# jar-The Java Archive Tool

Combines multiple files into a single JAR archive file.

- Synopsis
- Description
- Options
- Command Line Argument Files
- Examples
- See Also

## SYNOPSIS

> Create jar file
>   `jar c[v0M]f` jarfile`[-C` dir`]` inputfiles`[-J` option`]`
>   `jar c[v0]mf` manifest`` jarfile`[-C` dir`]` inputfiles`[-J` option`]`
>   `jar c[v0M] [-C` dir`]` inputfiles`[-J` option`]`
>   `jar c[v0]m` manifest`[-C` dir`]` inputfiles`[-J` option`]`

> Update jar file
>   `jar u[v0M]f` jarfile`[-C` dir`]` inputfiles`[-J` option`]`
>   `jar u[v0]mf` manifest`` jarfile`[-C` dir`]` inputfiles`[-J` option`]`
>   `jar u[v0M] [-C` dir`]` inputfiles`[-J` option`]`
>   `jar u[v0]m` manifest`[-C` dir`]` inputfiles`[-J` option`]`

> Extract jar file
>   `jar x[v]f` jarfile`[`inputfiles`] [-J` option`]`
>   `jar x[v] [`inputfiles`] [-J` option`]`

> List table of contents of jar file
>   `jar t[v]f` jarfile`[`inputfiles`] [-J` option`]`
>   `jar t[v] [`inputfiles`] [-J` option`]`

> Add index to jar file
>   `jar i` jarfile`[-J` option`]`

> where:

> > `cuxtiv0Mmf`
> >   Options that control the `jar` command.
> > jarfile
> >   Jar file to be created (`c`), updated (`u`), extracted (`x`), or have its table of contents viewed (`t`). The `f` option and filename jarfile are a pair -- if either is present, they must both appear. Note that omitting `f` and jarfile accepts a "jar file" from standard input (for x and t) or sends the "jar file" to standard output (for c and u).
> > inputfiles
> >   Files or directories, separated by spaces, to be combined into jarfile (for c and u), or to be extracted (for x) or listed (for t) from jarfile. All directories are processed recursively. The files are compressed unless option `O` (zero) is used.
> > manifest
> >   Pre-existing manifest file whose name`:` value pairs are to be included in MANIFEST.MF in the jar file. The `m` option and filename manifesfile are a pair -- if either is present, they must both appear. The letters m and f must appear in the same order that manifest and jarfile appear.
> > `-C` dir
> >   Temporarily changes directories to dir while processing the following inputfiles argument. Multiple `-C` dir inputfiles sets are allowed.
> > `-J` option
> >   Option to be passed into the Java runtime environment. (There must be no space between `-J` and option).

## DESCRIPTION

> The jar tool combines multiple files into a single JAR archive file. jar is a general-purpose archiving and compression tool, based on ZIP and the ZLIB compression format. However, jar was designed mainly to facilitate the packaging of java applets or applications into a single archive. When the components of an applet or application (.class files, images and sounds) are combined into a single archive, they may be downloaded by a java agent (like a browser) in a single HTTP transaction, rather than requiring a new connection for each piece. This dramatically improves download times. jar also compresses files and so further improves download time. In addition, it allows individual entries in a file to be signed by the applet author so that their origin can be authenticated. The syntax for the jar tool is almost identical to the syntax for the `tar` command. A jar archive can be use as a class path entry, whether it is compressed or not.

> Typical usage to combine files into a jar file is:

> >     % jar cf myFile.jar *.class

> In this example, all the class files in the current directory are placed into the file named "myFile.jar". A manifest file entry named META-INF/MANIFEST.MF is automatically generated by the jar tool and is always the first entry in the jar file. The manifest file is the place where any meta-information about the archive is stored as name`:` value pairs. Refer to the JAR file specification for details about how meta-information is stored in the manifest file.

> If you have a pre-existing manifest file whose name`:` value pairs you want the jar tool to include for the new jar archive, you can specify it using the `m` option:

> >     % jar cmf myManifestFile myFile.jar *.class

> Be sure that any pre-existing manifest file that you use ends with a new line. The last line of a manifest file will not be parsed if it doesn't end with a new line character. Note that when you specify "cfm" instead of "cmf" (i.e., you invert the order of the "m" and "f" options), you need to specify the name of the jar archive first, followed by the name of the manifest file:

> >     % jar cfm myFile.jar myManifestFile *.class

> The manifest is in a text format inspired by RFC822 ASCII format, so it is easy to view and process manifest-file contents.

