How to read a file from jar in Java?

Question

I want to read an XML file that is located inside one of the jars included in my class path. How can I read any file which is included in the jar?

Answer 1

If you want to read that file from inside your application use:

InputStream input = getClass().getResourceAsStream("/classpath/to/my/file");

The path starts with "/", but that is not the path in your file-system, but in your classpath. So if your file is at the classpath "org.xml" and is called myxml.xml your path looks like "/org/xml/myxml.xml".

The InputStream reads the content of your file. You can wrap it into an Reader, if you want.

I hope that helps.