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Run/debug configuration: Application

Last modified: 07 September 2023

This run/debug configuration is the most common template for Java, which corresponds to compiling your program with javac and then running it with java.

Open the run configuration

  1. Go to Run | Edit Configurations.

  2. In the Run/Debug Configuration dialog:

    • To create a new configuration, click Add on the toolbar or press AltInsert and select Application.

    • Alternatively, click an existing Application configuration in the list on the left.

    On the right, you will see configuration options.

Run/Debug Configuration: Application

tip

You can use CtrlSpace to let IntelliJ IDEA help you fill in the fields in this dialog.

Name

Specify a name for the run configuration to quickly identify it among others when editing or running.

Run on

Select the target environment where you want to run the configuration. Besides running it locally, you can select to run your application on a remote machine via SSH or in a Docker container. For more information, refer to Run targets.

Store as project file

Save the run configuration settings to a file that you can share with other team members. The default location is .idea/runConfigurations. However, if you do not want to share the .idea directory, you can save the configuration to any other directory within the project.

By default, this option is disabled, and IntelliJ IDEA stores run configuration settings in .idea/workspace.xml.

Required options

Item

Description

JRE

Specify the runtime environment that IntelliJ IDEA should use to run the application. By default, IntelliJ IDEA uses the latest available JDK from the module dependencies.

Main class

Specify the fully qualified name of the class to be executed (passed to the JRE).

Program arguments

Specify a list of arguments to be passed to the application in the format you would use on the command line. Use the same rules as for specifying VM options.

Working directory

Specify the working directory to be used for running the application. This directory is the starting point for all relative input and output paths. By default, the working directory is the project root.

More options

Run/Debug Configuration: Application, More Options

Operating system

Item

Description

Allow multiple instances

Allow multiple instances of this run configuration to execute at the same time. By default, this option is disabled, which means that when you run the configuration, other active sessions of the configuration will terminate.

Environment variables

Click the Browse button to open the Environment Variables dialog where you can create variables and specify their values.

Redirect input

Enables redirecting data from a text file to standard input. Use this option if your script requires some input, and you want to automatically submit the values instead of typing them in the Run console. To enable redirecting, select the checkbox and specify the path to the target text file.

Java

The following options are specific to the Java compiler and runtime:

Item

Description

Do not build before run

Run tests straight away without launching the build process.

Use classpath of module

Select the module whose classpath should be used to run the application.

Modify classpath

If necessary, specify another classpath or select dependencies that you want to exclude from the classpath. This option is necessary in cases when the runtime classpath is different from the compile classpath (debug libraries, different locations, and so on).

Use the Up and Down buttons to sort dependencies on the list. The order of dependencies is important as IntelliJ IDEA will process them in the same order as they are specified in the list.

Add dependencies with “provided” scope to classpath

Add the dependencies with the provided scope to the runtime classpath.

Shorten command line

Select a method that will be used to shorten the command line if the classpath gets too long, or you have many VM arguments that exceed your OS command line length limitation. The choice of option depends on the class loader implementation. Note that some frameworks do not support JAR manifest, while other frameworks with custom class loaders will not work well with the classpath.file option.

  • none: IntelliJ IDEA will not shorten a long classpath. If the command line exceeds the OS limitation, IntelliJ IDEA will be unable to run your application and will display a message suggesting you to specify the shortening method.

  • JAR manifest: IntelliJ IDEA will pass a long classpath via a temporary classpath.jar. The original classpath is defined in the manifest file as a class-path attribute in classpath.jar. Note that you will be able to preview the full command line if it was shortened using this method, not just the classpath of the temporary classpath.jar.

  • classpath.file: IntelliJ IDEA will write a long classpath into a text file.

  • @argFiles (java 9+): the command-line length limitations will be overcome using the @argument files option.

note

This setting is shared if you select to share your run/debug configuration, so the same method will be applied for your team members irrespective of their operating system.

VM options

Specify the options to be passed to the Java virtual machine when launching the application, for example, -mx, -verbose, and so on.

When specifying JVM options, follow these rules:

  • Use spaces to separate individual options.

  • If the value of an option includes spaces, enclose either the value or the actual spaces with double quotes.

  • If an option includes double quotes as part of the value, escape the double quotes using backslashes.

  • You can pass environment variable values to custom Java properties.

-Xmx1024m -Dspaces="some arg" -Dmy.prop=\"quoted_value\" -Dfoo=${MY_ENV_VAR}

Use code completion in this field: start typing the name of a flag, and the IDE suggests a list of available command line options. This works for -XX: and -X options and some standard options that are not configured by IntelliJ IDEA automatically, like -ea, but not for -cp or –release.

The -classpath option specified in this field overrides the classpath of the module.

Logs

The following options are related to logging the execution of this configuration. For more information, refer to View logs.

Item

Description

Specify logs to be shown in console

Specify which log files to display while running the application.

Click the Add button to add a new log. In the Edit Log Files Aliases dialog, configure the following:

  • Alias: The name of the tab where the log will be displayed.

