Package JavaFX applications

Last modified: 15 June 2021

You can package your JavaFX application by building the corresponding artifact (a Java archive). For JavaFX applications, IntelliJ IDEA provides a dedicated artifact type: JavaFx Application.

Build JavaFX artifacts

note

Packaging a JavaFX application in .jar is possible only with Java 8.

Create a new artifact configuration

IntelliJ IDEA creates the artifact for packaging the application together with the project. However, you can create a new artifact configuration with your custom settings.

  1. From the main menu, select File | Project Structure Ctrl+Alt+Shift+S and click Artifacts.

  2. Click the Add button, point to JavaFx Application, and select From module '...'.

    Creating a new artifact configuration

    IntelliJ IDEA creates the artifact configuration and shows its settings in the right-hand part of the Project Structure dialog.

  3. Name the new configuration.

  4. Switch to the Java FX tab and in the Application class field, specify the main() method.

  5. Apply the changes and close the dialog.

    Creating a new artifact configuration: specifying the main class

tip

This is a basic configuration that is sufficient to package an application. You can specify additional options on the Java FX tab. For the detailed description of each option, refer to Java FX tab.

Build the artifact

  1. From the main menu, select Build | Build Artifacts.

  2. In the popup that opens, select the necessary artifact and select Build.

By default, the artifact is generated to <project_folder>\out\artifacts\<artifact_name>.

tip

If you want to make sure that your artifact is built correctly, create a new run configuration and run it as described in the section Run the packaged application.

Troubleshoot

  • Error:Java FX Packager: Can't build artifact – fx:deploy is not available in this JDK

    The fx:deploy task was a part of the Ant plugin that was formerly distributed in ant-javafx.jar as a part of Java Packager. The Ant plugin is not included in jpackage in the current JDK versions.

    If you're using a JDK build of version 9 and later, use third-party solutions for packaging. For example, refer to section Runtime images in the JavaFX official documentation.