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Asked: 2026-06-12T01:02:33+00:00

I was working on a project with a seriously large amount of classes that

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I was working on a project with a seriously large amount of classes that I want to compile to a jar. I know about entry-points and the manifest.txt and all the needed items inside my jar, my classes are all compiled and have the .class file and everything, but the problem is I will have to add all the class files to the final jar in compilation through a single line in Command Prompt. I was wondering and stumbled upon literally nothing in the internet if it could be done in an easier way because I will be updating my work constantly and have to recompile and re-jarify my work. I have heard of third party programs that will do the trick, but somebody on some website said that they could potentially be causing problems and stuff, so I dropped the idea quite quickly. Now that I am in a seriously tight spot though, I wish to hear opinions and suggestions on this. So to sum up:

  • I want a way to compile a big bunch of .class files in a single jar without typing all of them over and over again between compilations allowing me to save time and frustration.

  • I would prefer native stuff if this is even possible to do – e.g. the jar compiler of the JDK instead of anything third-party. If there is a way to do this using manifest or any other file in compile-time arguments, let me hear it.

  • Anyone who cares to suggest, discuss or give me a good reason why to or not to use third party applications for this will be most welcome.
  • Keep in mind that I work on Windows but my aplication will be cross-platfrom, so don’t suggest as a main option some compile solution that will make a final file with a .exe extension (although if anyone knows how to do this, I would like to hear it in a comment as I wonder about this as well).

Thanks in advance and if you feel the need to ask me anything to help you reply, shoot away!

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    Have a look at this ant tutorial which shows how to write a simple build.xml which can compile and jar.

    http://ant.apache.org/manual/tutorial-HelloWorldWithAnt.html

    You can then adapt it for your own needs.

    Note: ant is only suited for smaller projects like yours.

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