App KBean¶

Provides a way to install, update, or remove applications from the user PATH.

Applications are installed from a Git repository and built by the client before installation.

Runtime modes: - JVM: Runs on a Jeka-managed JDK, installed in ~/.jeka/apps - NATIVE: Compiled as a native executable - BUNDLE: Runs with a tailored JRE bundled with the app, installed where the user decides

AppKBean manages the installation, update, and discovery of applications from remote repositories or catalogs.

For a practical guide on running and installing applications from source, see the Source-Runnable Applications tutorial.

Key Features

Installs applications from remote Git repositories.
Supports JVM, Native, and Bundle runtime modes.
Manages application updates and uninstallation.
Facilitates application discovery via catalogs.
Provides security through trusted source verification.

Install Applications¶

jeka app: install repo=REPO_URL

Applications can be installed in different runtime modes:

Runtime Modes¶

JVM (default): JVM application running on a JDK managed by Jeka. Binary is installed in ~/.jeka/apps and available in PATH.
NATIVE: Native executable compiled ahead-of-time using GraalVM.
BUNDLE: Application bundled with a tailored JRE. Installed in a user-specified location.

Using the `runtime` parameter¶

Install in native mode:

jeka app: install repo=REPO_URL runtime=NATIVE

Install as a bundle:

jeka app: install repo=REPO_URL runtime=BUNDLE

Examples: Install kill8 app as a JVM application:

jeka app: install repo=https://github.com/djeang/kill8 name=killport

or use the GitHub repo shorthand

jeka app: install repo=kill8@djeang

or use an alternative application name or runtime mode

jeka app: install repo=https://github.com/djeang/kill8 name=killport runtime=NATIVE

List Installed Applications¶

jeka app: list

This displays the name of the applications, along with their repo, version/status, and runtime type.

App Name   │ Repo                                      │ Version  │ Status     │ Runtime │ 
calculator │ https://github.com/djeang/Calculator-jeka │ latest   │ up-to-date │ jvm     │ 
kill8      │ https://github.com/djeang/kill8           │ <master> │ up-to-date │ native  │

Update Applications¶

jeka app: update name=kill8

Updates the application to the highest semantic version tag. If a 'latest' tag exists, uses that tag. If no tags exist, uses the latest commit.

Uninstall Applications¶

jeka app: uninstall name=kill8

Catalogs¶

Application catalogs are curated collections of Jeka applications that can be easily discovered and installed. Catalogs make it simple to share and distribute applications across teams or communities.

Viewing Catalogs¶

Display all registered catalogs:

jeka app: catalog

This shows the catalog names, descriptions, and URLs sorted by repository.

Display applications in a specific catalog:

jeka app: catalog name=demo

This lists all applications available in the specified catalog, showing: - Application name and description - Application type (CLI, SERVER, SERVER-UI, etc.) - Commands to run or install the application - Available runtime modes (JVM, NATIVE, BUNDLE)

Installing from Catalogs¶

Install an application using the catalog shorthand:

jeka app: install repo=cowsay@jeka-dev

The format is appName@catalogName. This is equivalent to providing the full repository URL.

Creating a Catalog¶

To add a catalog, add the following lines to your ~/.jeka/global.properties file:

catalog.xxx.repo=[http location or git repo url]
catalog.xxx.desc=[Description of the catalog]

where xxx stands for the name of your catalog.

The catalog.xxx.repo value can be: 1. A full URL to the catalog properties file 2. A GitHub organization name (looks for jeka-catalog repository) 3. A GitHub organization/repository path

Valid examples:

# GitHub organization - expects jeka-catalog repo at root
catalog.djeang.repo=djeang
catalog.djeang.desc=Personal applications

# GitHub organization/repository - expects jeka-catalog.properties at root
catalog.demo.repo=jeka-dev/demo
catalog.demo.desc=Demo applications

# Direct URL to catalog file
catalog.custom.repo=https://raw.githubusercontent.com/myorg/my-catalog/refs/heads/main/jeka-catalog.properties
catalog.custom.desc=Custom application catalog

Catalog File Format¶

A catalog file is a properties file named jeka-catalog.properties containing application definitions:

# Application entries follow the pattern: app.<name>.<property>=<value>

app.cowsay.repo=https://github.com/jeka-dev/demo-cowsay
app.cowsay.desc=Java port of the Cowsay famous CLI.
app.cowsay.type=CLI
app.cowsay.native=true
app.cowsay.bundle=false

app.demo-springboot-angular.repo=https://github.com/jeka-dev/demo-project-springboot-angular
app.demo-springboot-angular.desc=Manage a list of users. Written in Spring Boot and Angular.
app.demo-springboot-angular.type=SERVER-UI
app.demo-springboot-angular.native=false
app.demo-springboot-angular.bundle=true

Available application properties:

repo (required): Git repository URL of the application
desc (required): Short description of the application
type (optional): Application type (CLI, SERVER, SERVER-UI, LIBRARY, etc.)
native (optional): Set to true if the app supports native compilation (default: false)
bundle (optional): Set to true if the app supports bundled distribution (default: false)

Built-in Catalogs¶

Jeka comes with a built-in catalog from the jeka-dev organization. Additional catalogs can be registered in: - ~/.jeka/global.properties (user-level) - Project's jeka.properties (project-level)

Security¶

Trusted URL prefixes are stored in the jeka.apps.url.trusted property, located in the ~/.jeka/global.properties file.
You can adjust this property later to make it more or less restrictive.
The check validates the start of the Git URL after removing the protocol and identifier part.

Example: jeka.app.url.trusted=github.com/djeang/ will trust URLs formed as:

https://github.com/djeang/xxx...
https://my-user-name@github.com/djeang/xxx...
git@github.com/djeang/xxx..
git@github.com:my-user-name/djeang/xxx..
...

Summary¶