Chilkat2 for Java — Downloads

Which download do I need?

The download contains a native library, so match it to the operating system and the architecture of the JVM you will run (the JDK version does not matter). To see the JVM's architecture:

java -XshowSettings:properties -version 2>&1 | grep os.arch          # Linux, macOS
java -XshowSettings:properties -version 2>&1 | findstr os.arch       :: Windows

Windows

Each .zip contains a code-signed chilkat2java.dll for one architecture, linked with the C runtime statically (no Visual C++ redistributable needed), plus chilkat2.jar. Getting started →

Linux

For glibc-based distributions (Debian/Ubuntu, RHEL/Fedora, SUSE, Arch, Raspberry Pi OS, …). Each .tar.gz contains libchilkat2java.so and chilkat2.jar. Alpine Linux uses musl and needs the Alpine downloads below. Getting started →

Alpine Linux

Built for musl. Each .tar.gz contains libchilkat2java.so and chilkat2.jar. Getting started →

macOS

Each .tar.gz contains a code-signed libchilkat2java.dylib and chilkat2.jar. Apple silicon requires macOS 11 or later; Intel requires macOS 10.14 or later. Getting started →

Getting started

The steps are the same on every operating system. Only three things differ:

1. Download and extract

   tar xzf chilkat2-java-x86_64-linux.tar.gz          # Linux / Alpine / macOS (your file name)
   # Windows: right-click the .zip → Extract All, or:
   tar -xf chilkat2-java-x64.zip                      # Windows 10 and later include tar

   macOS only: if the browser added a quarantine attribute, clear it so Gatekeeper does not block the library:

   xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine chilkat2-java-arm64-macosx

2. What's in the download

   chilkat2-java-<platform>/
   ├─ chilkat2.jar             the classes: put it on the classpath
   ├─ chilkat2java.dll         the native library (libchilkat2java.so / .dylib elsewhere)
   ├─ chilkat2-sources.jar     attach in your IDE: source
   ├─ chilkat2-javadoc.jar     attach in your IDE: documentation
   ├─ README.txt
   ├─ Test.java                a small check that everything loads
   ├─ runTest.bat / runTest.sh compiles and runs Test.java
   └─ license.pdf, THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.txt, … and a software bill of materials (chilkat.cdx.json)

3. Verify

   Run runTest.bat (Windows) or sh runTest.sh (Linux, Alpine, macOS) from the extracted folder. It compiles and runs Test.java, which prints the version, where the native library was loaded from, and the platform:

   Chilkat2 Java 11.7.0
   native library: ./libchilkat2java.so
   platform: linux-x86_64

4. Compile and run your own program

   Put chilkat2.jar on the classpath, and tell Chilkat2 where the native library is with -Dchilkat2.library.path (the directory that contains it):

   javac -cp chilkat2.jar MyApp.java
   java -Dchilkat2.library.path=/opt/chilkat2 -cp .:chilkat2.jar MyApp                # Linux, macOS
   java -Dchilkat2.library.path=C:\chilkat2 -cp .;chilkat2.jar MyApp                  :: Windows

   No System.loadLibrary call is needed: the first Chilkat2 object you create loads the library. java.library.path works too, and the library can also travel inside your own jar (how the library is found).

5. Unlock

   Chilkat is fully functional for a 30-day trial. Call unlockBundle once when your program starts; any string starts the trial, and your purchased unlock code is used the same way:

   try (Global glob = new Global()) {
       glob.unlockBundle("Anything for 30-day trial");
   }

A first program

import com.chilkatsoft.chilkat2.ChilkatException;
import com.chilkatsoft.chilkat2.Global;
import com.chilkatsoft.chilkat2.Http;

public class MyApp {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        try (Global glob = new Global()) {
            glob.unlockBundle("Anything for 30-day trial");
        }

        // try-with-resources releases the native object when the block ends.
        try (Http http = new Http()) {
            http.setConnectTimeout(10);
            http.onPercentDone(pct -> { System.out.println(pct + "%"); return false; });

            String html = http.quickGetStr("https://www.chilkatsoft.com/");
            System.out.println("HTTP " + http.getLastStatus() + ", " + html.length() + " chars");
        } catch (ChilkatException e) {
            System.out.println(e.getMessage());         // "Http.quickGetStr failed: <reason>"
            System.out.println(e.getLastErrorText());   // the full log of the failed call
        }
    }
}

Using it in your project

Chilkat2 Java is not in a Maven repository; the jar comes from the download. In every case the jar goes on the classpath, and the JVM that runs your program gets -Dchilkat2.library.path=<dir> (or the library is bundled, below).

