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Version: 15.x

Build instructions

This document describes how to build Universal Media Server from the source files.

Important note: Prebuilt Universal Media Server releases can be downloaded from: http://www.universalmediaserver.com/ so you DO NOT need to run these steps as a general user.

The following software packages are required:

  • The Java JDK 17 (the JRE is not enough)
  • Git
  • Maven
  • MediaInfo

Read the Full instructions section for a complete explanation of how to install all required software and how to build UMS for each operating system.

Short instructions

If all required software packages are installed, the following commands will download the latest sources and build UMS:

git clone https://github.com/UniversalMediaServer/UniversalMediaServer.git
cd universalmediaserver
mvn package -P PACKAGENAME

Where PACKAGENAME is the name of the target operating system: windows, macos, macos-arm, macos-pre1015 or linux-*, where * is the architecture; one of: x86, x86_64, arm64, armel, or armhf

The result will be built in the "target" directory:

  • Windows: UMS-setup.exe
  • Linux: UMS-linux-generic-x.xx.x.tar.gz
  • macOS: UMS-setup-macosx-x.xx.x.tar.gz

Full instructions

First all required software has to be installed:

1. Download and install the Java JDK 17​

See https://bell-sw.com/pages/downloads/#/java-17-lts

2. Download and install Git​

See https://git-scm.com/

3. Download and extract Maven​

See http://maven.apache.org/

4. Set environment variables​

Windows​

Create new variables or append the value if the variable already exists:

  • Level: System, variable: JAVA_HOME, value: JDK install location
  • Level: User, variable M2_HOME, value: Maven extract location
  • Level: User, variable M2, value: %M2_HOME%\bin
  • Level: User, variable PATH, value %M2%

Linux​

Nothing to do.

macOS​

Nothing to do.

5. Download the UMS source code​

git clone https://github.com/UniversalMediaServer/UniversalMediaServer.git
cd universalmediaserver

6. Update to the latest source (optional)​

git pull

7. Compile the latest version of UMS​

mvn package -P PACKAGENAME

Where PACKAGENAME is the name of the target operating system: windows, macos, macos-arm, macos-pre1015 or linux-*, where * is the architecture; one of: x86, x86_64, arm64, armel, or armhf

You can also specify an optional flag if you want to skip downloading binaries, which can be useful to speed up build time, particularly on Windows and Linux:

mvn package -P PACKAGENAME -Doffline=true

The resulting binaries will be built in the "target" directory:

  • Windows: UMS-setup.exe
  • Linux: UMS-linux-generic-x.xx.x.tar.gz
  • macOS: ums-x.xx.x-SNAPSHOT-distribution/Universal Media Server.app

Automatic builds​

These last two commands can easily be automated using a script e.g.:

Windows​

rem build-UMS.bat
start /D universalmediaserver /wait /b git pull
start /D universalmediaserver /wait /b mvn package

Linux, macOS &c.​

#!/bin/sh
# build-UMS.sh
cd universalmediaserver
git pull
mvn package

Packaging and cross-compilation

This section explains how it is possible to compile and package for one system while on another.

Building the Windows binaries​

The Windows installers (UMS-setup.exe) and Windows executable (UMS.exe) can be built on non-Windows platforms.

First of all, you'll need to have the makensis binary installed. On Debian/Ubuntu, this can be done with:

sudo apt-get install nsis

Then the NSISDIR environment needs to be set to the absolute path to the nsis directory. This can either be set per-command:

NSISDIR=$PWD/src/main/external-resources/third-party/nsis mvn ...

Either:

  • Temporarily in the current shell: 
    export NSISDIR=$PWD/src/main/external-resources/third-party/nsis
    mvn ...
  • Or permanently: 
    # these two commands only need to be run once
    echo "export NSISDIR=$PWD/src/main/external-resources/third-party/nsis" >> ~/.bashrc
    source ~/.bashrc

    mvn...

For the sake of brevity, the following examples assume it has already been set.

The Windows installer can now be built with one of the following commands:

On Linux and macOS​

mvn package -P system-makensis,windows

Building a Linux tarball​

On Windows and macOS​

mvn package -P linux-*

where * is one of: x86, x86_64, arm64, armel, or armhf

Building the macOS disk image​

On Windows and Linux​

mvn package -P macos
hdiutil create -volname "Universal Media Server" -srcfolder target/ums-*-distribution UMS.dmg

Building the macOS wizard installer​

  1. Build UMS
  2. Install http://s.sudre.free.fr/Software/Packages/about.html
  3. Set a variable storing the directory path of the build distribution file, e.g.
export UMS_DIST_FOLDER="/Users/dev/ums/target/ums-7.3.1-SNAPSHOT-distribution/Universal Media Server.app"
export UMS_LOGO_FILE="/Users/dev/ums/src/main/external-resources/third-party/nsis/Contrib/Graphics/Wizard/win.png"
  1. Replace desired path inside the .pkgproj file
sed -i '' "s#UMS_DIST_FOLDER#$UMS_DIST_FOLDER#g" src/main/assembly/osx-installer.pkgproj
sed -i '' "s#UMS_LOGO_FILE#$UMS_LOGO_FILE#g" src/main/assembly/osx-installer.pkgproj
  1. Build .pkg installer. This will output to /target/Universal Media Server.pkg
/usr/local/bin/packagesbuild src/main/assembly/osx-installer.pkgproj

Quick builds

We have quick build scripts that are recommended during development for fast iteration. The scripts will compile the Java code, put it in the default install directory, and run the program, which will close any existing instance of UMS.

It should work for 64-bit Windows and macOS. Can be extended for others easily if desired.

mvn verify -P quickrun-* -DskipTests

Where * is macos or windows