SYNOPSIS

eclipse [ platform options ] [ -vmargs [ Java VM arguments ]]

DESCRIPTION

The Eclipse Platform is an open and extensible platform for anything and yet nothing in particular. It provides a foundation for constructing and running integrated software-development tools. The Eclipse Platform allows tool builders to independently develop tools that integrate with other people's tools so seamlessly you can't tell where one tool ends and another starts.

When invoked without selecting any particular application, the eclipse command will start the Eclipse Platform with the Java Development Tools (JDT) functionality enabled and ready to use.

This manual page documents the command-line arguments for the Eclipse Platform and it is based on the Runtime Options help item in the Eclipse online help <#authors> .

PLATFORM OPTIONS

Listed below are the command line arguments processed by various parts of the Eclipse runtime. Many of these values can also be specified using System properties either on the command line using -D VM arguments, by specifying their values in a config.ini file or by using a <launcher>.ini file. Using the two latter techniques it is possible to customize Eclipse without using command line arguments at all.

For each argument in the list, its corresponding System property key is given (in {}). Also given is the Eclipse runtime layer in which the command line argument is processed (in ()).

-application <id> (Runtime)

The identifier of the application to run. The value given here overrides any application defined by the product being run.

This is equivalent to setting the property eclipse.application to <id>.

-arch <architecture> (OSGi)

The processor architecture value.

This is equivalent to setting the property osgi.arch to <architecture>.

-clean (OSGi)

Wipe clean any cached data used by the OSGi framework and eclipse runtime. This will clean the caches used to store bundle dependency resolution and eclipse extension registry data. Using this option will force eclipse to reinitialize these caches.

This is equivalent to setting the property osgi.clean to "true".

-configuration <location> (Main)

The configuration location for this run of the platform. The configuration determines what plug-ins will run as well as various other system settings. See the On-line Help for details (SEE ALSO below).

This is equivalent to setting the property osgi.configuration.area to <location>.

-console [port] (OSGi)

Enable the OSGi console (if installed). If the [port] value is a suitable integer, it is interpreted as the port on which the console listens and directs its output to the given port. Handy for investigating the state of the system.

This is equivalent to setting the property osgi.console to [port] or the empty string if the default port is to be used (i.e., when the port is not specified).

-consoleLog (Runtime)

Any log output is also sent to Java's System.out (typically back to the command shell if any). Handy when combined with -debug.

This is equivalent to setting the property eclipse.consoleLog to "true".

-data <location> (OSGi)

The instance data location for this session. Plug-ins use this location to store their data. For example, the Resources plug-in uses this as the default location for projects (aka the workspace). See the On-line Help for details (SEE ALSO below).

This is equivalent to setting the property osgi.instance.area to <location>.

-debug [options file] (OSGi)

Put the platform in debug mode. If [options file] is given, it is interpreted as the location of the .options file. This file indicates what debug points are available for a plug-in and whether or not they are enabled. If a location is not specified, the platform searches for the .options file under the install directory.

This is equivalent to setting the property osgi.debug to [options file] or the empty string to simply enable debug (i.e., if the options file location is not specified).

-dev [entries] (OSGi)

Turn on dev mode. If given, [entries] should be a comma-separated class path entries which are added to the class path of each plug-in or a URL to a Java properties file containing custom classpath additions for a set of plug-ins. For each plug-in requiring a customized dev time classpath the file will contain an entry of the form.

This is equivalent to setting the property osgi.dev to [entries] or the empty string to simply enable dev mode (i.e., if entries are not specified).

-eclipse.keyring <file path> (Equinox)

Set to override location of the default secure storage.

-eclipse.password <file path> (Equinox)

If specified, the secure storage treats contents of the file as a default password. When not set, password providers are used to obtain a password.

-feature <feature id> (Runtime)

Set the identifier of the product being run. This controls various branding information and what application is used.

This is equivalent to setting the property eclipse.product to <feature id>.

-framework <location> (Main)

Set the URL location of the OSGi framework. Useful if the Eclipse install is disjoint. See the On-line Help for details (SEE ALSO below).

This is equivalent to setting the property osgi.framework to <location>.

-initialize (Main)

Initializes the configuration being run. All runtime related data structures and caches are refreshed. Any user/plug-in defined configuration data is not purged. No application is run, any product specifications are ignored and no UI is presented (e.g., the splash screen is not drawn).

-install <location> (Main)

Set the install location of the platform. This option indicates the location of the basic Eclipse plug-ins and is useful if the Eclipse install is disjoint.

This is equivalent to setting the property osgi.install.area to <location>.

-keyring <location> (Runtime)

The location of the authorization database on disk. This argument has to be used together with the -password argument.

--launcher.library <location> (Executable)

The location of the eclipse executable's companion shared library. If not specified the executable looks in the plugins directory for the appropriate org.eclipse.equinox.launcher.[platform] fragment with the highest version and uses the shared library named eclipse_* inside.

