Centralize Eclipse Configuration

Question

Does anybody have a system that they use to maintain the same eclipse configuration between computers? How well does it work?

I am getting to a point where I have a reasonable setup to get a new Eclipse installation to the same point as my others, and I miss the emacs functionality of having all your customizations in a centralized store.

I use largely Flex Builder 3, with the Mercurial plug in. But also use it for anything else that I am developing, so at the moment I am considering doing a re-setup with aptana studio and adding the flex builder plugin.

Answer 1

We do not have exactly a common eclipse configuration but rather a common eclipse distribution.

A new developer copy that distribution, and launches it through a custom "eclipse.exe" which:

• calls a script checking if there is any in-house updates I have set up since the last launch (like a new enhanced eclipse.ini, new plugins, new config files, ...)
• calls the real eclipse.exe and actually launches the IDE

That way, all developer have a platform which evolves according to my common additions to the global common development system.

Answer 2

If you want to go with the preconfigured distribution, but still want to let your developers choose, which plugins from a restricted set of plugins to install additionally, then its worth to create a company internal update site, which mirrors selected features and plugins, so your developers can install them (and only them!).

The Eclipse help has a full description of how to mirror update sites (from the command line).