Groovy-Eclipse is the set of Eclipse plugins that provide Eclipse support for Groovy projects.
Installation
The latest Groovy-Eclipse release is available from the following Eclipse update sites. To install, point your Eclipse update manager to the update site appropriate for your Eclipse version.
| Eclipse level | Release update site | |
|---|---|---|
| 4.2 (Juno) | |
|
| 3.7 (Indigo) | |
|
| 3.6 (Helios) | | |
| 3.5 (Galileo) | |
Or, you can choose to install a development build, see below for more update sites. In general, our development builds are quite stable. A development build is not published unless all unit tests pass.
News
| Groovy-Eclipse 2.7.0 Released! In this release, Groovy 2.0 support is officially released, Eclipse Juno support is officially released, and we introduce some new quickfixes and refactorings. See all the details: Groovy-Eclipse 2.7.0 New and Noteworthy. (July 3, 2012) |
| Groovy-Eclipse moves to git The source repository for Groovy-Eclipse is now located at Github. Feel free to fork and send pull requests! (May 4, 2012) |
| Groovy-Eclipse 2.6.1 Released! We have implemented some more quick fixes with this release, added per-project support for script folders, and as usual we have enhanced our type inferencing. See all the details: Groovy-Eclipse 2.6.1 New and Noteworthy. (March 5, 2012) |
| Groovy-Eclipse now available on Eclipse 4.2 Use the following update site: |
Features and Status
Groovy-Eclipse allows you to edit, compile, run, and debug Groovy scripts and classes from the Eclipse SDK.

Groovy-Eclipse is the top open source development tool at EclipseCon 2010.
Key Features
- Syntax highlighting
- Type inferencing
- Compile and run Groovy classes and scripts in Eclipse
- Outline view for Groovy files
- Auto-completion
- Refactoring
- Source code formatting
- Basic debug support
- Groovy 1.7 compiler and Groovy 1.8 compiler
- DSL support using DSL descriptors
- Maven integraion
Read about the goals, approach, and implementation of Groovy-Eclipse v2 here.
See what's new in the latest release at Groovy-Eclipse 2.7.0 New and Noteworthy.
For information about prior releases, see here:
- Groovy-Eclipse 2.6.1 New and Noteworthy
- Groovy-Eclipse 2.6.0 New and Noteworthy
- Groovy-Eclipse 2.5.2 New and Noteworthy
- Groovy-Eclipse 2.5.1 New and Noteworthy
- Groovy-Eclipse 2.5.0 New and Noteworthy
- Groovy-Eclipse 2.1.2 New and Noteworthy
- Groovy-Eclipse 2.1.1 New and Noteworthy
- Groovy-Eclipse 2.1.1RC1 New and Noteworthy
- Groovy-Eclipse 2.1.0 New and Noteworthy
- Groovy-Eclipse 2.0.2 New and Noteworthy
- Groovy-Eclipse 2.0.1 New and Noteworthy
- Groovy-Eclipse 2.0.0 New and Noteworthy
- Groovy-Eclipse 2.0.0RC1 New and Noteworthy
- Groovy-Eclipse 2.0.0M2 New and Noteworthy
- Groovy-Eclipse 2.0.0M1 New and Noteworthy
Eclipse Version Compatibility
Groovy-Eclipse Plugin v2 supports Eclipse versions 4.2.x, 3.7.x, 3.6.x, 3.5.x, and 3.4.2. Groovy-Eclipse for Eclipse 3.6 and earlier are no longer directly supported, but the builds are still available.
Groovy compiler Compatibility
By default, Groovy-Eclipse comes with a 1.8 and 1.7 Groovy compiler. A Groovy 2,0 compiler can optionally be installed from the Groovy update site. See Compiler Switching within Groovy-Eclipse for more information.
Getting Other Builds
Milestone and development builds are also available. A milestone build is a relatively stable build, released at the completion of a project milestone. Development builds are are published more frequently, and contain more new features and fixes. Published development build have passed unit tests, but may be less stable than milestone builds.
Milestone Builds
We occasionally release milestone builds of upcoming releases. These are meant for users who want to have access to the most recent features and who are willing to give us feedback on them.
Groovy-Eclipse milestone and release candidate builds are available at:
| Eclipse level | Milestone update site |
|---|---|
| 4.2 (Juno) | http://dist.springsource.org/milestone/GRECLIPSE/e4.2/ |
| 3.7 (Indigo) | http://dist.springsource.org/milestone/GRECLIPSE/e3.7/ |
| 3.6 (Helios) | http://dist.springsource.org/milestone/GRECLIPSE/e3.6/ |
| 3.5 (Galileo) | http://dist.springsource.org/milestone/GRECLIPSE/e3.5/ |
Please note that these builds are temporary and are typically removed after the final release has been made public.
Development Builds
| Eclipse level | Development update site |
|---|---|
| 4.2 (Juno) | http://dist.codehaus.org/groovy/distributions/greclipse/snapshot/e4.2/ |
| 3.7 (Indigo) | |
| 3.6 (Helios) | http://dist.codehaus.org/groovy/distributions/greclipse/snapshot/e3.6/ |
| 3.5 (Galileo) | http://dist.codehaus.org/groovy/distributions/greclipse/snapshot/e3.5/ |
Although these builds may not be as stable as milestone or release builds, they pass our suite of unit and integration tests. These builds are typically usable, and if there is a problem it is often fixed quickly.
