How to copy plugins between two eclipses

Question

I have two eclipse directories, both are Galileo. One has plugin A installed, the another has plugin B. Now I want to have just one eclipse, is it save to just copy the plugins directory from one of the eclipses to the other?

Answer 1

Yes, it is safe. This is one way (not the preferred one) to install new plugins.

Answer 2

Yes, but I would recommend using a "shared dropins directory" to avoid the copy altogether.

Modify tour eclipse.ini for both installation:

-Dorg.eclipse.equinox.p2.reconciler.dropins.directory=/<myPath>/mySharedDropins

Sadly, when you originally install a plugin, you cannot install it directly in the shared dropins, so at least one copy is still necessary there.

Answer 3

An alternative to modifying the .ini file is using Link Files in your Dropins folders. The link files are simply text files with the extension .link. They contain a single (I think, never tried with multiple) line of text of the form:

path=<full path to an external folder>

The folder you reference should have two sub-folders: plugins and features, where you install your plugins. You can install multiple plugins in a single location. You can drop multiple link files, which means, you can maintain sets of plugins and drop them into different Eclipse installations (which is more flexible than using a shared dropins).

More information:

• More details on link files (though seriously prehistoric article).
• Read about links files in P2 (not very informative).

Answer 4

You can also install one plugin from another using p2. You add the other installed Eclipse as an update site, and you can select the installed plug-in (after unchecking the categorization).

For update site you the following path: /path/to/eclipse/p2/org.eclipse.equinox.p2.engine/profileRegistry/SDKProfile.profile