Netbeans 9/10/11 cannot run program "cmd"

Question

I unzipped NetBeans 11 to C:\netbeans, installed several versions of the JDK to C:\java and created a test class within NetBeans containing a main method and one line of code System.out.print("hello world");. When I click the Run Project button, the output window shows the command:

cd C:\Users\MyUsername\Documents\NetBeansProjects\asdf; 
JAVA_HOME=C:\\Java\\jdk1.8.0_231 cmd /c "\"\"C:\\netbeans-9\\java\\maven\\bin\\mvn.cmd\" 
  -Dexec.args=\"-classpath %classpath com.mycompany.asdf.Test\" 
  -Dexec.executable=C:\\Java\\jdk1.8.0_231\\bin\\java.exe  
  -Dmaven.ext.class.path=C:\\netbeans-9\\java\\maven-nblib\\netbeans-eventspy.jar  
  -Dfile.encoding=UTF-8 process-classes org.codehaus.mojo:exec-maven-plugin:1.5.0:exec\""

followed by the error:

Cannot run program "cmd" (in directory "C:\Users\MyUsername\Documents\NetBeansProjects\asdf"): Malformed argument has embedded quote: "C:\netbeans-9\java\maven\bin\mvn.cmd" -Dexec.args="-classpath %classpath com.mycompany.asdf.Test" -Dexec.executable=C:\Java\jdk1.8.0_231\bin\java.exe -Dmaven.ext.class.path=C:\netbeans-9\java\maven-nblib\netbeans-eventspy.jar -Dfile.encoding=UTF-8 process-classes org.codehaus.mojo:exec-maven-plugin:1.5.0:exec

Whether the class creates a GUI or not, it gives the same error. I've tried NetBeans 9, 10, and 11 with JDK 7, 8, and 11. Am I missing something during setup, or do I have something in a wrong directory somewhere? I'm lost.

Seems like the command line gets fudged with `"` characters that shouldn't be there. — Kayaman, Oct 18 '19 at 07:03
Regarding _"I installed NetBeans 11 and created a small test class"_ you need to provide more information than that, because the reader has no idea what you actually did. State the precise actions you took in sufficient detail so that others can attempt to reproduce your problem. — skomisa, Oct 18 '19 at 08:01

score 59 · Accepted Answer · edited Dec 30 '20 at 18:31

59

No need to downgrade the JDK, just add this in your netbeans.conf

Find your netbeans.conf file. e.g.: netbeansIstallDir/etc/netbeans.conf
Find the key netbeans_default_options and at the start of the string add the following: -J-Djdk.lang.Process.allowAmbiguousCommands=true

It should look like this:
```
netbeans_default_options="-J-Djdk.lang.Process.allowAmbiguousCommands=true..."
```

edited Dec 30 '20 at 18:31

Paul Vargas

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answered Oct 30 '19 at 09:26

Pascal Fares ENT Cnam Liban

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What is this doing exactly? Am I making Netbeans less secure/stable by allowing ambiguous commands? – Ryan Russell Dec 25 '19 at 03:43
Might be a no-brainer, but just wanted to add, restart netbeans after doing this. – Jake Gaston Jan 31 '20 at 19:55

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 18 '19 at 14:51

2

Fixed this issue by installing jdk1.8.0_221 as suggested here:

Java with maven wouldn't build: Cannot run program "cmd" "Malformed argument has embedded quote"

Hope this will help you too

answered Oct 18 '19 at 14:51

Andreas Vikke

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Could you please share where you got the 221 update from? I can only find 231. – Ross P. Oct 18 '19 at 16:38
1

I got it from here: https://www.oracle.com/java/technologies/jdk8-downloads.html – Andreas Vikke Oct 18 '19 at 16:56
Thanks so much. This solved my problem. Guessing update 231 changes how quotes are escaped or something. – Ross P. Oct 18 '19 at 22:08

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Oct 21 '19 at 11:03

1

No need to downgrade to an older JDK version, check my answer at https://stackoverflow.com/a/58484737 for a solution and the background of the change.

answered Oct 21 '19 at 11:03

Sephiroth

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Then this should be marked as a duplicate. – Thorbjørn Ravn Andersen Aug 27 '22 at 11:50

score 1 · Answer 4 · answered May 21 '20 at 01:05

Find the key netbeans_default_options and at the start of the string add the following: -J-Djdk.lang.Process.allowAmbiguousCommands=true

It should look like this:

netbeans_default_options="-J-Djdk.lang.Process.allowAmbiguousCommands=true..."

this if form Omer Erden, congrats...

Netbeans 9/10/11 cannot run program "cmd"

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