The simplest way to create jar file?

executable, executable-jar, jar, java, maven

Solution

From scratch.. with CMD

The command line is what almost every other application will use to build your `JAR` file. They just wrap it up a little nicer for you. In truth, it's very simple to do yourself. Obviously Java have explained this way in detail so there is no sense in me repeating it.

Note: You need to have your JDK/bin directoy appended onto your `%PATH%` system variable to be able to use this method.

Double Note: As pointed out in the comments, I'd suggest you keep trying this method until you understand it. It is very important that you get these things at a low level, so if something goes wrong with the IDE, you have a much better understanding of how to solve it.

Eclipse

Eclipse offers a nice interface for it. You can find a step by step tutorial here. The long and short of it is..

Right click on Project -> Export -> JAR File -> Select the Java files to include

When you've done this, hit `finish` and you're golden. The tutorial also adds some additional tips in to make it as seamless as possible.

IntelliJ IDEA

My personal favourite IDE. This question offers a nice explanation for how to export as a JAR file. Again, the long and short of it..

File -> Project Structure -> Artifacts

In there, you can then create a new artifact by clicking the `+` icon. This will give you an option for the file type, which is `.JAR` and which modules you want to include in your artifact. When you're done, you go to..

Build -> Build Artifacts

And it will create the `JAR` file from your project.

Using Maven

I've often found this to be a pretty awesome tool, and definitely one worth considering. In IntelliJ, by double clicking the `install` procedure in the life cycles..

This will create a new `JAR` file in your `.target` directory.

Note: Some IDEs (like IntelliJ) will hide the `.target` directory by default. Make sure you make it visible in the project settings.

Problem

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