eclipse - A kind of universal tool platform.

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

Eclipse is a kind of universal tool platform - an open extensible IDE for anything and nothing in paticular.

This manual page documents briefly Eclipse, a kind of universal tool platform. This manual page was written for the Debian GNU/Linux distribution because the original program does not have a manual page. Most of description are just cut and paste from Eclipse's document.

A summary of platform options are included below. Some of this options can be set by editing ~/.eclipse/eclipserc (but options given on the commandline will overwrite them). This is usefull, when you start eclipse via menu entry.

-arch <architecture>

Defines the processor architecture on which the Eclipse platform is running. The Eclipse platform ordinarily computes the optimal setting using the prevailing value of Java os.arch property. If specified here, this is the value that the Eclipse platform uses. The value specified here is available to plug-ins as BootLoader.getOSArch(). Example values: "x86", "sparc", "PA-RISC", "ppc".

-application <applicationId>

The application to run. Applications are declared by plug-ins supplying extensions to the org.eclipse.core.runtime.applications extension point. This argument is typically not needed. If specified, the value overrides the value supplied by the configuration. If not specified, the Eclipse Workbench is run.

-clean

Any cached data used by the OSGi framework and eclipse runtime will be wiped clean. 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.

-configuration <configurationFileURL>

The location for the Eclipse Platform configuration file, expressed as a URL. The configuration file determines the location of the Eclipse platform, the set of available plug-ins, and the primary feature. Note that relative URLs are not allowed. The configuration file is written to this location when the Eclipse platform is installed or updated.

-console [port]

If set to a non-null value, the OSGi console (if installed) is enabled. If the 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.

-consolelog

Mirrors the Eclipse platform's error log to the console used to run Eclipse. Handy when combined with -debug.

-data <workspacePath>

The path of the workspace on which to run the Eclipse platform. The workspace location is also the default location for projects. Relative paths are interpreted relative to the directory that Eclipse was started from.

-debug [optionsFile]

Puts the platform in debug mode and loads the debug options from the file at the given location, if specified. This file indicates which debug points are available for a plug-in and whether or not they are enabled. If a file location is not given, the platform looks in the directory that eclipse was started from for a file called ".options". Both URLs and file system paths are allowed as file locations.

Note: On Debian, eclipse expects that the following arguments is a path to a option file. You are not allowed to omit this file!

-dev [classpathEntries]

Puts the platform in development mode. The optional classpath entries (a comma separated list) are added to the runtime classpath of each plug-in. For example, when the workspace contains plug-ins being developed, specifying -dev bin adds a classpath entry for each plug-in project's directory named bin, allowing freshly generated class files to be found there. Redundant or non-existent classpath entries are eliminated.

-endSplash <command>

Specifies the command to use to take down the splash screen. Typically supplied by the Eclipse executable.

-feature <feature id>

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

-framework <location>

The URL location of the OSGi framework. Useful if the Eclipse install is disjoint.

-initialize

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>

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

-keyring <keyringFilePath>

The location of the authorization database (or "key ring" file) on disk. This argument must be used in conjunction with the -password option. Relative paths are interpreted relative to the directory that Eclipse was started from.

-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>

Defines the name of the locale on which the Eclipse platform is running. The Eclipse platform ordinarily computes the optimal setting automatically. If specified here, this is the value that the Eclipse platform uses. The value specified here is available to plug-ins as BootLoader.getNL(). Example values: "en_US" and "fr_FR_EURO".

You need to install additonal language strings, before that works! Such strings are available in the eclipse-i18n package.

-noExit

The VM will not exit after the eclipse application has ended. This is useful for examining the OSGi framework after the eclipse application has ended.

-noLazyRegistryCacheLoading

The platform's plug-in registry cache loading optimization is deactivated. 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.

-noRegistryCache

The internal extension registry cache is neither read or written

-nosplash

Runs the platform without putting up the splash screen.

-os <operatingSystem>

Defines the operating system on which the Eclipse platform is running. The Eclipse platform ordinarily computes the optimal setting using the prevailing value of Java os.name property. If specified here, this is the value that the Eclipse platform uses. The value specified here is available to plug-ins as BootLoader.getOS(), and used to resolve occurrences of the $os$ variable in paths mentioned in the plug-in manifest file. Example values: "win32", "linux", "hpux", "solaris", "aix".

-password <password>

The password for the authorization database. Used in conjunction with the -keyring option.

-perspective <perspectiveId>

The perspective to open in the active workbench window on startup. If this parameter is not specified, the perspective that was active on shutdown will be opened.

-plugincustomization <propertiesFile>

The 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 directory that eclipse was started from.

-product <productId>

The ID of the product to run. The product gives the launched instance of Eclipse its personality, and determines the product customization information used. This replaces -feature, which is still supported for compatibility.

-refresh

Option for performing a global refresh of the workspace on startup. This will reconcile any changes that were made in the file system since the platform was last run.

-showlocation

Option for displaying the location of the workspace in the window title bar. In release 2.0 this option only worked in conjunction with the -data command line argument.

-showSplash <command>

Specifies the command to use to show the splash screen. Typically supplied by the Eclipse executable.

-startup <location>

The location of jar used to startup eclipse. The jar referred to must have the Main-Class attribute set. If this parameter is not set, the startup.jar located in the same folder than the executable is used.

-user <location>

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.

-vm <vmPath>

The location of Java Runtime Environment (JRE) to use to run the Eclipse platform. If not specified, the JRE is at jre, sibling of the Eclipse executable. Relative paths are interpreted relative to the directory that eclipse was started from.

-vmargs <args>

When passed to the Eclipse, this option is used to customize the operation of the Java VM used to run Eclipse. If specified, this option must come at the end of the command line. The given arguments are dependant on VM that is being run.

-ws <window system>

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

Eclipse will search for a java virtual machine in this order: VM given with the "-vm <JVM>" argument, $JAVA_HOME/bin/java from $HOME/.eclipse/eclipserc and then in the environment and at last use /usr/bin/java.

java(1)

Configuration file is $HOME/.eclipse/eclipserc, error log in <workspace>/.metadata/.log, where <workspace> is the path to your workspace.

Eclipse has a bugzilla, which can be found at bugs.eclipse.org.

This manual page was written by Takashi Okamoto <tora@debian.org>, for the Debian GNU/Linux system (but may be used by others). It was updated by Jan Schulz <debian@katzien.de> and Stephan Michels <stephan@apache.org>.