Archived Development Builds
If you want to use a local update site instead or you cannot access the update site because of a firewall then you can download an archive of the update site:
| Eclipse level | Development update site zip |
|---|---|
| 4.2 (Juno) | http://dist.codehaus.org/groovy/distributions/greclipse/snapshot/e4.2/old |
| 3.7 (Indigo) | |
| 3.6 (Helios) |
|
| 3.5 (Galileo) | http://dist.codehaus.org/groovy/distributions/greclipse/snapshot/e3.5/old |
There is also a zip of Groovy-Eclipse V2.0.0 for Eclipse 3.5 available at download.
These zip files are the compressed version of the update site. They are not plugins that you can just drop into your eclipse installation. Here's how to install an archive:
- Download the zip file
- Do not unzip or move into your dropins directory
- Start eclipse
- Help -> Install new software -> Add...
- Select the location of the zip you just downloaded
- Install as you would from the regular update site
Getting Started with Groovy-Eclipse v2
This section has brief instructions for getting started with Groovy-Eclipse v2. The instructions assume familiarity with Eclipse. Users new to Eclipse, may wish to follow the links to tutorials, which illustrate and provide novice level instructions for installing and using the plugin.
How to Install
Start with a compatible version of Eclipse (available from http://eclipse.org/downloads. Since Groovy-Eclipse relies on Eclipse's Java tooling (the JDT), almost any flavor of Eclipse that includes the JDT will be compatible. This includes the Java IDE, Classic, RCP, JavaEE, etc. Flavors such as Eclipse for PHP developers are not compatible because it does not include the JDT> If you are interested in Grails tooling, then you must install the SpringSource Tool Suite.
Once you have a compatible Eclipse installed, then follow these directions to install Groovy-Eclipse:
- Go to: Help -> Software Updates.
- Change to the Available Software tab.
- Click on Add Site.
- Paste the update site URL appropriate for your version of Eclipse and click OK.
- You should see a "Groovy Update Site" entry in the list of update sites. Expand and select the Groovy-Eclipse Plugin feature. Optionally, you can choose to include the sources..
- Click Install and follow the prompts.
- Restart when asked
- Rejoice! You installed the Groovy-Eclipse Plugin v2.
For step-by-step installation instructions, see the Install Groovy-Eclipse Plugin tutorial.
How to Create a Groovy Project
To create a basic Groovy project in Eclipse perform the following steps:
- Open the Java perspective
- Click on the new Groovy Project icon:

- The new project wizard for Groovy uses most of the same options as the new project wizard for Java.
- Fill in the appropriate details and create the project.
You should have a src folder and several libraries. A bin folder is also created, but is hidden.
You can create a Groovy classes or test cases using wizards similar to the Eclipse's Java class and JUnit test case wizards. Use the options on the File > New menu or press CTRL-N.
For step-by-step instructions, see the Create Your First Groovy Project tutorial.
Information Resources
Use the resources listed below to learn about Groovy-Eclipse Plugin v2 and keep abreast of project status and milestones.
FAQs
See the Eclipse Plugin FAQ.
Tutorials
The first two of a series of tutorials on using Groovy-Eclipse Plugins v2 are available.
- Install Groovy-Eclipse Plugin
- Create Your First Groovy Project
- Installation and use of Grails tooling (STS is required. Free download here.)
Mailing Lists
Join Groovy-Eclipse mailing lists to find answers, ask questions, and contribute to discussions about v2 of the plugin.
- For usage-related topics, join
http://xircles.codehaus.org/lists/eclipse-plugin-user@groovy.codehaus.org. - For dev-related topics, join
http://xircles.codehaus.org/lists/eclipse-plugin-dev@groovy.codehaus.org. - Report Bugs - Bugs can be viewed and filed at
http://jira.codehaus.org/browse/GRECLIPSE.
Developer Resources
For a detailed and reasonably up to date information on how to check out Groovy-Eclipse from Subversion, see Getting Started With Groovy-Eclipse Source Code.
The summary:
- The CI Server for Groovy-Eclipse is located at the Codehaus Bamboo server
- The Groovy-Eclipse Plugin v2 git repository is located at https://github.com/groovy/groovy-eclipse. If you are new to github and git, you can familiarize yourself by reading some good tutorials at github.
- The Groovy-Eclipse Plugin v2 SVN repository is now deprecated. For historical reasons, you can still access it at at
http://svn.codehaus.org/groovy/eclipse/trunk/. If you are new to Subversion, see Subversion home page. - The plugin source itself is partially written in Groovy. And for that reason, you must have Groovy-Eclipse installed before you can compile Groovy-Eclipse.
- If you are interested in working Groovy source code or plan to do a local build, please contact the eclipse plugin dev mailing list and we can help you out.
- See a list of bugs suitable for community members to work on. All the issues labelled help requested are a good place to start.
Open Issues
You can browse or enter new issues on the GRECLIPSE project on the jira server.