Missing Option to Create Spring Starter Project in Spring Tools 4

Question

All,

I'm sure this used to work but anyway despite repeated re-downloads and unpacking etc. I'm seeing the following behavior in Spring Tools 4:

1. Unable to create a Spring Starter Project - The option isn't available as a menu option.
2. Cannot find the Maven settings in Preferences - I've checked and Maven is installed.

A few screenshots:

I've downloaded Spring Tools 4 for Eclipse on Linux (https://spring.io/tools) and I'm simply unpacking this into a directory and pointing to a local Java Home. So its a vanilla install - no plugins. It runs without error but the Spring Boot/Starter and Maven options are missing.

Answer 1

I am guessing here, but this all looks to me like the IDE is running with on a JRE/JDK prior to Java 17. The standard distribution of Spring Tools 4 for Eclipse comes with a JDK17 embedded, so there is no need to point it towards a local Java home or anything like that.

The SpringToolSuite4.ini should have something like this included:

-vm
plugins/org.eclipse.justj.openjdk.hotspot.jre.full.linux.x86_64_17.0.4.v20221004-1257/jre/bin

You should not add another -vm arg to this list, so that it keeps using the JDK17 that comes with the IDE package itself.

Please keep in mind that you can use ANY JRE/JDK for your projects within the IDE, that is a totally independent setting than the -vm arg in the .ini file. The preferences inside of the running IDE allow you to configure which JRE/JDK to use for all the various levels of Java and for all the various projects in your workspace.

Again, just guesswork here. If this isn't related to the problem you described, comment on this and we can dive deeper.