Can Java glob several JAR files in a CLASSPATH directory with an asterisk (*)?

Question

I'd like to reference several JARs at once in my CLASSPATH. Can I use an asterisk for this?

Yes you can use. Can you give some more detail? – Rohit Jain Aug 28 '13 at 13:46 — Rohit Jain, Aug 28 '13 at 13:46

score 5 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 12:05

5

Yes.

java -cp "lib/*" MainClass

Note that quotes are mandatory, see this question for additional details.

edited May 23 '17 at 12:05

Community

answered Aug 28 '13 at 13:47

unfreaking believable, never knew this! – raffian Aug 28 '13 at 13:59
3

Be aware that this isn't quite "globbing" in the Unix sense; the JVM specifically looks for the character `*` (which you need to protect from the shell, e.g. by using the double-quotes above) and grabs all the jars in the directory when it sees it. – chrylis -cautiouslyoptimistic- Aug 28 '13 at 13:59
@chrylis the comment should really be part of the answer. Mind adding it? – Jacek Laskowski Jan 24 '14 at 11:04

1 Answers1