.PROJECT

Introduction

A file named .project marks a folder as a project in the Eclipse IDE. It holds the project’s name, the builders that run when it is built and its natures, which say what kind of project it is, such as a Java or a C/C++ project, and so which tools Eclipse switches on for it. The file has no name before the dot, so it is hidden on macOS and Linux.

Other settings sit beside it. A Java project has a .classpath file listing its source folders, output folder and libraries, and plugins keep their preferences in a .settings folder.

Structure

The file is XML with a projectDescription root. It contains the name, an optional comment, a projects list of referenced projects, a buildSpec of buildCommand entries each naming a builder, and a natures list. It can also define linked resources: folders or files kept outside the project folder.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<projectDescription>
  <name>app</name>
  <comment></comment>
  <projects>
  </projects>
  <buildSpec>
    <buildCommand>
      <name>org.eclipse.jdt.core.javabuilder</name>
      <arguments>
      </arguments>
    </buildCommand>
  </buildSpec>
  <natures>
    <nature>org.eclipse.jdt.core.javanature</nature>
  </natures>
</projectDescription>

Links