Warp4j

Turn JAR (java archive) into self-contained executable in a single command.

Features

• Downloads Java runtimes automatically
• Makes runtimes optimized for your application
• Creates self-contained binaries for Linux, macOS, and Windows using warp-packer
• Works on Linux, macOS, and Windows (with Windows Subsystem for Linux)
• Supports cross "compilation"
• Does not require either JDK or JRE installed

TL;DR

Just put both warp4j and warp-packer somewhere in your PATH and run warp4j app.jar.

Install

Curl one-liner installs the latest versions of both warp4j and warp-packer:

bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://github.com/kirbylink/warp4j/raw/branch/master/install.sh)"

This script will show missing dependencies (if there are any); they must be installed with your package manager.

See more install methods here.

Usage

$ ls
my-app.jar

$ warp4j my-app.jar
...
...
...

$ ls -1
my-app.jar
warped

$ ls warped
my-app-linux-x64
my-app-linux-x64.tar.gz
my-app-macos-x64
my-app-macos-x64.tar.gz
my-app-windows-x64.exe
my-app-windows-x64.zip

See help:

$ warp4j --help

Usage: warp4j [options] <app.jar>

Turn JAR (java archive) into a self-contained executable

Options:
  -j, --java-version   <version>
                       Override JDK/JRE version
                       Examples: "17", "17.0", "17.0.2", "17.0.2+9"
                       (default: 17)
  -cp, --class-path    <classpath>
                       Adds additional classpaths to the jdeps call
  --auto-class-path    Extract and get class-path values from jar file
                       Ignored when -cp, --class-path is set
  --spring-boot        Extract and get class-path values from
                       Spring-Boot application jar file
                       Ignored when -cp, --class-path is set
  -o, --output         <directory>
                       Override output directory;
                       This is relative to current PWD
                       (default: ./warped)
  -p, --prefix         <prefix>
                       If set, warp-packer will use the prefix
                       as target folder in which the
                       application should be extracted
  --list               Show available java releases;
                       Takes into consideration other options:
                       "--java-version", "--no-optimize", "--jvm-impl";
                       The output may be used to specify concrete
                       "--java-version"
  --add-modules        A list of additional java modules that should
                       be added to the optimized JDK. Separate each
                       module with commas and no spaces
  --no-optimize        Use JRE instead of optimized JDK;
                       By default jdeps and jlink are used to create
                       optimized JDK for the particular jar;
                       JRE is always used for java 8
  --pull               Check if more recent JDK/JRE distro is available;
                       By default latest cached version that matches
                       "--java-version" is used
  --linux              Create binary for Linux
  --macos              Create binary for macOS
  --windows            Create binary for Windows
                       If no targets are specified then binaries for
                       all targets are created
  --jvm-options        <options>
                       Passed to java like this:
                       "java <options> -jar <jar file>";
                       Use quotes when passing multiple options
                       Example: '-Xms512m -Xmx1024m'
  -s, --silent         Using javaw instead of java for windows
  -h, --help           Show this message

Running on macOS

For macOS, the executable is placed inside a folder with the .app extension within the tar.gz file. This allows the application to be launched with a double-click.

To run the application:

1. From the Executable:

   • Navigate to the warped folder.
   • Find the my-app-macos-x64 executable.
   • Note: Double-clicking on “my-app-macos-x64” does not work directly because macOS does not know which program to use to open the application.
   • To run it, open the terminal and navigate to the warped folder:

     cd /path/to/warped
     

   • Run the executable from the terminal:

     ./my-app-macos-x64
     

2. From the tar.gz File:

   • Extract the my-app-macos-x64.tar.gz file.
   • Navigate to the extracted folder: my-app-macos-x64.
   • You will find a folder named my-app.app. For macOS this is now an executable file.
   • Double-click on my-app.app to run the application.

Compatibility

Tested on the following operating systems:

• Debian 12.5

Cache Location

Downloaded runtimes and prepared bundles are here:

• Linux: $HOME/.local/share/warp4j
• macOS: $HOME/Library/Application Support/warp4j

To override cache path, set WARP4J_CACHE environment variable.