> To extract the files from a jar file, use `x`, as in:

> >     % jar xf myFile.jar

> To extract only certain files from a jar file, supply their filenames:

> >     % jar xf myFile.jar foo bar

> Beginning with version 1.3 of the Java 2 SDK, the `jar` utility supports JarIndex, which allows application class loaders to load classes more efficiently from jar files. If an application or applet is bundled into multiple jar files, only the necessary jar files will be downloaded and opened to load classes. This performance optimization is enabled by running `jar` with the `i` option. It will generate package location information for the specified main jar file and all the jar files it depends on, which need to be specified in the `Class-Path` attribute of the main jar file's manifest.

> >     % jar i main.jar

> In this example, an INDEX.LIST file is inserted into the META-INF directory of main.jar.
> The application class loader will use the information stored in this file for efficient class loading. Refer to the JarIndex specification for details about how location information is stored in the index file.

> A standard way to copy directories is to first compress files in dir1 to standard out, then extract from standard in to dir2 (omitting `f` from both `jar` commands):

> >     % (cd dir1; jar c .) | (cd dir2; jar x)

> Examples of using the jar tool to operate on jar files and jar file manifests are provided below and in the Jar trail of the Java Tutorial.

## OPTIONS

> `c`
>   Creates a new archive to file named jarfile (if `f` is specified) or to standard output (if `f` and jarfile are omitted). Add to it the files and directories specified by inputfiles.
> `u`
>   Updates an existing file jarfile (when `f` is specified) by adding to it files and directories specified by inputfiles. For example:

>   >     jar uf foo.jar foo.class

>   would add the file `foo.class` to the existing jar file `foo.jar`. The `u` option can also update the manifest entry, as given by this example:

>   >     jar umf manifest foo.jar

>   updates the `foo.jar` manifest with the name`:` value pairs in `manifest`.
> `x`
>   Extracts files and directories from jarfile (if `f` is specified) or standard input (if `f` and jarfile are omitted). If inputfiles is specified, only those specified files and directories are extracted. Otherwise, all files and directories are extracted.
> `t`
>   Lists the table of contents from jarfile (if `f` is specified) or standard input (if `f` and jarfile are omitted). If inputfiles is specified, only those specified files and directories are listed. Otherwise, all files and directories are listed.
> `i`
>   Generate index information for the specified jarfile and its dependent jar files. For example:

>   >     jar i foo.jar

>   would generate an `INDEX.LIST` file in `foo.jar` which contains location information for each package in `foo.jar` and all the jar files specified in the `Class-Path` attribute of `foo.jar`. See the index example.

> `f`
>   Specifies the file jarfile to be created (`c`), updated (`u`), extracted (`x`), indexed (`i`), or viewed (`t`). The `f` option and filename jarfile are a pair -- if present, they must both appear. Omitting `f` and jarfile accepts a "jar file" from standard input (for x and t) or sends the "jar file" to standard output (for c and u).
> `v`
>   Generates verbose output to standard output. Examples shown below.
> `0`
>   (zero) Store without using ZIP compression.
> `M`
>   Do not create a manifest file entry (for c and u), or delete a manifest file entry if one exists (for u).
> `m`
>   Includes name`:` value attribute pairs from the specified manifest file manifest in the file at `META-INF/MANIFEST.MF`. A name`:` value pair is added unless one already exists with the same name, in which case its value is updated.

>   On the command line, the letters m and f must appear in the same order that manifest and jarfile appear. Example use:

>   >     jar cmf myManifestFile myFile.jar *.class

>   You can add special-purpose name`:` value attribute pairs to the manifest that aren't contained in the default manifest. Examples of such attributes would be those for vendor information, version information, package sealing, and to make JAR-bundled applications executable. See the JAR Files trail in the Java Tutorial and the Notes for Developers page for examples of using the `m` option.
> `-C` dir
>   Temporarily changes directories (`cd` dir) during execution of the `jar` command while processing the following inputfiles argument. Its operation is intended to be similar to the `-C` option of the UNIX `tar` utility. For example:

>   >     jar uf foo.jar -C classes bar.class

>   would change to the `classes` directory and add the `bar.class` from that directory to `foo.jar`. The following command,

>   >     jar uf foo.jar -C classes . -C bin xyz.class

>   would change to the `classes` directory and add to `foo.jar` all files within the `classes` directory (without creating a classes directory in the jar file), then change back to the original directory before changing to the `bin` directory to add `xyz.class` to `foo.jar`. If `classes` holds files `bar1` and `bar2`, then here's what the jar file would contain using `jar tf foo.jar`:

>   >     META-INF/
>   >     META-INF/MANIFEST.MF
>   >     bar1
>   >     bar2
>   >     xyz.class

> `-J` option
>   Pass option to the Java runtime environment, where option is one of the options described on the reference page for the java application launcher. For example, `-J-Xmx48M` sets the maximum memory to 48 megabytes. It is a common convention for -J to pass options to the underlying runtime environment.

