Java JAR wrapper for creating Windows native executables
created by LoRd_MuldeR <mulder2@gme.de>

Introduction

Launch5j is a reimagination of “Launch4j”, with full Unicode support.

This is a tool for wrapping Java applications distributed as JARs in lightweight Windows native executables. The executable can be configured to search for a certain JRE version or use a bundled one. The wrapper also provides better user experience through an application icon, a native pre-JRE splash screen, and a Java download page in case the appropriate JRE cannot be found.

Usage

There currently are two different ways to use Launch5j with your application code:

• Use the launcher executable with a separate JAR file

  Simply put the launcher executable (launch5j.exe) and your JAR file into the same directory. Launch5j will automatically detect the path of the JAR file based on the location of the executable file. More specifically, Launch5j detects the full path of the executable file and then replaces the .exe file extension with a .jar file extension in order to determine the path of the JAR file. Of course, you can rename the launch5j.exe executable file to my_program.exe or whatever you like.

• Combine the launcher executable and the JAR file (“wrapping”)

  In order to combine the launcher executable (launch5j.wrapped.exe) and the JAR file to a single file, you can simply concatenate these files. A simple way to achieve this is by running the following command-line in the terminal:

  copy /B launch5j.wrapped.exe + my_program.jar my_program.exe
  

  The resulting my_program.exe will be fully self-contained and is the only file you'll need to ship.

  Warning: Code signing, as with Microsoft®'s SignTool, probably does not work with the “wrapped” executable file! If code signing is a requirement, then we recommend using a separate JAR file and just sing the launcher executable.

Variants

Launch5j executables come in a number of variants, allowing you to pick the most suitable one:

• wrapped
  Expects the JAR file and the executable launcher to be combined to a single file; default variant expects a separate JAR file in the same directory as the executable launcher.

• registry
  Tries to detect the install path of the JRE from the Windows registry; default variant expects the JRE to be located in a path relative to the executable launcher.

• java11
  When detecting JRE from the registry, accepts JRE version 11 or any newer JRE version; default variant accepts JRE version 8 (1.8.0) or any newer JRE version.

• nosplash
  Does not display a splash screen while the application is launching; default variant does display a splash screen while the application is launching.

• nowait
  Does not keep the launcher executable alive while the application is running and thus won't return a meaningful exit code; default variant keeps the launcher executable alive until the application terminates and forwards the application's exit code.

Customizations

Launch5j comes with a default executable icon and a default splash screen bitmap. These just server as an example and you probably want to replace them with your own application-specific graphics.

It is not necessary (though possible) to re-build the executable files for that purpose. Instead, you can use the excellent Resource Hacker™ utility to “edit” the pre-compiled executable files as needed:
http://www.angusj.com/resourcehacker/

Acknowledgment

This project is partly inspired by the “Launch4j” project, even though it has been re-written from scratch:
https://sourceforge.net/p/launch4j/

License

This work has been released under the MIT license:

Copyright 2020 LoRd_MuldeR <mulder2@gmx.de>

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of
this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in
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use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of
the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so,
subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS
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