This section will give you an overview how to get your GeoServer development environment running, using the Eclipse IDE. Please note, that it should be possible to integrate the sources into NetBeans or IntelliJ by generating the project files using Maven.

In this section you will:

1. Download and Install an Eclipse SDK
2. Configure the Eclipse SDK for GeoServer development.

Download

Regardless what the operating system of your choice is, the download section of Eclipse is doing ok pointing you to the correct version. The plain "Eclipse IDE for Java Developers" distribution is usually enough. If you are running on a 64-bit system, be aware that you need a different distribution which can be found here for instance.

Install

Windows

Unzip the archive downloaded in the previous section to the directory you wish to install eclipse. Example: C:\java.

Linux

Untar the archive downloaded in the previous section to the directory you wish to install eclipse. Example: /usr/java

Configuration

1. Launch the Eclipse SDK
2. Choose a new workspace
   
3. Select Window > Preferences from the main menu
4. On the Preferences dialog select Java > Build Path > Classpath Variables
   
5. On the Classpath Variables panel, select New
6. Define a new variables called M2_REPO and set it to your local maven repository
   

   By default the local maven repository is located under your home directory. Example: C:\Documents and Settings\jdeolive\.m2\repository

Great! What now?

Okay, fantastic! You're all set with an eclipse install that knows where to look for dependencies downloaded by maven.  How do you actually get GeoServer going?  Check out 3 Eclipse Quickstart to find out.