CheatApache Ant Java build tool
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Start here
antRun default target
ant <target>
Run one target
ant -pList documented targets
ant -f <file>
Use another build file
ant -Dname=value
Set a property
ant clean jarChain targets
ant -vVerbose output
ant -versionShow Ant version
Concepts
Project
build.xml, default target
Target
named step, depends on others
Task javac, jar, copy ...
Run
antRun the project's default target
ant <target> [<target>...]
Run targets in order
ant -projecthelp / ant -p
List targets that have a description
ant -buildfile <file> / ant -f <file>
Use a different build file
ant -find [<file>] / ant -s [<file>]
Search parent dirs for the build file
ant -versionPrint Ant version
ant -diagnostics
Print Java, classpath and Ant diagnostics
ant -help / ant -h
Show command line options
ant -keep-going / ant -k
Continue with targets not depending on a failure
ant -noinputNever prompt for input (CI)
Properties and output
ant -D<name>=<value>
Set a property from the command line
ant -propertyfile <file>
Load properties from a file
-D values still take precedence over the file.
ant -quiet / ant -q
Less output
ant -silent / ant -S
Only task output and failures
ant -verbose / ant -v
Extra output
ant -debug / ant -d
Debugging output
ant -emacs / ant -e
Log without [task] adornments
ant -logfile <file> / ant -l <file>
Write the log to a file
ant -logger <class>
Use a custom logger class
ant -listener <class>
Add a project listener
ant -lib <path>
Add jars or dirs to Ant's classpath
ant -nouserlibSkip jars in ~/.ant/lib
ant -noclasspath
Ignore the CLASSPATH variable
ant -autoproxyUse OS proxy settings
ant -nice <1-10>
Set main thread priority
ANT_OPTS="-Xmx1g" ant
Pass options to the JVM
ANT_ARGS="-noinput"
Default Ant arguments from environment
Build file basics
<project name="<n>"
default="<target>"
basedir=".">
Root element
<target name="<n>"
depends="<a>,<b>"
description="<text>">
Define a target
Only targets with a description show in ant -p.
<property name="<n>"
value="<v>"/>
Define a property
<property file="build.properties"/>
Load properties from a file
<property environment="env"/>
Read env vars as ${env.NAME}
${<name>}Reference a property
${basedir}Project base directory
<target name="<n>"
if="<prop>">
Run only if a property is set
<target name="<n>"
unless="<prop>">
Run only if a property is not set
<import file="<other.xml>"/>
Include another build file
<macrodef name="<n>">
Define a reusable task
<path id="<id>"><fileset
dir="lib"
includes="*.jar"/></path>
Reusable classpath
<fileset dir="<d>"
includes="**/*.java"
excludes="<pat>"/>
Select files by pattern
<echo message="<text>"/>
Print a message
<exec executable="<cmd>"><arg
value="<a>"/></exec>
Run an external command
<antcall target="<n>"/>
Call a target (new context)
Common tasks
<mkdir dir="<d>"/>
Create a directory
<delete dir="<d>"/>
Remove a directory tree
<copy todir="<d>"><fileset
dir="<s>"/></copy>
Copy files
<move file="<f>"
tofile="<t>"/>
Move or rename a file
<javac srcdir="src"
destdir="build/classes"
classpathref="<id>"
includeantruntime="false"/>
Compile Java sources
Set includeantruntime="false" to silence the runtime
warning.
<jar destfile="dist/<n>.jar"
basedir="build/classes"/>
Build a jar
<manifest><attribute name="Main-Class"
value="<cls>"/></manifest>
Set jar manifest (inside <jar>)
<java classname="<cls>"
classpathref="<id>"
fork="true"/>
Run a Java class
<junit printsummary="yes"
haltonfailure="yes">
Run JUnit tests
Needs the junit task and ant-junit jar; JUnit 5 uses
<junitlauncher>.
<junitlauncher>
Run JUnit Platform tests (Ant 1.10.6+)
<javadoc sourcepath="src"
destdir="docs"/>
Generate API docs
<zip destfile="<f>.zip"
basedir="<d>"/>
Create a zip archive
<war destfile="<f>.war"
webxml="<web.xml>"/>
Build a war
<get src="<url>"
dest="<file>"/>
Download a file
<replace file="<f>"
token="<a>"
value="<b>"/>
Text replace in a file
<tstamp/>Set DSTAMP, TSTAMP, TODAY
<fail message="<msg>"/>
Fail the build
Recipes
<project name="app" default="jar" basedir="."> <target name="compile"> <mkdir dir="build/classes"/> <javac srcdir="src" destdir="build/classes" includeantruntime="false"/> </target> <target name="jar" depends="compile" description="Package"> <jar destfile="dist/app.jar" basedir="build/classes"/> </target> <target name="clean" description="Remove output"> <delete dir="build"/><delete dir="dist"/> </target></project>ant -pant clean jar -Dversion=1.2# in build.xml: <jar destfile="dist/app-${version}.jar" .../><jar destfile="dist/app.jar" basedir="build/classes"> <manifest><attribute name="Main-Class" value="com.example.Main"/></manifest></jar>java -jar dist/app.jarant -v <target>ant -d -l build.log <target>ant -diagnostics
