java(1)

General Commands Manual

java(1)

Name
java - the Java application launcher
SYNOPSIS
java [ options ] class [ argument ... ]
java [ options ] -jar file.jar [ argument ... ]
options
Command-line options. See Options.
class
The name of the class to be called.
file.jar
The name of the JAR file to be called. Used only with the -jar comm
and.
argument
The arguments passed to the main function.
DESCRIPTION
The java command starts a Java application. It does this by starting a
Java runtime environment, loading a specified class, and
calling that class's main method.
The method must be declared public and static, it must not return any val
ue, and it must accept a String array as a parameter.
The method declaration has the following form:
public static void main(String args[])
By default, the first argument without an option is the name of the cl
ass to be called. A fully qualified class name should be
used. If the -jar option is specified, then the first non-option argument
is the name of a JAR file containing class and resource
files for the application, with the startup class indicated by the Main-C
lass manifest header.
The Java runtime searches for the startup class, and other classes use
d, in three sets of locations: the bootstrap class path,
the installed extensions, and the user class path.
Non-option arguments after the class name or JAR file name are passed to
the main function.
OPTIONS
The launcher has a set of standard options that are supported in the curr
ent runtime environment.
In addition, the current implementations of the virtual machines support
a set of nonstandard options that are subject to change
in future releases. See Nonstandard Options.

Standard Options
-client
Selects the Java HotSpot Client VM. A 64-bit capable JDK current
ly ignores this option and instead uses the Java Hotspot
Server VM.
For default Java VM selection, see Server-Class Machine Det
ection at http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/tech
notes/guides/vm/server-class.html
-server
Selects the Java HotSpot Server VM. On a 64-bit capable JDK, onl
y the Java Hotspot Server VM is supported so the -server
option is implicit.
For default a Java VM selection, see Server-Class Machine D
etection at http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/tech
notes/guides/vm/server-class.html
-agentlib:libname[=options]
Loads native agent library libname, for example:
-agentlib:hprof
-agentlib:jdwp=help
-agentlib:hprof=help
See JVMTI Agent Command-Line Options at http://docs.oracle.com/java
se/7/docs/platform/jvmti/jvmti.html#starting
-agentpath:pathname[=options]
Loads a native agent library by full pathname. See JVMTI Command-Li
ne Options at http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/plat
form/jvmti/jvmti.html#starting
-classpath classpath, -cp classpath
Specifies a list of directories, JAR files, and ZIP archives to sea
rch for class files. Separate class path entries with
colons (:). Specifying -classpath or -cp overrides any setting of t
he CLASSPATH environment variable.
If -classpath and -cp are not used and CLASSPATH is not set, th
en the user class path consists of the current directory
(.).
As a special convenience, a class path element that contains a base
name of * is considered equivalent to specifying a list
of all the files in the directory with the extension .jar or .JA
R. A Java program cannot tell the difference between the
two invocations.
For example, if directory mydir contains a.jar and b.JAR, then the
class path element mydir/* is expanded to a A.jar:b.JAR,
except that the order of jar files is unspecified. All jar files in
the specified directory, even hidden ones, are included
in the list. A class path entry consisting simply of * expands to a
list of all the jar files in the current directory. The
CLASSPATH environment variable, where defined, will be similarly e
xpanded. Any class path wildcard expansion occurs before
the Java VM is started. No Java program will ever see wild cards th
at are not expanded except by querying the environment.
For example, by calling System.getenv("CLASSPATH").
-Dproperty=value
Sets a system property value.

-d32
Run the application in a 32-bit environment. If a 32-bit environmen
t is not installed or is not supported, an error will be
reported. By default, the application is run in a 32-bit environmen
t unless a 64-bit only system is used.
-d64
Run the application in a 64-bit environment. If a 64-bit environmen
t is not installed or is not supported, an error will be
reported. By default, the application is run in a 32-bit environmen
t unless a 64-bit only system is used.
Currently only the Java HotSpot Server VM supports 64-bit opera
tion, and the -server option is implicit with the use of
-d64. The -client option is ignored with the use of -d64. This is s
ubject to change in a future release.
-disableassertions[:package name"..." | :class name ], -da[:package na
me"..." | :class name ]
Disable assertions. This is the default.
With no arguments, -disableassertions or -da disables assertions. W
ith one argument ending in "...", the switch disables
assertions in the specified package and any subpackages. If the a
rgument is "...", then the switch disables assertions in
the unnamed package in the current working directory. With one argu
ment not ending in "...", the switch disables assertions
in the specified class.
To run a program with assertions enabled in package com.wombat.frui
tbat but disabled in class com.wombat.fruitbat.Brickbat,
the following command could be used:
java -ea:com.wombat.fruitbat... -da:com.wombat.fruitbat.Brickbat <M
ain Class>
The -disableassertions and -da switches apply to all class loaders
and to system classes (which do not have a class
loader). There is one exception to this rule: in their no-argument
form, the switches do not apply to system. This makes it
easy to turn on asserts in all classes except for system classes. T
he -disablesystemassertions option provides a separate
swith to enable assertions in all system classes.
-enableassertions[:package name"..." | :class name ], -ea[:package nam
e"..." | :class name ]
Enable assertions. Assertions are disabled by default.
With no arguments, -enableassertions or -ea enables assertion
s. With one argument ending in "...", the switch enables
assertions in the specified package and any subpackages. If the arg
ument is "...", then the switch enables assertions in
the unnamed package in the current working directory. With one arg
ument not ending in "...", the switch enables assertions
in the specified class.
If a single command contains multiple instances of these switches,
then they are processed in order before loading any
classes. So, for example, to run a program with assertions enabl
ed only in package com.wombat.fruitbat (and any subpack
ages), the following command could be used:
java -ea:com.wombat.fruitbat... <Main Class>
The -enableassertions and -ea switches apply to all class loaders a
nd to system classes (which do not have a class loader).
There is one exception to this rule: in their no-argument form, th
e switches do not apply to system. This makes it easy to

