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Manual setup with -javaagent flag

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Manual setup with `-javaagent` flag

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Using the -javaagent option is the most common way to set up java agents on a JVM, it has the following properties:

No application code changes required.
Requires to change JVM arguments, which implies a restart of the whole JVM.
For application servers, the JVM arguments modification requires changing application server configuration
Agent artifact is an extra binary to manage alongside the JVM or application server.
Ensures that the application is fully instrumented before it starts.

Get the Java agent

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The first step in getting started with the Elastic APM Java agent is to retrieve a copy of the agent jar.

Java agent releases are published to Maven central, in order to get a copy you can either:

download manually the latest agent or previous releases from Maven central.

download with curl:

curl -o 'elastic-apm-agent.jar' -L 'https://oss.sonatype.org/service/local/artifact/maven/redirect?r=releases&g=co.elastic.apm&a=elastic-apm-agent&v=LATEST'

In addition, we also publish a dedicated build of the Java agent which ships the latest log4j2 version and for that reason requires at least Java 8. This build can also be found on Maven central.

Java agent releases are published as Docker images through the docker.elastic.co registry.

The latest tag allows to use the most recent release at the time the image is built.

Adding the following statement in Dockerfile will copy the agent jar to /elastic-apm-agent.jar.

COPY --from=docker.elastic.co/observability/apm-agent-java:latest /usr/agent/elastic-apm-agent.jar /elastic-apm-agent.jar

Agents are not like regular application dependencies. Don’t declare a dependency to the agent in your application.

Add `-javaagent` flag

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When starting your application, add the JVM flag -javaagent:/path/to/elastic-apm-agent-<version>.jar

Set up the agent with Application Servers

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Different application servers have different ways of setting the -javaagent flag and system properties.

Note that system properties are only one way of configuring the agent but setting the -javaagent flag is required in each case. See Configuration to learn about how to configure the agent with a configuration file or environment variables.

Generic Setup

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Start your application (for example a Spring Boot application or other embedded servers) and add the -javaagent JVM flag. Use the -D prefix to configure the agent using system properties.

java -javaagent:/path/to/elastic-apm-agent-<version>.jar -Delastic.apm.service_name=my-cool-service -Delastic.apm.application_packages=org.example,org.another.example -Delastic.apm.server_url=http://127.0.0.1:8200 -jar my-application.jar

Apache Tomcat

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Unix

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Create bin/setenv.sh (or modify if the file already exists). Make sure to make the file executable, for example chmod +x bin/setenv.sh

Add the following line:

setenv.sh.

export CATALINA_OPTS="$CATALINA_OPTS -javaagent:/path/to/elastic-apm-agent-<version>.jar"
export CATALINA_OPTS="$CATALINA_OPTS -Delastic.apm.service_name=my-cool-service"
export CATALINA_OPTS="$CATALINA_OPTS -Delastic.apm.application_packages=org.example,org.another.example"
export CATALINA_OPTS="$CATALINA_OPTS -Delastic.apm.server_url=http://127.0.0.1:8200"

Windows

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Create bin\setenv.bat (or modify if the file already exists).

setenv.bat.

set CATALINA_OPTS=%CATALINA_OPTS% -javaagent:C:/path/to/elastic-apm-agent-<version>.jar
set CATALINA_OPTS=%CATALINA_OPTS% -Delastic.apm.service_name=my-cool-service
set CATALINA_OPTS=%CATALINA_OPTS% -Delastic.apm.application_packages=org.example,org.another.example
set CATALINA_OPTS=%CATALINA_OPTS% -Delastic.apm.server_url=http://127.0.0.1:8200

Jetty

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Option 1: edit jetty.sh

jetty.sh.

export JAVA_OPTIONS="${JAVA_OPTIONS} -javaagent:/path/to/elastic-apm-agent-<version>.jar"
export JAVA_OPTIONS="${JAVA_OPTIONS} -Delastic.apm.service_name=my-cool-service"
export JAVA_OPTIONS="${JAVA_OPTIONS} -Delastic.apm.application_packages=org.example,org.another.example"
export JAVA_OPTIONS="${JAVA_OPTIONS} -Delastic.apm.server_url=http://127.0.0.1:8200"

Option 2: edit start.ini

start.ini.

--exec
-javaagent:/path/to/elastic-apm-agent-<version>.jar
-Delastic.apm.service_name=my-cool-service
-Delastic.apm.application_packages=org.example,org.another.example
-Delastic.apm.server_url=http://127.0.0.1:8200

Option 3: If you are using embedded Jetty, see Generic Setup.

