The Java Dev Environment That Just Works¶

Setting up a Java project shouldn’t take hours, involve outdated wikis, or require tribal knowledge.

This setup gives you a development environment that works the moment you clone the repo — no guesswork, no manual installs, no surprises.

What We Want¶

• Same Java and Maven versions
• Same environment variables
• Same commands

Clone → setup → start coding

The Big Picture¶

flowchart LR
    A[Clone Repo] --> B[Enter Directory]
    B --> C[direnv loads .envrc]
    C --> D[Environment Variables Loaded]
    C --> E[SDKMAN sets Java & Maven]
    D --> F[Ready to Develop]
    E --> F

Install the Basics¶

brew install direnv go-task

sudo apt update
sudo apt install direnv
sh -c "$(curl --location https://taskfile.dev/install.sh)" -- -d

Install SDKMAN:

curl -s "https://get.sdkman.io" | bash
source "$HOME/.sdkman/bin/sdkman-init.sh"

Tools¶

Environment Variables with dotenv¶

We separate config from code:

• .env.shared → team-wide config
• .env → local secrets

DATABASE_PASSWORD=supersecret
STRIPE_API_KEY=pk_test_123
MICRONAUT_ENVIRONMENTS=dev

Lock Java & Maven Versions SDKMAN¶

It ensures that every developer is using the exact same version of Maven and the JDK, which is the core of your Java work.

java=21.0.2-open
maven=3.9.6

sdk env install
sdk env

Automatic Environment Loading direnv¶

It watches your terminal. As soon as you cd into your project, it executes the .envrc file. This loads the devenv shell and any environment variables into your current terminal session.

dotenv .env.shared

if [ -f .env ]; then
  dotenv
fi

if has sdk; then
  sdk env
fi

Standard Commands with task¶

Instead of typing complex commands you just type task <cmd>.

version: '3'

tasks:
  setup:
    desc: Install dependencies and initialize environment
    cmds:
      - sdk env install
      - direnv allow

  clean:
    desc: Clean build artifacts
    cmds:
      - ./mvnw clean

Run commands like:

task clean

Lefthook and EditorConfig¶

These prevent "pollution" of the codebase.

• EditorConfig tells IntelliJ or VS Code syntax.
• Lefthook acts as a final gate.

Key Files¶

Why This Works¶

This setup removes friction:

• No manual setup
• No version mismatches
• No hidden configuration

You spend time building, not debugging your environment.

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