turn on asserts in all classes except for system classes. The -enab
lesystemassertions option provides a separate switch to
enable assertions in all system classes.
-enablesystemassertions, -esa
Enable assertions in all system classes (sets the default assertion
status for system classes to true).
-disablesystemassertions, -dsa
Disables assertions in all system classes.
-help or -?
Displays usage information and exit.
-jar
Executes a program encapsulated in a JAR file. The first argum
ent is the name of a JAR file instead of a startup class
name. For this option to work, the manifest of the JAR file must co
ntain a line in the form Main-Class: classname. Here,
classname identifies the class with the public static void main
(String[] args) method that serves as your application's
starting point.
When you use this option, the JAR file is the source of all user cl
asses, and other user class path settings are ignored.
JAR files that can be run with the java -jar option can have their
execute permissions set so they can be run without using
java -jar. See JAR File Overview at http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7
/docs/technotes/guides/jar/jarGuide.html
-javaagent:jarpath[=options]
Loads a Java programming language agent. For more informat
ion about instrumenting Java applications, see the
java.lang.instrument package description in the Java API documentat
ion at
http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/java/lang/instrument/packa
ge-summary.html @
http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/java/lang/instrument/packa
ge-summary.html
-jre-restrict-search
Includes user-private JREs in the version search.
-no-jre-restrict-search
Excludes user-private JREs in the version search.
-showversion
Displays version information and continues.
-splash:imagepath
Shows splash screen with image specified by imagepath.
-verbose, -verbose:class
Displays information about each class loaded.
-verbose:gc
Reports on each garbage collection event.
-verbose:jni
Reports information about use of native methods and other Java Nati
ve Interface activity.

-version
Displays version information and exits. See also the -showversion o
ption.
-version:release
Specifies that the version specified by the release is required by
the class or JAR file specified on the command line. If
the version of the java command called does not meet this specifica
tion and an appropriate implementation is found on the
system, then the appropriate implementation will be used.
The release option specifies an exact version and a list of version
s called a version string. A version string is an
ordered list of version ranges separated by spaces. A version range
is either a version-id, a version-id followed by an
asterisk (*), a version-id followed by a plus sign (+), or a versio
n range that consists of two version-ids combined using
an ampersand (&). The asterisk means prefix match, the plus sign me
ans this version or greater, and the ampersand means the
logical and of the two version-ranges, for example:
-version:"1.6.0_13 1.6*&1.6.0_10+"
The meaning of the previous example is that the class or JAR file r
equires either version 1.6.0_13, or a version with 1.6
as a version-id prefix and that is not less than 1.6.0_10. The exac
t syntax and definition of version strings can be found
in Appendix A of the Java Network Launching Protocol & API Specific
ation (JSR-56).
For JAR files, the preference is to specify version requirements in
the JAR file manifest rather than on the command line.
See Notes for important policy information on the use of this optio
n.
Non-Standard Options
-X Displays information about nonstandard options and exits.
-Xint
Operates in interpreted-only mode. Compilation to native code is di
sabled, and all bytecode is executed by the interpreter.
The performance benefits offered by the Java HotSpot Client VM adap
tive compiler is not present in this mode.
-Xbatch
Disables background compilation. Typically, the Java VM compiles th
e method as a background task, running the method in
interpreter mode until the background compilation is finished. The
-Xbatch flag disables background compilation so that
compilation of all methods proceeds as a foreground task until comp
leted.
-Xbootclasspath:bootclasspath
Specifies a colon-separated list of directories, JAR files, and ZIP
archives to search for boot class files. These are used
in place of the boot class files included in the Java platform JDK.
Applications that use this option for the purpose of overriding a c
lass in rt.jar should not be deployed because doing so
would contravene the Java Runtime Environment binary code license.
-Xbootclasspath/a:path
Specifies a colon-separated path of directories, JAR files, and ZIP

archives to append to the default bootstrap class path.

