Guided: Packaging a Java SE App with jlink and jpackage

Table of Contents

1. Challenge

   Introduction and Setup

   Welcome! In this Code Lab, you'll master the art of packaging modern Java applications. You'll take a simple modular command-line tool and turn it into a professional, native installer.

   The project is a Quote of the Day application, structured into two modules:

   • com.qotd.lib: A library module responsible for providing quotes.
   • com.qotd.app: The main application module that consumes the library and displays the quote.

   Your main task is to build a build.sh script step-by-step. This script will automate the entire pipeline: compiling, running, packaging into JARs, creating a custom runtime with jlink, and finally, generating a native installer with jpackage. info> This lab experience was developed by the Pluralsight team using Forge, an internally developed AI tool utilizing Gemini technology. All sections were verified by human experts for accuracy prior to publication. For issue reporting, please contact us.

2. Challenge

   Implement and Compile the Modules

   First, you'll get the application code working. Implement the core logic for the two modules and write the initial portion of your build script to compile them.

   This step focuses on the fundamentals of the Java Platform Module System (JPMS) and using javac to compile modular code.

3. Challenge

   Run and Package the Application

   Now that you can compile the modules, the next steps are to run the application from the compiled classes and then package those classes into standard modular JAR files. This confirms that our module dependencies are correctly defined and prepares the code for distribution.

4. Challenge

   Create a Custom Runtime with jlink

   In this step, you’ll bundle a minimal Java runtime with your application so users do not need to install Java separately. The jlink tool analyzes your application to determine which parts of the JDK are required and then creates a small, optimized runtime image.

5. Challenge

   Generate a Native Installer with jpackage

   In this step, you’ll create a platform-native installer for the application. The jpackage tool takes the application JAR files and the custom runtime image created with jlink, and bundles them into an installer such as a .deb file for Debian or Ubuntu, or an .msi file for Windows.