How To Build Java Native Executable Files For Linux

Question

I'm looking for a way to build my Java or JavaFx apps so that I have a single executable file that runs without installing a Java runtime on the target system that is running Linux (like a.exe on Windows)

Usually, Java apps are packaged into jar files that can be run like this

java -jar <file-name>.jar

This requires us to install a Java JRE beforehand.

I'm looking for a solution to package my Java app so that it can execute without needing a Java JRE on the target machine.

Answer 1

You can use GraalVM to compile Java apps to native platform executables.

First install GraalVM following steps here: https://www.graalvm.org/docs/getting-started/#install-graalvm

Install the native-image plugin: gu install native-image

Compile your Java app with javac as normal: javac YourApp.java

Compile to a native executable: native-image YourApp

Execute your native executable: ./YourApp

Answer 2

as @Slaw mentioned in a comment for java 14+ this is the best solution

it uses the jlink command internally and supports Mac, Windows, and Linux

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The official Java-based solution is mentioned above but its highly recommended to use GraalVM in case you want extra performance and a better approach for microservices

installation steps are mentioned below in @Kevin Hooke's answer

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I think ```jlink``` is useable with older Java versions too

if anyone has experience with jlink on older versions please comment below