Is there a way to upgrade eclipse and keep all the installed plugins?

Question

I found it tedious to reinstall all the plugin every time upgrade the eclipse.

Answer 1

You can install plugins into an external directory like this. I don't think there is a way to keep plugins installed from inside Eclipse.

Answer 2

In the latest Eclipse, you can keep all previously-installed plugins by running Eclipse, selecting File → Import…, continuing with Install → From Existing Installation, and then selecting the older Eclipse’s path.

Answer 3

This is the best option I've found so far. Dropins directories work, but they're a pain to maintain, because Eclipse wants to install new plug-ins in the Eclipse directory.

I. To transfer your list of update sites:

1. Run your old Eclipse one last time
2. Go to Window->Preferences->Install/Update->Available Software Sites
3. Select all update sites (click on one, then Ctrl-A), click Export, save the file somewhere
4. Run your new Eclipse, select your workspace
5. Go to Window->Preferences->Install/Update->Available Software Sites
6. Click Import, choose the file from step 3

II. To copy across your old plug-ins:

1. In the new Eclipse, select File->Import->Install->From Existing Installation
2. Select your old eclipse directory, eg ~/apps/eclipse-jee-indigo-SR1-linux-gtk-x86_64/eclipse/
3. Select the plug-ins/features you want to install, click Finish
4. When it finishes, you can archive/delete your old Eclipse directory

Answer 4

Import and Export of plugins can be used to keep all the installed plugins.

Plug-in Export

Plug-in Import