Visual Studio Code, Java Extension, howto add jar to classpath

Question

In Eclipse, I add a jar library using

project -> build path ->configure build path

What is the equivalent in VisualStudioCode? I had a look into launch.json

Answer 1

I know this is pretty old, but it is still high up on Google results and many may find it. I just want to recommend the following guide to VSCode wich includes a small but sufficient part to including libraries:

https://blog.usejournal.com/visual-studio-code-for-java-the-ultimate-guide-2019-8de7d2b59902

the answer is pretty simple:

1. add the jar to a folder you prefer, e.g. a new directory "lib" in the project folder.
2. add a line like: <classpathentry kind="lib" path="lib/javaxt-cor.jar"/>to your .classpath.
3. done. You can simply import it as you are used to.

Answer 2

It's so easy, anyway:

1. Create project with java ctrl+shift+p
2. Add the jar file to your .classpath
3. Add on the top of your project package [app]; the name of your package
4. We are done, don't forget to refresh it.

Answer 3

You must have the Java Dependency Viewer extension installed which helps import the jar files and add them to the project's classpath OR add the libraries to the ".classpath" file manually by using <classpathentry kind="lib" path="manual\path\entry\jarfile.jar"/> tags within <classpath></classpath> tags for each jar file.

First what you want to do is know how to create a proper Java "project" in VS Code.

To do that:

1. Have a folder opened in VSCode
2. Press Ctrl+Shift+P to open the Command Palette
3. Type in Java: Create New Project
4. Follow the steps according to your requirements and provide the project name

Then : Expand the Java Dependencies section in your Explorer Panel then Expand your "project name".

1. When you hover over "Referenced Libraries" you will see the "+" sign. Click it.
2. It will open the explorer. Use it to select all your jar files and click "Select Jar Files" button.

That's it!!!!

By the way you can see all of this in detail at https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/java/java-project#_working-with-jar-files , it has a clear visual representation of everything related.

Happy Coding!!!

Answer 4

For adding external Jar files whithout maven or gradle .classpath file must be changed for the library.. example

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<classpath>
    <classpathentry kind="con" path="org.eclipse.jdt.launching.JRE_CONTAINER/org.eclipse.jdt.internal.debug.ui.launcher.StandardVMType/JavaSE-1.8"/>
    <classpathentry kind="src" path="src"/>
    <classpathentry kind="lib" path="lib/log4j-1.2.6.jar"/>
    <classpathentry kind="output" path="bin"/>
</classpath>

But one extension conflicts with vscode-java. https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=georgewfraser.vscode-javac .Disable it if you've installed to suppress error if you find after changing .classpath file. You can check this issue- https://github.com/redhat-developer/vscode-java/issues/956

Answer 5

A terrible solution, but for me it works. (Assuming maven is installed).

Locate your maven repository directory, for me it is:

/Users/username/.m2/repository

Then create the path required following the package name. If you don't know the package name you can rename the .jar to a .zip and extract the content.

Also create a version number, if you don't have one then make one up. Here is a example of a structure that I created for byte-buddy-agent since that does not have a maven snippet.

Having done that you edit pom.xml and add something among the lines of:

<dependency>
  <groupId>net.bytebuddyagent</groupId>
  <artifactId>byte-buddy-agent</artifactId>
  <version>1.9.8</version>
</dependency>

Save the file, reload the changes, and you should be good to go. A bunch of files should be created in the directory.

Answer 6

I'm going to use the Apache Commons Codec http://commons.apache.org/proper/commons-codec/ as an example and start from scratch. I've installed the Visual Studio Code Java Pack Installer https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/languages/java and got a new VSCode window.

1. Ctrl+Shift+P and type to select Java: Create Java Project
2. Choose a folder for your project and click Select the location
3. Give your project a name and press Enter
4. Create folder in the project called lib and copy in the commons-codec-1.14 folder from the zip file.
5. Open the .classpath file and add the following line inside the node
   <classpathentry kind="lib" path="lib/commons-codec-1.14/commons-codec-1.14.jar"/>
   NB You may need to use the absolute address of the lib file. In my first go the above code worked fine. My demo project for this guide only worked with a full path eg
   <classpathentry kind="lib" path="C:/Users/tim/Desktop/JavaExample/JavaExample/lib/commons-codec-1.14/commons-codec-1.14.jar"/>
6. Open the src\App.java file and add the following line below the package app; line import org.apache.commons.codec.binary.Base64;

I was then able to run the following code in App.java

package app;
import org.apache.commons.codec.binary.Base64;


public class App {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        String message = "Hello World";
        System.out.println(message);
        String encodedMessage = Base64.encodeBase64String(message.getBytes());
        System.out.println(encodedMessage);

    }
}

To produce

Hello World
SGVsbG8gV29ybGQ=