Trying to integrate Launch4j in a Maven project using Alakai plugin

Question

I am trying to integrate the generation of an installer as part of a maven compilation process.

I have found Alakai's plugin for Launch4j. I have create a simple Hello World application using Maven. I have tried to use configuration examples provided by Alakai, but when I compile my project, I get:

Failed to execute goal org.bluestemsoftware.open.maven.plugin:launch4j-plugin:1.5.0.0:launch4j (launch4j) on project Launch4j: Failed to build the executable; please verify your configuration. Application jar doesnt exist. -> [Help 1]

Unfortunately, Alakai's documentation is limited and I could not find much with Googling.

• Does anyone know where the Launch4j config.xml should be set? Is it within the project? Is it in a separate directory?
• Do I need to use the assembly plugin?
• I have installed Launch4j on my PC. Do I need to specify the installation directory in my pom.xml? If yes how?
• Does anyone have an operational pom.xml sample/example to share?

Thanks.

Answer 1

1. There's no config.xml, you need to configure launch4j inside your pom.xml file.
2. You could use maven-assembly-plugin, but I recommend you to use maven-shade-plugin.
3. Don't need to specify launch4j installation, this plugin works 100% maven.
4. Sure. Follows the shade and launch4j configs I use, that generates two exes, one console and one gui, using different main classes:

<plugin>
    <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
    <artifactId>maven-shade-plugin</artifactId>
    <version>1.4</version>
    <executions>
        <execution>
            <phase>package</phase>
            <goals>
                <goal>shade</goal>
            </goals>
        </execution>
    </executions>
    <configuration>
        <shadedArtifactAttached>true</shadedArtifactAttached> <!-- Make the shaded artifact not the main one -->
        <shadedClassifierName>shaded</shadedClassifierName> <!-- set the suffix to the shaded jar -->
    </configuration>
</plugin>

<plugin>
    <groupId>org.bluestemsoftware.open.maven.plugin</groupId>
    <artifactId>launch4j-plugin</artifactId>
    <version>1.5.0.0</version>
    <executions>

        <!-- GUI exe -->
        <execution>
            <id>l4j-gui</id>
            <phase>package</phase>
            <goals>
                <goal>launch4j</goal>
            </goals>
            <configuration>
                <headerType>gui</headerType>
                <outfile>target/app-gui.exe</outfile>
                <jar>target/${artifactId}-${version}-shaded.jar</jar> <!-- 'shaded' is the value set on shadedClassifierName above -->
                <errTitle>App Err</errTitle>
                <classPath>
                    <mainClass>package.AppGUI</mainClass>
                </classPath>
                <icon>src/main/resources/icons/exeIcon.ico</icon>
                <jre>
                    <minVersion>1.5.0</minVersion>
                    <maxVersion>1.6.0</maxVersion>
                    <initialHeapSize>128</initialHeapSize>
                    <maxHeapSize>1024</maxHeapSize>
                </jre>
                <versionInfo>
                    <fileVersion>1.0.0.0</fileVersion>
                    <txtFileVersion>1.0.0.0</txtFileVersion>
                    <fileDescription>Desc</fileDescription>
                    <copyright>C</copyright>
                    <productVersion>1.0.0.0</productVersion>
                    <txtProductVersion>1.0.0.0</txtProductVersion>
                    <productName>Product</productName>
                    <internalName>Product</internalName>
                    <originalFilename>App.exe</originalFilename>
                </versionInfo>
            </configuration>
        </execution>

        <!-- Command-line exe -->
        <execution>
            <id>l4j-cli</id>
            <phase>package</phase>
            <goals>
                <goal>launch4j</goal>
            </goals>
            <configuration>
                <headerType>console</headerType>
                <outfile>target/app-cli.exe</outfile>
                <jar>target/${artifactId}-${version}-shaded.jar</jar> <!-- 'shaded' is the value set on shadedClassifierName above -->
                <errTitle>App Err</errTitle>
                <classPath>
                    <mainClass>package.AppCLI</mainClass>
                </classPath>
                <icon>src/main/resources/icons/exeIcon.ico</icon>
                <jre>
                    <minVersion>1.5.0</minVersion>
                    <maxVersion>1.6.0</maxVersion>
                    <initialHeapSize>128</initialHeapSize>
                    <maxHeapSize>1024</maxHeapSize>
                </jre>
            </configuration>
        </execution>
    </executions>
</plugin>

Alternatively, You can omit the 'jar' tag on launch4j-plugin and remove the extra configs of the shade-plugin, but be aware that this will replace the main jar of the flow (without embedded dependencies) by the shaded jar (with embedded dependencies), and this one will be installed on your local repo, or used in the reactor if needed.