--launcher.ini <location> (Executable)

The location of the product .ini file to use. If not specified the executable will look for a file beside the launcher with the same name and the extension .ini. (ie., /usr/bin/eclipse looks for eclipse.ini, /opt/product looks for product.ini).

--launcher.suppressErrors (Executable)

If specified the executable will not display any error or message dialogs. This is useful if the executable is being used in an unattended situation.

--launcher.XXMaxPermSize <value> (Executable)

If specified, and the executable detects that the VM being used is a Sun VM, then the launcher will automatically add the -XX:MaxPermSize=<value> vm argument. The executable is not capable of detecting Sun VMs on all platforms.

-name <string>

The name to be displayed in task bar item when the application starts up. When not set, the name is the name of the executable.

-nl <locale> (OSGi)

The name of the locale on which Eclipse platform will run. NL values should follow the standard Java locale naming conventions.

This is equivalent to setting the property osgi.nl to <locale>.

-noExit (OSGi)

Disable automatic termination of the VM after the eclipse application has ended. This is useful for examining the OSGi framework after the eclipse application has ended.

This is equivalent to setting the property osgi.noShutdown to "true".

-noLazyRegistryCacheLoading (Runtime)

Deactivate the platform's plug-in registry cache loading optimization. By default, configuration elements are loaded from the registry cache (when available) only on demand, reducing memory footprint. This option forces the registry cache to be fully loaded at startup.

This is equivalent to setting the property eclipse.noLazyRegistryCacheLoading to "true".

-noRegistryCache (Runtime)

The internal extension registry cache will neither be read nor written.

This is equivalent to setting the property eclipse.noRegistryCache to "true".

-noSplash (Executable, Main)

Controls whether or not the splash screen is shown.

-os <operating system> (OSGi)

The operating system value. The value should be one of the Eclipse processor architecture names known to Eclipse (e.g., x86, sparc, ...).

This is equivalent to setting the property osgi.os to <operating system>.

-password <password> (Runtime)

The password for the authorization database.

-pluginCustomization <location> (Runtime)

The file system location of a properties file containing default settings for plug-in preferences. These default settings override default settings specified in the primary feature. Relative paths are interpreted relative to the current working directory for eclipse itself.

This is equivalent to setting the property eclipse.pluginCustomization to <location>

-product <id> (OSGi)

The identifier of the product being run. This controls various branding information and what application is used.

This is equivalent to setting the property eclipse.product to <id>.

-showSplash <bitmap> (Executable, Main)

Specifies the bitmap to use in the splash screen. If specified, the launcher may be able to show the splash screen before starting the Java VM. If not specified, Main will find the bitmap using the osgi.splashLocation and osgi.splashPath properties.

-startup <location> (Executable)

The location of jar used to startup eclipse. The jar referred to should have the Main-Class attribute set to org.eclipse.equinox.launcher.Main. If this parameter is not set, the executable will look in the plugins directory for the org.eclipse.equinox.launcher bundle with the highest version.

-user <location> (OSGi)

Set the location of the user area. The user area contains data (e.g., preferences) specific to the OS user and independent of any Eclipse install, configuration or instance. See the On-line Help for details (SEE ALSO below).

This is equivalent to setting the property osgi.user.area to <location>.

-vm <path to java vm> (Executable, Main)

When passed to the Eclipse executable, this option is used to locate the Java VM to use to run Eclipse. It should be the full file system path to an appropriate: Java jre/bin directory, Java Executable, Java shared library (libjvm.so), or a Java VM Execution Environment description file. If not specified, the Eclipse executable uses a search algorithm to locate a suitable VM. In any event, the executable then passes the path to the actual VM used to Java Main using the -vm argument. Java Main then stores this value in eclipse.vm.

-vmargs [vmargs*] (Executable, Main)

when passed to the Eclipse, this option is used to customize the operation of the Java VM to use to run Eclipse. If specified, this option must come at the end of the command line. Even if not specified on the executable command line, the executable will automatically add the relevant arguments (including the class being launched) to the command line passed into Java using the -vmargs argument. Java Main then stores this value in eclipse.vmargs.

-ws <window system> (OSGi)

Set the window system value. The value should be one of the Eclipse window system names known to Eclipse (e.g., win32, motif, ...).

This is equivalent to setting the property osgi.ws to <window system>.

FILES

The system wide config.ini file is /etc/eclipse.ini. User level Configuration file is $HOME/.eclipse/org.eclipse.platform_<version>_<id>/configuration/config.ini.

AUTHORS

The Eclipse Project was originally created by IBM in November 2001 and supported by a consortium of software vendors. The Eclipse Foundation was created in January 2004 as an independent not-for-profit corporation to act as the steward of the Eclipse community.

This manual page was semi-automatically transformed from the Runtime Options HTML help using pandoc and docbook2x-man by Pablo Duboue <[email protected]>.