5 ways to add multiple JAR in to Classpath in Java

How to add JAR file to Classpath in Java

Adding JAR into classpath is a common task for Java programmer and different programmer do it on different way. Since Java allows multiple ways to include JAR file in classpath, it becomes important to know pros and cons of each approach and How exactly they work. There are 5 ways to add  jars on into classpath in Java some of them we have already seen in  How classpath works in Java and How to set Path in Java. In this post we will revisit some of those techniques and explore Java 1.6 wildcard to add multiple JAR into classpath. By the way here is 5 ways to add JAR file into classpath. In short knowledge of Path, Classpath and Classloaders are must for any Java programmer, not only from knowledge point of view but also to successfully debug and resolve issues related to Classpath e.g. NoClassDefFoundError and java.lang.ClassNotFoundException  in Java.

1. Include the JAR name in CLASSPATH environment variable.

CLASSPATH environment variable is case insensitive and it can be either Classpath or classpath as well. This is similar to PATH environment variable which is used to locate Java binaries e.g. javaw and java command.

2. Include name of JAR file in -classpath command line option.

This is the preferred option if you are passing –classpath option while running your Java program as java –classpath ${CLASSPATH}  Main . Here CLASSPATH shell variable can contain list of Jar file required by your application. Another advantage of using –classpath command line option is that, it  allows every application to have its own set of JAR in classpath unlike previous option which is available to all Java program running on same host.

3. Include the jar name in the Class-Path option in the manifest.

If you are running an executable JAR file, you might have noticed Class-Path attribute in manifest file inside META-INF folder. Class-Path  option takes highest priorities and overrides both CLASSPATH environment variable and –classpath command line option. This is also a good place to include all JAR file required by Java application.

4. Use Java 6  wildcard option to include multiple JAR

Form Java 1.6+ onwards you can use wildcard to include all jars in a directory into the set classpath or provide it to Java program directly using  -classpath command line option. Following Java command example shows how to add multiple JAR into classpath using Java 6 wildcard method.

java.exe -classpath E:\lib\* Main

This is the newest option of adding multiple JAR file into classpath. Above command will include all JAR file inside E:\lib directory into classpath. One thing which is worth noting while using wildcard to include multiple JAR is that syntax mut be correct. In fact that’s a common mistake many Java programmer make. Here is few more important points about using Java 6 widlcard to include multiple JAR in classpath :

1) In order to include all JAR from a directory you need to use wildcard * and not  *.jar

2) If you have JAR and class file in same directory than you need to include each of them separately.

    Wildcard only match JAR files and not classes. E.g.

 

 Java –classpath /classes;/lib/*

3) Java 6 wildcard to inlcude all JAR will not search for JARs in subdirectory.

4) One more important point is that wildcard to include all JAR is not honored in case if you are running

Java program with JAR file and that have Class-Path attribute in manifest file.  JAR wildcard is honoured

If you use –cp or –classpath option.

5. adding JAR in ext directory e.g. C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0\jre\lib\ext

This is another way you can add multiple JAR in your classpath. JAR from ext directory is loaded by extension

Classloader and it has higher priority than application classloader which loads JAR from either CLASSPATH environment variable or directories specified in –classpath or –cp option. By the way I don’t suggest this way of adding JAR into

Classpath as its not standard, it just for information purpose.

These were couple of ways you can include JAR files in your Classpath. Java 6 widcard is preffered way of adding multiple JAR in classpath along with –cp and –classpath command line option. If you are working in mulitple operating system than its also good to remember that two directories in classpath are separted using semi colon(;) in windows and with colon : in UNIX based system.

Other Java fundamental Tutorials

Difference between JAVA_HOME and java.home

Difference between Path and Claspath in Java

How to run Java program from command line

How to create and execute JAR file in Java

How to remote debug Java program in Eclipse