Equinox Launcher

Overview
Components
- Native Executable
- Launcher Bundle
Command Line Arguments
Configuration Files
- eclipse.ini
- config.ini
Locations
Building the Launcher
Related Documentation
See Also

Overview

The Equinox Launcher is the native executable and Java code that is responsible for starting the Equinox OSGi framework and Eclipse applications. The launcher provides a platform-specific executable (such as eclipse.exe on Windows or eclipse on Linux/Mac) along with native libraries that bootstrap the Java Virtual Machine and start the framework.

Components

The Equinox Launcher consists of two main components:

Native Executable

The native executable is a platform-specific binary file:

Windows: eclipse.exe
Linux: eclipse
macOS: Eclipse.app/Contents/MacOS/eclipse

This executable:

Locates and starts the appropriate Java Virtual Machine (JVM)
Passes command-line arguments to the framework
Manages the splash screen (if configured)
Provides native integration with the operating system

Launcher Bundle

The launcher bundle (org.eclipse.equinox.launcher) contains the Java code that:

Initializes the OSGi framework
Processes configuration files
Manages the application lifecycle
Handles command-line argument processing

The launcher also includes platform-specific fragments that provide native libraries for JNI integration.

Command Line Arguments

The launcher accepts various command-line arguments to control its behavior:

Common Arguments

-application <id>: Specifies the application to run
-configuration <location>: Specifies the configuration area location
-console [port]: Opens the OSGi console (optionally on a specific port)
-consoleLog: Logs console output to a file
-data <location>: Sets the workspace location
-debug [options file]: Enables debug mode with optional debug options
-dev [entries]: Enables development mode with optional classpath entries
-clean: Clears cached data before starting
-initialize: Initializes the configuration without starting the application

VM Arguments

-vm <path>: Specifies the Java VM to use
-vmargs: All arguments after this are passed directly to the JVM

Display Arguments

-nosplash: Disables the splash screen
-showlocation: Shows the workspace location in the window title

Configuration Files

eclipse.ini

The eclipse.ini file (or Eclipse.ini on macOS) is located next to the launcher executable and contains default command-line arguments. Each argument should be on a separate line:

-startup
plugins/org.eclipse.equinox.launcher_<version>.jar
--launcher.library
plugins/org.eclipse.equinox.launcher.<ws>.<os>.<arch>_<version>
-product
org.eclipse.platform.ide
-showsplash
org.eclipse.epp.package.common
--launcher.defaultAction
openFile
-vmargs
-Dosgi.requiredJavaVersion=17
-Xms256m
-Xmx2048m

config.ini

The config.ini file in the configuration area defines:

OSGi bundles to install and start
Framework properties
Initial start levels
System properties

Example:

osgi.bundles=org.eclipse.equinox.common@2:start,org.eclipse.update.configurator@3:start
osgi.bundles.defaultStartLevel=4
eclipse.product=org.eclipse.platform.ide

Locations

The launcher uses several important locations:

Install Location

The directory containing the Eclipse executable. This location is read-only in typical installations.

Configuration Location

Contains configuration data including:

config.ini: Framework configuration
org.eclipse.equinox.app: Application state
.settings: Platform preferences

Default: <install>/configuration or <user.home>/.eclipse/<product-id>_<version>/configuration

Instance Location (Workspace)

The user’s workspace containing projects and workspace-scoped settings.

Default: Prompted on first launch or specified via -data

User Location

Contains user-specific data shared across workspaces.

Default: <user.home>/.eclipse

Building the Launcher

For information on building the native launcher executable and libraries from source, see the README in the executable feature.