Run exe which is packaged inside jar file

Question

I am executing an exe through my java program. The path is hardcoded in Java.

I have packaged my the exe in the jar.

But am stuck as I have the path name hardcoded in the Java file, so I am not able to execute my jar as a stand alone program.

Any hints for packaging such jar i.e having an exe inside and able to run it as a stand alone program?

score 37 · Accepted Answer · edited Mar 23 '20 at 08:36

This will extract the .exe to a local file on the local disk. The file will be deleted when the Java program exists.

import java.io.Closeable;
import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileNotFoundException;
import java.io.FileOutputStream;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.InputStream;
import java.io.OutputStream;
import java.net.URI;
import java.net.URISyntaxException;
import java.net.URL;
import java.security.CodeSource;
import java.security.ProtectionDomain;
import java.util.zip.ZipEntry;
import java.util.zip.ZipException;
import java.util.zip.ZipFile;

public class Main
{
    public static void main(final String[] args)
        throws URISyntaxException,
               ZipException,
               IOException
    {
        final URI uri;
        final URI exe;

        uri = getJarURI();
        exe = getFile(uri, "Main.class");
        System.out.println(exe);
    }

    private static URI getJarURI()
        throws URISyntaxException
    {
        final ProtectionDomain domain;
        final CodeSource       source;
        final URL              url;
        final URI              uri;

        domain = Main.class.getProtectionDomain();
        source = domain.getCodeSource();
        url    = source.getLocation();
        uri    = url.toURI();

        return (uri);
    }

    private static URI getFile(final URI    where,
                               final String fileName)
        throws ZipException,
               IOException
    {
        final File location;
        final URI  fileURI;

        location = new File(where);

        // not in a JAR, just return the path on disk
        if(location.isDirectory())
        {
            fileURI = URI.create(where.toString() + fileName);
        }
        else
        {
            final ZipFile zipFile;

            zipFile = new ZipFile(location);

            try
            {
                fileURI = extract(zipFile, fileName);
            }
            finally
            {
                zipFile.close();
            }
        }

        return (fileURI);
    }

    private static URI extract(final ZipFile zipFile,
                               final String  fileName)
        throws IOException
    {
        final File         tempFile;
        final ZipEntry     entry;
        final InputStream  zipStream;
        OutputStream       fileStream;

        tempFile = File.createTempFile(fileName, Long.toString(System.currentTimeMillis()));
        tempFile.deleteOnExit();
        entry    = zipFile.getEntry(fileName);

        if(entry == null)
        {
            throw new FileNotFoundException("cannot find file: " + fileName + " in archive: " + zipFile.getName());
        }

        zipStream  = zipFile.getInputStream(entry);
        fileStream = null;

        try
        {
            final byte[] buf;
            int          i;

            fileStream = new FileOutputStream(tempFile);
            buf        = new byte[1024];
            i          = 0;

            while((i = zipStream.read(buf)) != -1)
            {
                fileStream.write(buf, 0, i);
            }
        }
        finally
        {
            close(zipStream);
            close(fileStream);
        }

        return (tempFile.toURI());
    }

    private static void close(final Closeable stream)
    {
        if(stream != null)
        {
            try
            {
                stream.close();
            }
            catch(final IOException ex)
            {
                ex.printStackTrace();
            }
        }
    }
}

Dont forget to set the executable flag, otherwise your code works on Windows only. — akuhn, Mar 01 '09 at 19:32
+1 for creating a temporary file and marking it delete on exit. — gencoreoperative, Sep 07 '11 at 11:45
I know this is an old question, but I'm trying to use code similar to this with Windows 7, but I can't execute `.exe`s in the temp directory. Would appreciate it if you could check out my question: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/18559835/access-denied-when-trying-to-execute-a-exe-in-appdata — Andy, Sep 02 '13 at 18:38
@gencoreoperative actually that's a can of worms which if done in a wrong context can easily create a memory leak. — Markus Malkusch, Dec 04 '17 at 21:27
Remember, using this method will more likely get your app flagged by the AV. — m4heshd, Jul 10 '18 at 05:04

score 12 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 01 '09 at 17:33

12

The operating system doesn't care or know about .jar file, so you'll have to unpack the .exe file to some temporary location before you execute it.

answered Mar 01 '09 at 17:33

Joachim Sauer

302,674
57
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614

I copied the file from resources to the root directory of the project using the method D.Snap described and I am now referring to the file like so: "File file = new File("your.exe");". So you can open the file for writing to root directory from resources directory (if you are using a maven project) like so: "InputStream is = getClass().getResource("your.exe").openStream();" – hipokito Mar 06 '18 at 20:04

score 6 · Answer 3 · answered Apr 04 '16 at 12:13

6

//gets program.exe from inside the JAR file as an input stream
InputStream is = getClass().getResource("program.exe").openStream();
//sets the output stream to a system folder
OutputStream os = new FileOutputStream("program.exe");

//2048 here is just my preference
byte[] b = new byte[2048];
int length;

while ((length = is.read(b)) != -1) {
    os.write(b, 0, length);
}

is.close();
os.close();

answered Apr 04 '16 at 12:13

D.Snap

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1
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15

Please describe your code. What is `FileOutputStream`? I test but does not work. – ParisaN Apr 10 '18 at 13:46

score 3 · Answer 4 · answered Sep 07 '11 at 11:51

Whilst the other users have answered the question correctly, extract and run then cleanup. Another point to consider is going fully native.

You are already using a native binary to achieve a specific task. Why not also create a native installer which will install your application, and install the binary to the OS specific location (Program Files on Win32) and create suitable shortcuts.

This way your application will feel more native and means you don't need to write or manage code to get around this fact. At the moment the Jar looks like a cross platform piece of code (Jar runs anywhere right?) but packs a native binary which will not run everywhere. This feels like a contradiction.

For installers I can recommend Nullsoft Installation System (NSIS) as they have many excellent tutorials and code samples to learn from.

score 2 · Answer 5 · edited Feb 08 '13 at 13:56

2

Use

getClass().getResource(what).openStream()

and copy to another file in the disk.

edited Feb 08 '13 at 13:56

tckmn

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answered Feb 08 '13 at 13:37

Mid Bifroid

31
4

score -5 · Answer 6 · answered Mar 01 '09 at 17:39

-5

You could write a simple java program to launch the exe using Runtime.exec(). You could then set the "Main-Class" attribute of the jar to be that launcher class. Users could then run your jar and it would run the exe.

answered Mar 01 '09 at 17:39

Kevin

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In this case i will require to hard code the exe path in java code. I want to make it portable. – krisp Mar 01 '09 at 17:44
@Krisp. Not true. You can use Class/ClassLoader.getResource() to find a relative path within the jar – Kevin Mar 01 '09 at 17:49
thanks ..this seem's some hopes..will try this out and let u know. – krisp Mar 01 '09 at 17:57
1

This can't work - Runtime.exec() tells the OS to execute something, and the OS can't execute something inside a JAR file. – Michael Borgwardt Mar 01 '09 at 18:30
@Michael He can extract the executable to a temporary directory and run it from there. – Kevin Mar 01 '09 at 18:36

Run exe which is packaged inside jar file

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