MxBuild

1 Introduction

MxBuild is a Windows and Linux command-line tool that can be used to build a Mendix Deployment Package from a Mendix app.

The version of MxBuild you need depends on the version of the Mendix model you would like to build, as well as the host operating system you would like to use.

The table below can help you find the correct MxBuild. Copy a URL from the corresponding row into your browser and replace mxversion with your full Mendix version number:

You can extract the files using your favorite archival tool, such as 7-Zip.

For details on the system requirements for MxBuild, see System Requirements.

2 Command Line

To build your package, you specify the Mendix app file (.mpr) for which you want to build the deployment package (.mda) on the command-line. The file name may be preceded by a relative or absolute path. The app file should be located inside a Mendix app directory.

MxBuild takes a number of command-line options which control how the Mendix app is processed. These options precede the name of the app file.

In Windows, use the following format for the command line:

MxBuild --java-home="JDKDirectory" --java-exe-path="javaExecutable" [options] projectFile

You can also run MxBuild under Linux using the following command line format:

mxbuild --java-home="JDKDirectory" --java-exe-path="javaExecutable" [options] projectFile

After creating the deployment package, the MxBuild process quits.

2.1 General Command-Line Options

Command-line options are described in the table below:

2.2 Options When Creating a Package

Options when creating a package are described in the table below;

For example, to create a deployment package out.mda in the current directory using the app MyApp using the Windows version of MxBuild, you can use the following command:

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mxbuild --target=package --java-home="C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.8.0_144" --java-exe-path="C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.8.0_144\bin\java.exe" "C:\Users\username\Documents\Mendix\MyApp\MyApp.mpr"

3 Return Code

When MxBuild exits, one of the following codes will be returned:

If the exit code is larger than 0, MxBuild will show you the message describing the error.

4 App Errors

When your Mendix app contains errors, deployment will fail and MxBuild will report these errors. You can use the --write-errors=FILENAME command-line option to tell MxBuild to write the errors to a file.

The errors are output as a JSON object that has one property: problems. The value of this property is an array of objects that each describe one error, warning, or deprecation in your app. For example:

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{
  "problems": [
    {
      "name": null,
      "severity": "Error",
      "message": "Start event cannot be the last object of a flow.",
      "locations": [
        {
          "elementId": "252e1008-d795-4e49-b3e3-2ba38eb0a56d",
          "unitId": "1a8a3593-6f01-43a3-bc22-bd22f9244983",
          "element": "Start event",
          "document": "Microflow 'MyMicroflow'",
          "module": "MyModule"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

The following table describes the various properties of the problems JSON object:

The location (or locations) associated with the problem have the following properties: