Run/Debug Configuration: Tomcat Server

Application server

Select the server configuration to be used.

Click Configure to create a new server configuration or edit an existing one. (The Application Servers dialog will open.)

After launch

Select this checkbox to start a web browser after starting the server and deploying the artifacts.

Select the browser from the list. Click Shift+Enter to configure your web browsers.

With JavaScript debugger

If this checkbox is selected, the web browser is started with the JavaScript debugger enabled.

Note that JavaScript debugging is available only for Firefox and Google Chrome. When you debug your JavaScript in Firefox for the first time, the JetBrains Firefox extension is installed.

URL

Specify the URL that the browser should open when the server starts. In most typical cases, this URL corresponds to the root of your Web application or its starting page.

VM options

Specify the options to be passed to the Java virtual machine when launching the application, for example, -mx, -verbose, and so on.

When specifying JVM options, follow these rules:

• Use spaces to separate individual options.

• If the value of an option includes spaces, enclose either the value or the actual spaces with double quotes.

• If an option includes double quotes as part of the value, escape the double quotes using backslashes.

• You can pass environment variable values to custom Java properties.

Use code completion in this field: start typing the name of a flag, and the IDE suggests a list of available command line options. This works for -XX: and -X options and some standard options that are not configured by IntelliJ IDEA automatically, like -ea, but not for -cp or –release.

The -classpath option specified in this field overrides the classpath of the module.

On 'Update' action

Select the necessary option for the Update application function ( or Ctrl+F10 in the Run or Debug tool window).

The update options are different for exploded and packed artifacts.

For exploded artifacts, the available options are:

• Update resources. All changed resources are updated (HTML, JSP, JavaScript, CSS and image files).

• Update classes and resources. Changed resources are updated; changed Java classes (EJBs, servlets, etc.) are recompiled.

  In the debug mode, the updated classes are hot-swapped. In the run mode, IntelliJ IDEA just updates the changed classes in the output folder. Whether such classes are actually reloaded in the running application, depends on the capabilities of the runtime being used.

• Redeploy. The application artifact is rebuilt and redeployed.

• Restart server. The server is restarted. The application artifact is rebuilt and redeployed.

For packed artifacts, the available options are:

• Hot swap classes. Changed classes are recompiled and reloaded at runtime. This option works only in the debug mode.

• Redeploy. The application artifact is rebuilt and redeployed.

• Restart server. The server is restarted. The application artifact is rebuilt and redeployed.

Show dialog

Select this checkbox if you want to see the Update dialog every time you use the Update application function.

The Update dialog is used to select the Update option prior to actually updating the application.

On frame deactivation

Specify what IntelliJ IDEA should do when you switch from the IDE to a different application (for example, a web browser). (Frame deactivation means switching to a different application.)

The options other than Do nothing have the same meanings as in the case of the Update action.

JRE

By default, the project JDK is used to run the application. If you want to specify an alternative JDK or JRE here, select it from the drop-down list.

HTTP port

The server HTTP port.

HTTPs port

The server HTTPS port.

JMX port

The server JMX port.

AJP port

The server AJP port.

Deploy applications configured in Tomcat instance

The Tomcat configuration files, among other things, may list the applications that should be deployed at the server start. If this checkbox is selected, all the applications so listed will be deployed on the server in addition to the artifacts specified on the Deployment tab.

If the checkbox is not selected, only the artifacts and the external resources specified on the Deployment tab will be deployed.

Preserve sessions across restarts

Select this checkbox to preserve active HTTP sessions when restarting the server.

Application server

Select the server configuration to be used. Note that this is a local server configuration. (When working with a remote server, the same server version must be available locally.)

Click Configure to create a new server configuration or edit an existing one. (The Application Servers dialog will open.)

After launch

Select this checkbox to start a web browser after connecting to the server and deploying the artifacts.

Select the browser from the list. Click Shift+Enter to configure your web browsers.

With JavaScript debugger

If this checkbox is selected, the web browser is started with the JavaScript debugger enabled.

Note that JavaScript debugging is available only for Firefox and Google Chrome. When you debug your JavaScript in Firefox for the first time, the JetBrains Firefox extension is installed.

URL

Specify the URL that the browser should open when the server starts. In most typical cases, this URL corresponds to the root of your Web application or its starting page.

Remote staging

This section contains the settings related to staging.

Type

Select the way the staging environment or host is accessed for transferring the application artifact or artifacts from your local computer. (In the user interface of IntelliJ IDEA this setting is also referred to as the connection type.)

The available options are:

• Same file system. Select this option if the target server is installed on your local computer. The artifacts in this case are deployed locally and, thus, don't need to be transferred to a remote host.

• ftp. The File Transfer Protocol or Secure FTP is used.

• Local or mounted folder. The staging environment is a local folder or is accessed as a mounted folder.

If the list is empty, you have to enable the FTP/SFTP Connectivity plugin which supports the corresponding functionality.

Host

If Same file system is selected for Type, the only available option for Host is also Same file system.

In all other cases, the list contains the existing configurations of the selected type. So each configuration corresponds to an individual (S)FTP connection, or a local or mounted folder.

Select an existing configuration or create a new one.

To create a new configuration:

1. Click to the right of the list.

2. In the Deployment dialog, click .

3. In the Add Server dialog, specify the configuration name, select the type, and click OK.

4. On the Connection tab, specify the settings in the Upload/download project files section.

   The rest of the settings don't matter.

5. Click OK in the Deployment dialog.

Staging

When deploying to the remote host, the application artifact or artifacts are placed into a staging folder which should be accessible to Tomcat. The settings in this section define the location of this staging folder.

Note that if Same file system is selected for Type and Host, no settings in this section need to be specified.

Path from root

The path to the staging folder relative to the local or mounted folder, or the root of the (S)FTP host.

You can use to select the folder in the Choose target path dialog.

Mapped as

The absolute path to the staging folder in the local file system of the remote host.

Remote connection settings

The settings for accessing deployed applications.

Host

The fully qualified domain name or the IP address of the Tomcat host.

Port

The server HTTP port.

or Alt+Insert

Add an artifact or an external resource to the list.

or Alt+Delete

Remove the selected artifacts and external resources from the list.

or F4

Configure the selected artifact. The Artifacts page of the Project Structure dialog will open.

Application context

Specify the context root for an artifact or external resource: select the artifact or the resource and type or select the context root.

Is Active

Select checkboxes in this column to have the log entries displayed in the corresponding tabs in the Run tool window or Debug tool window.

Log File Entry

The read-only fields in this column list the log files to show. The list can contain:

• Full paths to specific files.

• Ant patterns that define the range of files to be displayed.

• Aliases to substitute for full paths or patterns. These aliases are also displayed in the headers of the tabs where the corresponding log files are shown.

  If a log entry pattern defines more than one file, the tab header shows the name of the file instead of the log entry alias.

Skip Content

Select this checkbox to have the previous content of the selected log skipped.

Save console output to file

Select this checkbox to save the console output to the specified location. Type the path manually, or click the browse button and point to the desired location in the dialog that opens.

Show console when a message is printed to standard output stream

Select this checkbox to activate the output console and bring it forward if an associated process writes to Standard.out.

Show console when a message is printed to standard error stream

Select this checkbox to activate the output console and bring it forward if an associated process writes to Standard.err.

Click this button to open the Edit Log Files Aliases dialog where you can select a new log entry and specify an alias for it.

Click this button to edit the properties of the selected log file entry in the Edit Log Files Aliases dialog.

Click this button to remove the selected log entry from the list.

Choose code coverage runner

Select the desired code coverage runner.

Sampling

Select this option to measure code coverage with minimal slow-down.

Tracing

Select this option to collect accurate branch coverage. This mode is available for the IntelliJ IDEA code coverage runner only.

Track per test coverage

Select this checkbox to detect lines covered by one test and all tests covering line.

Packages and classes to record code coverage data

If necessary, specify the classes and packages to be measured.

Use or to add classes or packages to the list.

To remove the classes or packages from the list, select the corresponding list items and click .

Enable coverage in test folders.

Select this checkbox to include the test source folders in code coverage analysis.

 Run /

 Debug /

 Coverage

Use to switch between the settings for the run, debug and code coverage modes.

Startup script

Specify the script to be used to start the server.

Use default:

• If this checkbox is selected, the default script is used.

   in this case opens the Default Startup Script dialog which shows the contents of the Startup script field (readonly).

• Clear this checkbox to change the parameters passed to the script or to specify a different script:

  • To specify the script, click and select the desired script in the dialog that opens.

  • To specify the parameters, click and specify the script parameters and VM options in the Configure VM and Program Parameters dialog.

    When specifying the parameters and options, follow these rules:

    • Use spaces to separate individual parameters and options, for example, -client -ea -Xmx1024m.

    • If a parameter or an option includes spaces, enclose the spaces or the argument that contains the spaces in double quotes, for example, some" "arg or "some arg".

    • If a parameter or an option includes double quotes (e.g. as part of the argument), escape the double quotes by means of the backslashes, for example, -Dmy.prop=\"quoted_value\".

Shutdown script

Specify the script to be used to stop the server.

Use default:

• If this checkbox is selected, the default script is used.

   in this case opens the Default Shutdown Script dialog which shows the contents of the Shutdown script field (readonly).

• Clear this checkbox to change the parameters passed to the script or to specify a different script:

  • To specify the script, click and select the desired script in the dialog that opens.

  • To specify the parameters, click and specify the script parameters and VM options in the Configure VM and Program Parameters dialog.

    When specifying the parameters and options, follow these rules:

    • Use spaces to separate individual parameters and options, for example, -client -ea -Xmx1024m.

    • If a parameter or an option includes spaces, enclose the spaces or the argument that contains the spaces in double quotes, for example, some" "arg or "some arg".

    • If a parameter or an option includes double quotes (e.g. as part of the argument), escape the double quotes by means of the backslashes, for example, -Dmy.prop=\"quoted_value\".

Pass environment variables

To pass specific variables to the server environment, select this checkbox and specify the variables:

• To add a variable, click and specify the variable name and value in the Name and Value fields respectively.

• To remove a variable from the list, select the variable and click .

Port

Use this field to change the debugger port.

Debugger Settings

Click this button to edit the debugger options on the Debugger page of the Settings dialog.

 Run /

 Debug

Use to switch between the settings for the run and debug modes. The settings are shown in the area under To run/debug...

To run/debug remote server JVM...

The command-line options for starting the server JVM. These are shown just for copying elsewhere.

Transport (and all that follows)

The GUI for generating the remote debug command-line options shown in the area under To run/debug...

Name

Specify a name for the run configuration to quickly identify it among others when editing or running.

Allow multiple instances

Allow running multiple instances of this run configuration in parallel.

By default, it is disabled, and when you start this configuration while another instance is still running, IntelliJ IDEA suggests stopping the running instance and starting another one. This is helpful when a run configuration consumes a lot of resources and there is no good reason to run multiple instances.

Store as project file

Save the file with the run configuration settings to share it with other team members. The default location is .idea/runConfigurations. However, if you do not want to share the .idea directory, you can save the configuration to any other directory within the project.

By default, it is disabled, and IntelliJ IDEA stores run configuration settings in .idea/workspace.xml.

Alt+Insert

Create a run/debug configuration.

Alt+Delete

Delete the selected run/debug configuration. Note that you cannot delete default configurations.

Ctrl+D

Create a copy of the selected run/debug configuration. Note that you create copies of default configurations.

The button is displayed only when you select a temporary configuration. Click this button to save a temporary configuration as permanent.

Move into new folder / Create new folder. You can group run/debug configurations by placing them into folders.

To create a folder, select the configurations within a category, click , and specify the folder name. If only a category is in focus, an empty folder is created.

Then, to move a configuration into a folder, between the folders or out of a folder, use drag or and buttons.

To remove grouping, select a folder and click .

Click this button to sort configurations in the alphabetical order.