  • Log File Location: Specify the path to the log file or an Ant pattern. If several files of a rolling log match the pattern, IntelliJ IDEA will display the most recent one.

  • Show all files coverable by pattern: Show all logs that match the pattern.

For logs in the table, you can configure the following options:

  • Is Active: Display the specified log file.

  • Skip Content: Do not display old log messages from previous runs.

Save console output to file

Save the console output to the specified location. Type the path manually or click the browse button and point to the desired location in the dialog that opens.

Show console when a message is printed to stdout

Activate the console when the application writes to the standard output stream.

Show console when a message is printed to stderr

Activate the console when the application writes to the standard error stream.

Code Coverage

The following options are related to code coverage. For more information, refer to Code coverage.

Item

Description

Specify classes and packages

In this table, specify classes and packages to be measured. Click the Add button and select the Add Class button Add Class or the Add Package button Add Package to specify. You can also remove classes and packages from the list by selecting them in the list and clicking the remove the package button.

Exclude classes and packages

Specify classes and packages that you want to exclude from coverage.

Click the Add button and select the Add Class button Add Class or the Add Package button Add Package to specify classes and packages.

Specify alternative coverage runner

Select a code coverage runner.

By default, IntelliJ IDEA uses its own coverage engine with the Sampling mode. You can also choose JaCoCo for calculating coverage.

Enable branch coverage and test tracking

Collect accurate branch coverage. This mode is available for the IntelliJ IDEA code coverage runner only.

Collect coverage in test folders

If this option is enabled, the folders marked as test root_Test.png are included in the code coverage analysis.

Before Launch

In this area, you can specify tasks to be performed before starting the selected run/debug configuration. The tasks are performed in the order they appear in the list.

Item

Description

Add before launch task

Enable this option to add one of the following available tasks:

  • Launch Web Browser: select this option to have a browser started. In the dialog that opens, select the type of the browser and provide the start URL. Also, specify if you want the browser be launched with JavaScript debugger.

  • Run External tool: run an external application. In the dialog that opens, select one or multiple applications you want to run. If it is not defined in IntelliJ IDEA yet, add its definition. For more information, refer to External tools.

  • Run Another Configuration: select to execute another run/debug configuration and wait until it finishes before starting the current configuration. If you want to run several configurations in parallel, use a compound run/debug configuration.

  • Run Remote External Tool: add a remote SSH external tool.

  • Run Gradle task: run a Gradle task. In the dialog that opens, specify the task and provide additional configuration if necessary.

  • Build: select to compile the specified module. The Build Module action will be executed.

    If an error occurs during compilation, IntelliJ IDEA won't attempt to start the run/debug configuration.

  • Build Project: select to compile the entire project. The Build Project action will be executed.

    If an error occurs during compilation, IntelliJ IDEA won't attempt to start the run/debug configuration.

  • Build, no error check: the same as the Build option, but IntelliJ IDEA will try to start the run/debug configuration irrespective of the compilation results.

  • Build Artifacts: select this option to build an artifact or artifacts. In the dialog that opens, select the artifact or artifacts that should be built.

  • Run Ant target: select this option to run an Ant target. In the dialog that opens, select the target to be run.

  • Run Maven Goal: select this option to run a Maven goal. In the dialog that opens, select the goal to be run.

  • Run Grunt task: select this option to run a Grunt task.

    In the Grunt task dialog that opens, specify the Gruntfile.js where the required task is defined, select the task to execute, and specify the arguments to pass to the Grunt tool.

    Specify the location of the Node.js interpreter, the parameters to pass to it, and the path to the grunt-cli package.

  • Run gulp task: select this option to run a Gulp task.

    In the Gulp task dialog that opens, specify the Gulpfile.js where the required task is defined, select the task to execute, and specify the arguments to pass to the Gulp tool.

    Specify the location of the Node.js interpreter, the parameters to pass to it, and the path to the gulp package.

  • Run npm script: select this option to execute an npm script.

    In the NPM Script dialog that opens, specify the npm run/debug configuration settings.

  • Compile TypeScript: select to run the built-in TypeScript compiler and thus make sure that all the changes you made to your TypeScript code are reflected in the generated JavaScript files. In the TypeScript Compile Settings dialog that opens, select or clear the Check errors checkbox to configure the behaviour of the compiler in case any errors are detected:

    • If the Check errors checkbox is selected, the compiler will show all the errors and the run configuration will not start.

    • If the Check errors checkbox is cleared, the compiler will show all the detected errors but the run configuration still will be launched.

  • Disconnect Data Source: select this option if you want to disrupt the connection to a data source before the run/debug configuration is run.

Open run/debug tool window when started

Depending on the type of configuration, open the Run, Debug, or Services tool window when you start this run configuration. If this option is disabled, you can open the tool window manually:

  • View | Tool Windows | Run or Alt04

  • View | Tool Windows | Debug or Alt05

  • View | Tool Windows | Services or Alt08

Show the run/debug configuration settings before start

Show the run configuration settings before actually starting it.

See also

Related