## COMMAND LINE ARGUMENT FILES

> To shorten or simplify the jar command line, you can specify one or more files that themselves contain arguments to the `jar` command (except `-J` options). This enables you to create jar commands of any length, overcoming command line limits imposed by the operating system.

> An argument file can include options and filenames. The arguments within a file can be space-separated or newline-separated. Filenames within an argument file are relative to the current directory, not the location of the argument file. Wildcards (*) that might otherwise be expanded by the operating system shell are not expanded. Use of the '`@`' character to recursively interpret files is not supported. The `-J` options are not supported because they are passed to the launcher, which does not support argument files.

> When executing jar, pass in the path and name of each argument file with the '`@`' leading character. When jar encounters an argument beginning with the character ``@`', it expands the contents of that file into the argument list.

> For example, you could use a single argument file named "`classes.list`" to hold the names of the files:

> >     % find . -name '*.class' -print > classes.list

> Then execute the jar command passing in the argfile:

> >     % jar cf my.jar @classes.list

> An argument file can be passed in with a path, but any filenames inside the argument file that have relative paths are relative to the current working directory, not the path passed in. Here's such an example:

> >     % jar @path1/classes.list

## EXAMPLES

> To add all the files in a particular directory to an archive (overwriting contents if the archive already exists). Enumerating verbosely (with the "v" option) will tell you more information about the files in the archive, such as their size and last modified date.

> >     % ls
> >     1.au          Animator.class    monkey.jpg
> >     2.au          Wave.class        spacemusic.au
> >     3.au          at_work.gif

> >     % jar cvf bundle.jar *
> >     added manifest
> >     adding: 1.au(in = 2324) (out= 67)(deflated 97%)
> >     adding: 2.au(in = 6970) (out= 90)(deflated 98%)
> >     adding: 3.au(in = 11616) (out= 108)(deflated 99%)
> >     adding: Animator.class(in = 2266) (out= 66)(deflated 97%)
> >     adding: Wave.class(in = 3778) (out= 81)(deflated 97%)
> >     adding: at_work.gif(in = 6621) (out= 89)(deflated 98%)
> >     adding: monkey.jpg(in = 7667) (out= 91)(deflated 98%)
> >     adding: spacemusic.au(in = 3079) (out= 73)(deflated 97%)

> If you already have separate subdirectories for images, audio files and classes, you can combine them into a single jar file:

> >     % ls -F
> >     audio/ classes/ images/

> >     % jar cvf bundle.jar audio classes images
> >     added manifest
> >     adding: audio/(in = 0) (out= 0)(stored 0%)
> >     adding: audio/1.au(in = 2324) (out= 67)(deflated 97%)
> >     adding: audio/2.au(in = 6970) (out= 90)(deflated 98%)
> >     adding: audio/3.au(in = 11616) (out= 108)(deflated 99%)
> >     adding: audio/spacemusic.au(in = 3079) (out= 73)(deflated 97%)
> >     adding: classes/(in = 0) (out= 0)(stored 0%)
> >     adding: classes/Animator.class(in = 2266) (out= 66)(deflated 97%)
> >     adding: classes/Wave.class(in = 3778) (out= 81)(deflated 97%)
> >     adding: images/(in = 0) (out= 0)(stored 0%)
> >     adding: images/monkey.jpg(in = 7667) (out= 91)(deflated 98%)
> >     adding: images/at_work.gif(in = 6621) (out= 89)(deflated 98%)

> >     % ls -F
> >     audio/ bundle.jar classes/ images/

> To see the entry names in the jarfile, use the "t" option:

> >     % jar tf bundle.jar
> >     META-INF/
> >     META-INF/MANIFEST.MF
> >     audio/1.au
> >     audio/2.au
> >     audio/3.au
> >     audio/spacemusic.au
> >     classes/Animator.class
> >     classes/Wave.class
> >     images/monkey.jpg
> >     images/at_work.gif

> To add an index file to the jar file for speeding up class loading, use the "i" option.

> > Let's say you split the inter-dependent classes for a stock trade application, into three jar files: `main.jar`, `buy.jar`, and `sell.jar`. If you specify the Class-path attribute in the `main.jar` manifest as:

> >     Class-Path: buy.jar sell.jar

> > then you can use the `i` option to speed up your application's class loading time:

> >     % jar i main.jar

> > An INDEX.LIST file is inserted to the META-INF directory which will enable the application class loader to download the specified jar files when it is searching for classes or resources.

## SEE ALSO

> The Jar Overview
> The Jar File Specification
> The JarIndex Spec
> Java Tutorial on the Java Software web site.

Copyright © 2003 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Java Software