Building native executables

NeoObjectPascal packages a .npas program into a self-contained native executable — without requiring the end user to have Java installed. A single command produces:

• macOS → a .app bundle
• Windows → a folder with an .exe
• Linux → a folder with a binary in bin/

Under the hood, the build uses jpackage (part of JDK 14+), which packages the interpreter, your project, and a trimmed Java runtime (JRE) inside the app.

Prerequisites

• A JDK 14 or later on the PATH (jpackage ships with the JDK).
• Run from the interpreter's packaged JAR (neoobjectpascal.jar).

Usage

java -jar neoobjectpascal.jar --build programa.npas [opções]

Option	Description
--icon <png>	app icon, from a PNG (converted per platform)
--name <Nome>	app/executable name (default: program name)
--output <dir>	output directory (default: ./dist)
--target <mac|windows|linux>	target platform (default: the current OS)

Example

java -jar neoobjectpascal.jar --build main.npas --icon icon.png --name CalculoITBI --output dist

Saída

 📦 Empacotando 'main.npas' → macOS (.app) (CalculoITBI) • 5 arquivo(s) do projeto incluídos (a partir de .../NeoObjectPascal-Examples) • ícone: app-icon.icns • rodando jpackage... ✅ Build concluído: dist/CalculoITBI.app Executar: open "dist/CalculoITBI.app" 

The entire project is packaged

The whole program directory is included in the app — files and subfolders, preserving the structure. That means:

• Modules imported with uses pasta.modulo (for example helpers/calculoitbi.npas) come along.
• Data files and assets the program reads at run time are included too.

This way, the packaged app runs exactly as the program ran from source. "Junk" directories (.git, node_modules, the output directory itself, ...) are ignored.

Icon from a PNG

Pass a single PNG with --icon; the build converts it to the right format for each platform:

Platform	Icon format	Conversion
macOS	.icns	via iconset + iconutil (native to macOS)
Windows	.ico	built into Java (no external tools)
Linux	.png	used directly

Use a square PNG (for example 512×512 or 1024×1024) for the best result.

One platform at a time

jpackage does not cross-compile: each artifact is built on its own operating system. On macOS you build the .app; the .exe is built on Windows and the bin on Linux. To produce all three, run the build on each OS (or use a CI matrix). If you pass a --target different from the current OS, the command warns you with a clear error.

From VS Code

With the extension installed, right-click a .npas file (or a project folder) and choose Build Native Executable. The extension asks for the app name and, optionally, a PNG icon, and produces the result in dist/.

Running the result

• macOS: open dist/CalculoITBI.app (or double-click it).
• Windows: dist\CalculoITBI\CalculoITBI.exe.
• Linux: dist/CalculoITBI/bin/CalculoITBI.

App size

Each executable is self-contained and includes a JRE, so it takes up a few dozen MB — that is the nature of a native Java app, in exchange for not requiring Java on the user's machine.

Interactive programs (TerminalInk)

Terminal apps built with TerminalInk work when packaged: when opened by double-click (without a terminal), TerminalInk opens its own window. Pure console programs (WriteLn) are best run from a terminal, so you can see the output.

Next steps

With native builds you distribute your programs as real apps. To review the complete language syntax, see the Language reference.