Where does Eclipse look for eclipse.ini under Linux

Posted on Nov 4, 2022

Question

I've just been setting up a Ubuntu workstation and wanted to add some settings to eclipse.ini. When I searched for the file I found:

  • /etc/eclipse.ini
  • /usr/lib/eclipse.ini

My questions are:

  • Does Eclipse actually use both files?
  • If so, in what order does it read them?
  • How does it merge them?
  • Both of the files I found are system wide, is there a location in my home directory I could put one that would effect only my instances?

Answer

Here's how to determine which eclipse.ini file you should use (joomla.org):

  • If you downloaded Eclipse IDE manually from internet the "eclipse.ini" file is just inside the unpacked folder
  • If you installed Eclipse via terminal or software center the location of the file is "/etc/eclipse.ini"
  • In some Linux versions the file can be found at "/usr/share/eclipse/eclipse.ini". Do not use this file if you found a config file at "/etc/eclipse.ini".

To be sure where your Eclipse folder is, check $ECLIPSE_HOME, and if not specified (these directions at least work for Juno):

  • Open Eclipse as you normally do.
  • Click Help -> About Eclipse SDK
  • Click Installation Details
  • Go to the Configuration tab
  • Find "eclipse.home.location=file:PATH". PATH is where eclipse is installed.

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