-Xbootclasspath/p:path
Specifies a colon-separated path of directories, JAR files, and ZIP
archives to add in front of the default bootstrap class
path.
Do not deploy applications that use this option to override a class
in rt.jar because this violates the Java Runtime Envi
ronment binary code license.
-Xcheck:jni
Performs additional checks for Java Native Interface (JNI) function
s. Specifically, the Java Virtual Machine validates the
parameters passed to the JNI function and the runtime environment d
ata before processing the JNI request. Any invalid data
encountered indicates a problem in the native code, and the Java Vi
rtual Machine will terminate with a fatal error in such
cases. Expect a performance degradation when this option is used.
-Xfuture
Performs strict class-file format checks. For backward compatibilit
y, the default format checks performed by the Java vir
tual machine are no stricter than the checks performed by 1.1.x ver
sions of the JDK software. The -Xfuture option turns on
stricter class-file format checks that enforce closer conformance t
o the class-file format specification. Developers are
encouraged to use this flag when developing new code because the st
ricter checks will become the default in future releases
of the Java application launcher.
-Xnoclassgc
Disables class garbage collection. Use of this option preven memory
recovery from loaded classes thus increasing overall
memory usage. This could cause OutOfMemoryError to be thrown in som
e applications.
-Xincgc
Enables the incremental garbage collector. The incremental garbage
collector, which is turned off by default, will reduce
the occasional long garbage-collection pauses during program execut
ion. The incremental garbage collector will at times
execute concurrently with the program and during such times will re
duce the processor capacity available to the program.
-Xloggc:file
Reports on each garbage collection event, as with -verbose:gc, but
logs this data to a file. In addition to the information
-verbose:gc gives, each reported event will be preceded by the time
(in seconds) since the first garbage-collection event.
Always use a local file system for storage of this file to avoid st
alling the Java VM due to network latency. The file may
be truncated in the case of a full file system and logging will con
tinue on the truncated file. This option overrides -ver
bose:gc when both are specified on the command line.
-Xmnsize or -XX:NewSize
Sets the size of the young generation (nursery).
-Xmsn
Specifies the initial size, in bytes, of the memory allocation pool

. This value must be a multiple of 1024 greater than 1

MB. Append the letter k or K to indicate kilobytes, or m or M to in
dicate megabytes. The default value is chosen at runtime
based on system configuration. See Garbage Collector Ergonomics at
http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/tech
notes/guides/vm/gc-ergonomics.html
Examples:
-Xms6291456
-Xms6144k
-Xms6m
-Xmxn
Specifies the maximum size, in bytes, of the memory allocation pool
. This value must a multiple of 1024 greater than 2 MB.
Append the letter k or K to indicate kilobytes, or m or M to indica
te megabytes. The default value is chosen at runtime
based on system configuration.
For server deployments, -Xms and -Xmx are often set to the same val
ue. See Garbage Collector Ergonomics at http://docs.ora
cle.com/javase/7/docs/technotes/guides/vm/gc-ergonomics.html
Examples:
-Xmx83886080
-Xmx81920k
-Xmx80m
On Solaris 7 and Solaris 8 SPARC platforms, the upper limit for thi
s value is approximately 4000 m minus overhead amounts.
On Solaris 2.6 and x86 platforms, the upper limit is approximately
2000 m minus overhead amounts. On Linux platforms, the
upper limit is approximately 2000 m minus overhead amounts.
-Xprof
Profiles the running program, and sends profiling data to standard
output. This option is provided as a utility that is
useful in program development and is not intended to be used in pro
duction systems.
-Xrs
Reduces use of operating-system signals by the Java VM.
In an earlier release, the Shutdown Hooks facility was added to ena
ble orderly shutdown of a Java application. The intent
was to enable user cleanup code (such as closing database connectio
ns) to run at shutdown, even if the Java VM terminates
abruptly.
The Java VM catches signals to implement shutdown hooks for unexpec
ted Java VM termination. The Java VM uses SIGHUP, SIG
INT, and SIGTERM to initiate the running of shutdown hooks.
The JVM uses a similar mechanism to implement the feature of dumpin
g thread stacks for debugging purposes. The JVM uses
SIGQUIT to perform thread dumps.
Applications embedding the Java VM frequently need to trap signals
such as SIGINT or SIGTERM, which can lead to interfer
ence with the Java VM signal handlers. The -Xrs command-line option
is available to address this issue. When -Xrs is used
on the Java VM, the signal masks for SIGINT, SIGTERM, SIGHUP, and S
IGQUIT are not changed by the Java VM, and signal han
dlers for these signals are not installed.
There are two consequences of specifying -Xrs:
o SIGQUIT thread dumps are not available.

