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Fast Linux Development Setup (Alternative)

There is an alternative for quickly creating an iDempiere development environment on Linux, maintained by Heng Sin:

info

This page summarizes the repository README and is a good starting point. For the most up-to-date instructions, always check the project README directly.

What this setup does​

The scripts automate most of the development setup flow:

  • Clone iDempiere source and run Maven build
  • Download and configure Eclipse IDE
  • Create workspace and import all projects
  • Set target platform and build workspace
  • Configure idempiere.properties and jettyhome
  • Import DB seed if database does not exist
  • Apply migration scripts if database already exists

At the end, you should have a ready-to-run Eclipse workspace.

Prerequisites​

  • Maven >= 3.8.6
  • Git
  • Docker (optional, for PostgreSQL container)
  • JDK 17 (optional, because Eclipse may include a bundled JRE 17)

Check your Maven version:

mvn -version

If needed, configure a specific Maven installation:

export MVN_HOME=/your/mvn/version
export PATH=$MVN_HOME/bin:$PATH
note

If building older iDempiere releases does not work properly, the README suggests using the appropriate tagged version of idempiere-dev-setup.

Quick usage​

  1. Clone or download the setup repository.
  2. If you use Docker for PostgreSQL, ensure your user can run Docker without sudo.
  3. Enable shell completion and review options.
source completion.bash
./setup.sh --help

If using zsh, run:

autoload bashcompinit
bashcompinit

Example commands​

./setup.sh --branch release-10 --repository-url git@github.com:idempiere/idempiere.git --docker-postgres-create

./setup.sh --branch release-10 --docker-postgres-create --db-admin-pass <your-password>

./setup.sh --skip-setup-db
tip

The README examples use release-10. You can adapt --branch to the version you need (for example master or release-12).

Main scripts​

  • setup.sh: Main entry point
  • docker-postgres.sh: Install and run PostgreSQL Docker image
  • eclipse.sh: Start Eclipse IDE
  • setup-db.sh: Configure DB properties, jettyhome, import DB seed or apply migrations
  • setup-ws.sh: Setup workspace and target platform

Optional frontends​

  • setup.py: GTK frontend that generates and executes setup.sh command line
  • setup.html: Simple HTML/JavaScript frontend to generate setup.sh command line

Gemini CLI​

Video walkthrough for a complete setup in Eclipse:

User scope​

gemini skills install https://github.com/hengsin/idempiere-dev-setup.git

Workspace scope​

gemini skills install https://github.com/hengsin/idempiere-dev-setup.git --scope workspace

Windows notes from README​

Although this project focuses on Linux, the README also mentions Windows options:

  • WSL
  • Git Bash (with required tools like wget and Maven)
  • MSYS2

See the repository README for full Windows-specific steps and PATH details.

This page is based on the README from hengsin/idempiere-dev-setup, maintained by Heng Sin and contributors.