JAR

Open a terminal and run:

java -jar Intellipaat-0.0.1-SNAPSHOT.jar

Output:                                                                      

Step 6: Visit the App

Open your browser and go to:

http://localhost:8080/Intellipaat

Create an Executable Using Launch4J in Maven

The following steps should be followed to build an executable using Launch4J in Maven.

Step 1: Create or Open a Maven Project in IntelliJ

• 1. Open IntelliJ IDEA
• 2. Create New Project           

Now you will be able to see the pom.xml file and a src/main/java structure.

Step 2: Write Your Main Class

Create a simple Java class under src/main/java/com/example/Main.java

package org.example.intellipaat;
import org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication;
import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.SpringBootApplication;
@SpringBootApplication
public class Intellipaat2Application {
   public static void main(String[] args) {
       SpringApplication.run(Intellipaat2Application.class, args);
       System.out.println("Hello from EXE! by Intellipaat");
   }
}

Step 3: Edit your pom.xml and add the following inside the <build><plugins> section

<build>
    <plugins>
        <!-- Spring Boot Plugin -->
        <plugin>
            <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
            <artifactId>spring-boot-maven-plugin</artifactId>
        </plugin>
        <!-- Launch4j Plugin for EXE generation -->
        <plugin>
            <groupId>com.akathist.maven.plugins.launch4j</groupId>
            <artifactId>launch4j-maven-plugin</artifactId>
            <version>1.7.21</version>
            <executions>
                <execution>
                    <id>l4j-config</id>
                    <phase>package</phase>
                    <goals>
                        <goal>launch4j</goal>
                    </goals>
                </execution>
            </executions>
            <configuration>
             <jar>${project.build.directory}/${project.build.finalName}.jar</jar>
                <outfile>${project.build.directory}/Intellipaat.exe</outfile>
                <dontWrapJar>false</dontWrapJar>
                <headerType>console</headerType>
                <errTitle>App Error</errTitle>
                <chdir>.</chdir>
                <priority>normal</priority>
                <cmdLine>--add-opens java.base/java.util=ALL-UNNAMED</cmdLine>
                <mainClass>org.example.intellipaat.Intellipaat2Application</mainClass>
                <classPath>
                    <mainClass>${project.build.finalName}.jar</mainClass>
                </classPath>
                <jre>
                    <path>src/main/launch4j/jre</path>
                    <minVersion>17</minVersion>
                    <bundledJre64Bit>true</bundledJre64Bit>
                    <jdkPreference>preferJre</jdkPreference>
                </jre>
            </configuration>
        </plugin>
    </plugins>
</build>

Step 4: Build the Project in IntelliJ

Open the Maven window on the right sidebar, which will appear like an “M” tab. Expand it like project > Lifecycle > and then double-click on the package

Step 5: Add the Launch4j Plugin to pom.xml

• Open the Launch4J
• Click on Browse and select your .jar file.
• Choose the Output file name, e.g., Intellipaat.exe.
• In the JRE tab, set the Minimum JRE version (e.g., 1.8 for Java 8 or later).
• Click on Save Configuration to keep the settings for future use.

• Generate the Executable (.exe) by clicking on Build Wrapper.
• Launch4J will create an EXE file in the chosen output directory.

Step 5:  Run the .exe

Go to the target/ directory. Run the EXE.

./your-app-name.exe

You can also double-click it in Windows File Explorer.

Output:

Advantages and Disadvantages of JAR and EXE Creation Tools in Java

To know more about this topic, you can refer to our Java Course.

Conclusion

To generate .exe files, you’ll need to install and configure Launch4j or use the Launch4j Maven plugin to automate the process. Run the Maven clean and package command, and the jar file will be created. For the .exe files, you need to install Launch4J, and then you can produce the .exe file. Double-click on it to run it, or you can right-click on it and run it as an administrator.

How to Create an Executable JAR with Maven? – FAQs