JBoss EAP/WildFly

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Standalone Mode

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Add the agent configuration at the bottom of the standalone.conf file:

Unix

bin/standalone.conf.

export JAVA_OPTS="$JAVA_OPTS -javaagent:/path/to/elastic-apm-agent-<version>.jar"
export JAVA_OPTS="$JAVA_OPTS -Delastic.apm.service_name=my-cool-service"
export JAVA_OPTS="$JAVA_OPTS -Delastic.apm.application_packages=org.example,org.another.example"
export JAVA_OPTS="$JAVA_OPTS -Delastic.apm.server_url=http://127.0.0.1:8200"

Windows

bin/standalone.conf.bat.

set JAVA_OPTS=%JAVA_OPTS% -javaagent:C:/path/to/elastic-apm-agent-<version>.jar
set JAVA_OPTS=%JAVA_OPTS% -Delastic.apm.service_name=my-cool-service
set JAVA_OPTS=%JAVA_OPTS% -Delastic.apm.application_packages=org.example,org.another.example
set JAVA_OPTS=%JAVA_OPTS% -Delastic.apm.server_url=http://127.0.0.1:8200

Domain Mode

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Edit the domain.xml file which is usually located under domain/configuration and add a JVM option for the -javaagent flag, as well as some system properties for the configuration.

domain/configuration/domain.xml.

...
<server-group>
  <jvm>
     <jvm-options>
      ...
      <option value="-javaagent:/path/to/elastic-apm-agent-<version>.jar"/>
      ...
     </jvm-options>
  </jvm>
</server-group>
...
<system-properties>
  <property name="elastic.apm.service_name"         value="my-cool-service"/>
  <property name="elastic.apm.application_packages" value="org.example,org.another.example"/>
  <property name="elastic.apm.server_url"          value="http://127.0.0.1:8200"/>
</system-properties>
...

WebSphere Liberty

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Add the following lines to the jvm.options file.

jvm.options.

-javaagent:/path/to/elastic-apm-agent-<version>.jar
-Delastic.apm.service_name=my-cool-service
-Delastic.apm.application_packages=org.example,org.another.example
-Delastic.apm.server_url=http://127.0.0.1:8200

Payara

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Update the domain.xml file to add the -javaagent flag and system properties.

glassfish/domains/domain1/config/domain.xml.

<java-config>
  ...
  <jvm-options>-javaagent:/path/to/elastic-apm-agent-<version>.jar</jvm-options>
  <jvm-options>-Delastic.apm.service_name=my-cool-service</jvm-options>
  <jvm-options>-Delastic.apm.application_packages=org.example,org.another.example</jvm-options>
  <jvm-options>-Delastic.apm.server_url=http://127.0.0.1:8200</jvm-options>
</java-config>

Oracle WebLogic

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Unix

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Edit the startWebLogic.sh file and add the following lines after the setDomainEnv.sh call:

$DOMAIN_HOME/bin/startWebLogic.sh.

export JAVA_OPTIONS="$JAVA_OPTIONS -javaagent:/path/to/elastic-apm-agent-<version>.jar"
export JAVA_OPTIONS="$JAVA_OPTIONS -Delastic.apm.service_name=my-cool-service"
export JAVA_OPTIONS="$JAVA_OPTIONS -Delastic.apm.application_packages=org.example,org.another.example"
export JAVA_OPTIONS="$JAVA_OPTIONS -Delastic.apm.server_url=http://127.0.0.1:8200"

Windows

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Edit the startWebLogic.cmd file and add the following lines after the setDomainEnv.cmd call:

%DOMAIN_HOME%\bin\startWebLogic.cmd.

set JAVA_OPTIONS=%JAVA_OPTIONS% -javaagent:C:/path/to/elastic-apm-agent-<version>.jar
set JAVA_OPTIONS=%JAVA_OPTIONS% -Delastic.apm.service_name=my-cool-service
set JAVA_OPTIONS=%JAVA_OPTIONS% -Delastic.apm.application_packages=org.example,org.another.example
set JAVA_OPTIONS=%JAVA_OPTIONS% -Delastic.apm.server_url=http://127.0.0.1:8200

Cloud Foundry

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The Elastic Java APM Agent Framework is now part of the Cloud Foundry Java Buildpack as of Release v4.19.

A user provided Elastic APM service must have a name or tag with elastic-apm in it so that the Elastic APM Agent Framework will automatically configure the application to work with the service.

Create a user provided service:

cf cups my-elastic-apm-service -p '{"server_url":"my-apm-server-url","secret_token":"my-apm-server-secret-token"}'

Both my-apm-server-url and my-apm-server-secret-token are respectively server_url and secret_token from service-key of your Elasticsearch server.

Bind the application to the service:

cf bind-service my-application my-elastic-apm-service

and restage the application or use the services block in the application manifest file.

For more details on the Elastic Java APM Agent Framework for Cloud Foundry see here.

manifest.yml.

applications:
- name: my-application
  memory: 1G
  path: ./target/my-application.jar
  services:
    - my-elastic-apm-service

« Set up the Agent Automatic setup with apm-agent-attach-cli.jar »

Manual setup with -javaagent flag

Manual setup with -javaagent flag

Get the Java agent

Add -javaagent flag

Set up the agent with Application Servers

Generic Setup

Apache Tomcat

Unix

Windows

Jetty

JBoss EAP/WildFly

Standalone Mode

Domain Mode

WebSphere Liberty

Payara

Oracle WebLogic

Unix

Windows

Cloud Foundry

Manual setup with `-javaagent` flag

Add `-javaagent` flag