include external jar when running java -jar

Question

From my readings, when you execute a command as follows:

java -jar foo.jar

Then the main classpath is ignored, and the classpath is taken f

Answer 1

Is there a reason why you are avoiding invoking the main class like

java -cp /usr/local/jar/foobar.jar:/some/other/path.jar com.your.main.classname

?

This type of invocation allows you to mix absolute paths with relative paths. Put this into a shell script or batch file to avoid having to actually type or remember the full classpath to simplify things.

Answer 2

You can create a folder, say lib, within the folder where you have the jar file.

Manifest.MF contents can be:

Main-Class: com.mastergaurav.test.app.MainClass
Class-Path: lib/one.jar lib/two.jar

Folder contents:

mainFolder/
   * lib/one.jar
   * lib/two.jar
   * my-main.jar

To execute:

java -jar my-main.jar