Making Executable Jar File

Creating an executable JAR file. Here is the general procedure for creating an executable JAR:

1. Compile your java code (for ex: Hello.java), generating all of the program's class files.

2. Create a manifest file containing the following 2 lines: (named as Hello.mf)

Manifest-Version: 1.0

Main-Class: Hello  (name of the main class)

Note: The name of the file should end with the .mf suffix. It is important that the file ends with a blank line.

3. To create the JAR, open command prompt and type the following command:

jar cmf manifest-file jar-file input-files

Ex: jar cmf Hello.mf Hello.jar *.java *.class

Note: The input-files must include any class files, images, sounds, etc. that your program uses. Optionally, you can include the program's .java files in the JAR. See below for adding directories to  the JAR.

4. To view the contents of the JAR, type:

jar tf jar-file

Ex: jar tf Hello.jar

5. Execute the application from the command line by typing:

java -jar jar-file

Ex: java -jar Hello.jar