o User code is responsible for causing shutdown hooks to run, for e

xample by calling System.exit() when the Java VM is to
be terminated.
-Xssn
Sets the thread stack size.
-XX:AllocationPrefetchStyle=n
Sets the style of prefetch used during allocation. default=2.
-XX:+AggressiveOpts
Enables aggressive optimization.
-XX:+|-DisableAttachMechanism
Specifies whether commands (such as jmap and jconsole) can attach t
o the Java VM. By default, this feature is disabled.
That is, attaching is enabled, for example:
java -XX:+DisableAttachMechanism
-XXLargePageSizeInBytes=n
Specifies the maximum size for large pages.
-XX:MaxGCPauseMillis=n
Sets a target for the maximum GC pause time.
This is a soft goal, and the Java VM will make its best effort to a
chieve it. There is no maximum value set by default.
-XX:NewSize
Sets the size of the young generation (nursery). Sames as -Xmnsize.
-XX:ParallelGCThreads=n
Sets the number of GC threads in the parallel collectors.
-XX:PredictedClassLoadCount=n
This option requires that the UnlockExperimentalVMOptions flag be s
et first. Use the PredictedClassLoadCount flag if your
application loads a lot of classes and especially if class.forName(
) is used heavily. The recommended value is the number
of classes loaded as shown in the output from -verbose:class.
Example:
java -XX:+UnlockExperimentalVMOptions -XX:PredictedClassLoadCount=6
0013
-XX:+PrintCompilation
Prints verbose output from the Java HotSpot VM dynamic runtime comp
iler.
-XX:+PrintGCDetails -XX:+PrintGCTimeStamps
Prints garbage collection output along with time stamps.
-XX:SoftRefLRUPolicyMSPerMB=0
This flag enables aggressive processing of software references. Use
this flag if the software reference count has an impact
on the Java HotSpot VM garbage collector.
-XX:TLABSize=n
Thread local allocation buffers (TLAB) are enabled by default in th
e Java HotSpot VM. The Java HotSpot VM sizes TLABs based
on allocation patterns. The -XX:TLABSize option enables fine-tuning
the size of TLABs.

-XX:+UseAltSigs
The Java VM uses SIGUSR1 and SIGUSR2 by default, which can sometime
s conflict with applications that signal-chain SIGUSR1
and SIGUSR2. The -XX:+UseAltSigs option causes the Java VM to use s
ignals other than SIGUSR1 and SIGUSR2 as the default.
-XX:+|-UseCompressedOops
Enables compressed references in 64-bit Java VMs.
This option is true by default.
-XX:+UseConcMarkSweepGC or -XX:+UseG1GC
Enables either the Concurrent Mark Sweep (CMS) or the G1 garbage co
llectors.
-XX:+|-UseLargePages
Enables large page support.
Large pages are enabled by default on Solaris.
-XX:+UseParallelOldGC
Enables the parallel garbage collectors, which are optimized for th
roughput and average response time.
NOTES
The -version:release option places no restrictions on the complexity of t
he release specification. However, only a restricted
subset of the possible release specifications represent sound policy and
only these are fully supported. These policies are:
1. Any version, represented by not using this option.
2. Any version greater than an arbitrarily precise version-id value, f
or example:
"1.6.0_10+"
This would utilize any version greater than 1.6.0_10. This is usefu
l for a case where an interface was introduced (or a bug
fixed) in the release specified.
3. A version greater than an arbitrarily precise version-id, bounded b
y the upper bound of that release family, for example:
"1.6.0_10+&1.6*"
4. An or expressions of items 2 or 3, for example:
"1.6.0_10+&1.6* 1.7+"
Similar to item 2. This is useful when a change was introduced in a
release (1.7) but also made available in updates to
earlier releases.
Performance Tuning Examples
The following examples show how to use experimental tuning flags to optim
ize either throughput or faster response time.
Example 1, Tuning for Higher Throughput
java -d64 -server -XX:+AggressiveOpts -XX:+UseLargePages -Xmn10g
-Xms26g -Xmx26g
Example 2, Tuning for Lower Response Time

java -d64 -XX:+UseG1GC -Xms26g Xmx26g -XX:MaxGCPauseMillis=500 -X

X:+PrintGCTimeStamps
EXIT STATUS
The following exit values are typically returned by the launcher, typical
ly when the launcher is called with the wrong arguments,
serious errors, or exceptions thrown from the Java Virtual Machine. Howev
er, a Java application may choose to return any value
using the API call System.exit(exitValue).
o 0: Successful completion
o >0: An error occurred
SEE ALSO
o javac(1)
o jdb(1)
o javah(1)
o jar(1)
18 Jul 2013
java(1)