zb (Zero Dependencies Builder)

A lightweight Java build tool that requires zero external dependencies. Built using pure Java 25 functionality.

Features

• 🚀 Zero external dependencies
• ⚡ Fast compilation and packaging
• 🔍 Automatic main class detection
• 📦 Executable JAR generation
• 🎯 Simple and intuitive usage

Prerequisites

• Java 21 or later
• Git (for cloning the repository)

Installation

Build from Source

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/AdamBien/zb.git
cd zb

# Build with Maven
mvn clean package

# The executable JAR will be in target/zb.jar
# Copy it to your desired location
cp target/zb.jar ~/bin/zb.jar

Usage

Basic Usage

# Compile and package with defaults
java -jar zb.jar

# Custom source directory
java -jar zb.jar src/main/java

# Custom source and output directories
java -jar zb.jar src/main/java target/classes target/jar

# Full customization (source, classes, jar directory, jar filename)
java -jar zb.jar src/main/java target/classes target/jar myapp.jar

Default Configuration

Parameter	Default Value
Source Directory	src/main/java, src or current directory
Classes Directory	<temp.dir> (temporary directory)
JAR Output Directory	zbo
JAR Filename	app.jar

Configuration File (.zb)

zb supports configuration through a .zb properties file in your project root. If not present, zb will automatically create one with default values on first run.

Supported Properties

Property	Description	Default Value
sources.dir	Source directory path	<discovered by zb>
resources.dir	Resources directory path	<discovered by zb>
classes.dir	Compiled classes output directory	<temp.dir>
jar.dir	JAR output directory	zbo/
jar.file.name	Name of the generated JAR file	app.jar

Example Configuration

# .zb configuration file
sources.dir=src/main/java
resources.dir=src/main/resources
classes.dir=<temp.dir>  # or specify a custom directory like target/classes
jar.dir=target/
jar.file.name=myapp.jar

Auto-Discovery

When sources.dir or resources.dir are set to <discovered by zb>, the tool will automatically:

• Search for source directories in common locations (src/main/java, src, or current directory)
• Locate resource directories relative to the source directory

Temporary Directory for Classes

When classes.dir is set to <temp.dir>, zb will:

• Create a unique temporary directory for compiled classes
• Display the temporary directory path during build
• Automatically clean up the directory after JAR creation
• This is the default behavior to avoid cluttering your project

How It Works

1. Source Discovery: Automatically finds all Java files in the source directory
2. Main Class Detection: Identifies the main class for the executable JAR
3. Compilation: Compiles all Java files to bytecode
4. Packaging: Creates an executable JAR with proper manifest

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