This page documents how to get up and running with Eclipse and the Bazel Eclipse feature. These instructions are for users that just want to use the Bazel Eclipse feature.
👷There is a different installation process if you want to actually make changes to the feature.
This section will eventually contain a matrix of supported configurations. But at this point, we are not that organized. Install a recent copy of whatever is asked for below, unless a specific version is noted.
We will support you on:
- Mac - reasonably recent OS versions
- Linux - reasonably recent OS version of a major distro (Ubuntu, Mint, etc)
Windows support is tracked as Issue 36, see that work item for current status. Other platforms (yo, OS/2 user!) may also work, but you may need to contribute patches if there are issues.
At this time, we don't have specific guidance on what JDK version you should be using. Any JDK11 or above should work. We support modern versions of Java, so whatever you pick should just work. If you find one that does NOT work, let us know. More details of our JDK support strategy can be found here.
Download the latest release of Eclipse IDE for Java Developers. The feature is built against a recent version of the Eclipse SDK, so older versions won't work.
Launching Eclipse
This seems like it is a no-brainer. Eclipse has been around for two decades, so it should launch with no issues. But it doesn't launch in some cases, at least on Macs. Consult this doc if your Eclipse fails to launch on Mac.
The Bazel Eclipse Feature does not come with an embedded install of Bazel. You must have Bazel installed on your machine and in your shell path.
The BazelVersionChecker has a version check when setting the Bazel executable in the Eclipse preferences. Choose a version of Bazel that is at least as high as that check.
Quick Installation
Drag the Install button and drop on your running Eclipse IDE, and search for Bazel. It is that easy!
Manually Install the Bazel Eclipse feature into Eclipse:
First, understand what releases of BEF are available, which is covered on the Releases page. If you want to install the latest version of BEF, follow these steps to install it in your Eclipse IDE using the update site:
- Start Eclipse.
- In Eclipse, go to Help -> Install New Software
- Click the Add button
- For the location, enter: https://opensource.salesforce.com/bazel-eclipse/update-site
- Give the location a name, like Bazel-Eclipse updatesite
- Check the box next to the Bazel Eclipse item, then hit Next
- Click Next/Agree/Finish until it completes.
- Restart Eclipse
Otherwise, you can install older versions of BEF using the archive zip files that are listed on the Releases page.
To verify that it is installed:
- Start Eclipse
- Eclipse > About > Installation Details > Click on the Plugins Tab > search for Bazel: the feature's plugins should be in the list
- In the Project Explorer view, you should be able to right-click, choose Import, and see a Bazel menu item.
Now is a good time to browse the known issues page which covers some common problems. If you have a problem, searching the full Issues list is also a good thing to do.
If you would like a newer build of the Bazel Eclipse feature, you will need to re-install it. Repeat the above steps using with a newer version.
Now that your tool chain is ready, it is time to start using it. We cover how to use the Bazel Eclipse feature in our User's Guide.