Eclipse doesn't load plugins in the dropins folder

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7

31

I just downloaded Eclipse SDK 3.5.1 and want to install some add ons such as GEF, EMF, etc.

I downloaded all the zip files for everything I needed and decided to install them in the dropins folder. I read http://wiki.eclipse.org/Equinox_p2_Getting_Started and structured my dropin folder as specified:

eclipse/  
   dropins/  
     emf/  
       eclipse/  
         features/  
         plugins/  
     gef/  
       eclipse/  
         features/  
         plugins/  
     ... etc ...

When I start up Eclipse it does not recognize any of the features or plugins I have put into the structure above. Any ideas?

Bacchanal answered 28/9, 2009 at 22:15 Comment(0)

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4

I suggest that you try to install those features via the update manager. EMF and GEF are standard features from Eclipse.org, there's no reason not to install them in Eclipse's main p2 repository folder (it is easy to uninstall them, in case that is your concern).

Have a look at the error log view (Window -> Show View -> Error Log) to see why they didn't load. My guess is that they are missing a dependency, but without more information it is difficult to answer your question. I also suggest looking at Help -> About Eclipse -> Installation Details to see what exactly is installed.

Goldofpleasure answered 7/1, 2010 at 7:18 Comment(1)

This is what I ended up doing a awhile ago, but since nobody else said this I'll give you the accepted answer. – Bacchanal 14/1, 2010 at 21:18

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38

I had a similar problem, so I posted a question to the Eclipse Community Forums asking about how to get a report about missing dependencies. Mickael Istria's helpful reply is shown below for those who aren't members of that forum:

You can start or diag the OSGi Console and try to start the bundle manually. The console will print you some warnings. See http://eclipse.org/equinox/documents/quickstart.php and for more details.

shell> eclipse -console
 [...Eclipse starts up...] 
osgi> diag your.unresolved.bundle
 [...shows you unresolved constraints...]

In my case, I tried several directory structures that I thought should work, before I found one that did:

dropins/
   myPlugin
   plugins/
      depPluginDir1/*
      depPluginDir2/*

Update

Coming back years later to solve a similar problem, I found the following web pages to be helpful: Where is My Bundle, Plug-ins are not picked up from the dropins/ folder.

Etiology answered 20/7, 2010 at 23:21 Comment(3)

+1 for updating an answered question with new useful information – Bacchanal 22/7, 2010 at 13:26

Thanks for this, it is too late for the original problem but I am sure it will pop up again and I will definitely try the OSGi console. – Bacchanal 22/7, 2010 at 13:27

The allowable directory structure seems to change release-to-release. When I upgraded to Helios, I needed to rearrange my dropins. help.eclipse.org/helios/index.jsp?topic=/… gives the supported layouts for Helios. – Etiology 17/4, 2011 at 1:25

K

29

First of all, run eclipse with -clean to ensure p2 fully rescans the dropins directory and sees your plugins.

If it still doesn't load you can use p2 debugging to see what the problem is also. For some strange reason p2 doesn't log dropins issues unless you explicitly turn it on with the following steps:

Create an .options file in the eclipse folder where you start up Eclipse with the following content:

org.eclipse.equinox.p2.core/debug=true
org.eclipse.equinox.p2.core/reconciler=true

Then run eclipse with the following arguments (last argument is the path to the .options file you just created):

eclipse -clean -console -consoleLog -debug /path/to/.options

PS, I have created this bugzilla to request it be turned on as a default. You can vote/track making this logging the default there.

PPS, @kc2001's suggestion is a good one also once you have narrowed down on what plugin has the issue and you want to troubleshoot it more.

Some relevant links:

Kalagher answered 18/9, 2012 at 16:15 Comment(0)

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4

I suggest that you try to install those features via the update manager. EMF and GEF are standard features from Eclipse.org, there's no reason not to install them in Eclipse's main p2 repository folder (it is easy to uninstall them, in case that is your concern).

Have a look at the error log view (Window -> Show View -> Error Log) to see why they didn't load. My guess is that they are missing a dependency, but without more information it is difficult to answer your question. I also suggest looking at Help -> About Eclipse -> Installation Details to see what exactly is installed.

Goldofpleasure answered 7/1, 2010 at 7:18 Comment(1)

This is what I ended up doing a awhile ago, but since nobody else said this I'll give you the accepted answer. – Bacchanal 14/1, 2010 at 21:18

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2

Something that has just solved this very same issue for me: start eclipse with the command line parameters -clean -console -consoleLog. The weird thing: with -clean -console, it didn't work. Only after I added -consoleLog, the bundles were recognized.

Trimetallic answered 10/2, 2011 at 10:36 Comment(0)

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1

This ended up being an issue with Eclipse for me. Placing the plugin jar in each of the folders suggested, running as admin, etc. didn't work.

What did solve it was downgrading from a Juno package to Indigo. You can find older versions of Eclipse here.

Clasping answered 13/3, 2013 at 17:13 Comment(0)

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0

The local archive plug-ins work if you have downloaded an update site plug-in. In that case the dropins might not work.

About the dropin structure, it always worked for me, but I never use the eclipse folder inside my own ones, only the plugins and features. Did you extract the zip file to that structure?

If yes, it should be worth checking the Error log after Eclipse started, there might be some unresolved dependecies listed.

Overleap answered 30/9, 2009 at 21:8 Comment(2)

The zips contain an Eclipse folder, but the main reason I used them was based on the article in the original post. Hmm I will have to look at the unresolved dependencies issue. I did not see anything in the log though. – Bacchanal 2/10, 2009 at 15:14

Yes, the eclipse folders shouldn't matter, to tell the truth. Maybe if you could use instead the Update manager, as a lot of projects are available from the Galileo update site (GEF, EMF, and other projects from the release train are available for sure). – Rete 4/10, 2009 at 21:34

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Don't place the zip files manually like that.

Use the wizard within Eclipse to install a local archive plug-in.

Reinert answered 28/9, 2009 at 22:19 Comment(3)

I just tried this with dtp_1.7.1.zip and Eclipse threw and error saying "No software site found at jar:file:/Users/user/Desktop/dtp_1.7.1.zip!/. Do you wish to edit the location?" – Bacchanal 28/9, 2009 at 22:30

Archive wizard is for .jar files only. – Move 5/2, 2013 at 9:45

This worked well for me. Dropin didn't work. I installing this ZIP file. eclemma.org/installation.html – Anthropology 16/10, 2020 at 21:19

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