IntelliJ IDEA, Eclipse, VS Code

Add chilkat2.jar as a library of the project (IntelliJ: Project Structure → Libraries; Eclipse: Build Path → Add External JARs; VS Code: Java Projects → Referenced Libraries), attach chilkat2-sources.jar and chilkat2-javadoc.jar to it for documentation as you type, and add -Dchilkat2.library.path=<dir> to the run configuration's VM options (VS Code: "vmArgs" in launch.json).

Maven

Install the jar once into your local repository, then depend on it as usual:

mvn install:install-file -Dfile=chilkat2.jar -Dsources=chilkat2-sources.jar -Djavadoc=chilkat2-javadoc.jar \
    -DgroupId=com.chilkatsoft -DartifactId=chilkat2 -Dversion=11.7.0 -Dpackaging=jar

<dependency>
  <groupId>com.chilkatsoft</groupId>
  <artifactId>chilkat2</artifactId>
  <version>11.7.0</version>
</dependency>

For a team or CI, deploy the same jar to your organization's repository (Nexus, Artifactory, GitHub Packages, …) with mvn deploy:deploy-file.

Gradle

dependencies {
    implementation(files("libs/chilkat2.jar"))
}
tasks.withType<JavaExec>().configureEach {
    jvmArgs("-Dchilkat2.library.path=${projectDir}/libs")
}

Kotlin

Kotlin uses the same jar. Accessors read as properties, use closes the object, and the progress helpers take Kotlin lambdas:

Http().use { http ->
    http.connectTimeout = 10
    http.onPercentDone { pct -> println("$pct%"); false }
    val html = http.quickGetStr("https://www.chilkatsoft.com/")
}

How the native library is found

The first Chilkat2 object you create loads the native library, trying in this order:

1. the directory named by -Dchilkat2.library.path=<dir>;
2. a library bundled in your own jar as the resource /com/chilkatsoft/chilkat2/native/<platform>/<library> (it is extracted once to ~/.chilkat2/<version>/<platform>/, or to the directory named by -Dchilkat2.extract.dir, and reused while it is unchanged);
3. java.library.path (the standard JNI search).

Bundling is how you ship one self-contained jar: copy the library from each download you support into your project's resources under the platform name below (Maven/Gradle: src/main/resources/com/chilkatsoft/chilkat2/native/linux-x86_64/libchilkat2java.so, and so on), and no command-line option is needed at run time.

Chilkat2Native.platform() returns the running JVM's platform string (Test.java prints it), and Chilkat2Native.ensureLoaded() can be called at startup to report a loading problem early.

The API in brief

Same classes, same members, same behavior as every other Chilkat product; the reference documentation shows the exact Java signature of each.

Events run on the thread that called the method; returning true from abortCheck or percentDone aborts the method, and setting setAbortCurrent(true) from another thread does too. Use an object from one thread at a time.

Troubleshooting

UnsatisfiedLinkError: Chilkat2 Java … the native library … was not found

The message ends with every place that was tried. Point -Dchilkat2.library.path at the directory that contains the library (not at the file), or check the resource path if you bundle it.

UnsatisfiedLinkError mentioning a wrong architecture, ELF class, or mach-o

The download does not match the JVM: for example an x64 library with a 32-bit JVM, an arm64 library under a Rosetta (x86_64) JVM, or a Linux (glibc) library on Alpine. Check os.arch (above) and use the matching download.

macOS: the library “cannot be opened” or fails a code-signature check

Clear the download's quarantine attribute: xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine <extracted folder>.

NoClassDefFoundError: com/chilkatsoft/chilkat2/…

chilkat2.jar is not on the classpath of the JVM that runs the program (separator ; on Windows, : elsewhere).

“reference to StringBuilder is ambiguous”

Chilkat has a StringBuilder class. With import com.chilkatsoft.chilkat2.*, write com.chilkatsoft.chilkat2.StringBuilder or java.lang.StringBuilder in full, or import the Chilkat classes one by one.

UnsupportedOperationException: CodeSign is available on Windows only

CodeSign and ScMinidriver use Windows APIs and exist only in the Windows builds.