Quickstart: Assess a Java project using AppCAT 7

This quickstart shows you how to download, install, and run AppCAT 7 against a sample Java project.

Download and install

To use the appcat CLI, you must download the package specific to your environment, and have the required dependencies in your environment. The appcat CLI runs on any environment such as Windows, Linux, or Mac, using Intel, Arm, or Apple Silicon hardware.

To install appcat, download the appropriate zip file for your platform. After you download the file, depending on your operating system, you should find either a .tar.gz (Linux/macOS) or .zip file (Windows).

Extract the binary from the downloaded file. You should see the following folder structure:

/azure-migrate-appcat-for-java-cli-<OS>-<architecture>-<release-version>/
├── appcat.exe (Windows) / appcat (Linux/macOS)
├── samples/
├── fernflower.jar
├── LICENSE
├── NOTICE.txt
├── maven.default.index
├── jdtls/
├── justj.zip (Windows) / justj.tar.gz (Linux/macOS)
├── static-report/
├── maven-wrapper/
├── .appcat-ignore
├── rulesets/
├── readme.md
└── readme.html

Run AppCAT against a sample Java project

In following steps, you do an application assessment using AppCAT against Airsonic-Advanced - a community-driven, web-based media streamer that enables you to access and share your music collection.

1. To run appcat from any location in your terminal, extract the archive to your desired location. Then, update the PATH environment variable to include the directory where you extracted the archive.

   Note

   When the appcat binary is called, it first looks for its dependencies in the executable folder specified in the PATH environment variable. If the dependencies aren't found, it falls back to the user's home directory - ~/.appcat on Linux/Mac or %USERPROFILE%\.appcat on Windows.

2. Clone the application repository to a local folder using the following command:

   git clone https://github.com/airsonic-advanced/airsonic-advanced.git
   

3. Run the assessment scripts in the samples folder of the downloaded AppCAT release package by providing the path to the cloned folder from the previous step. Depending on your operating system, run the appropriate script, as shown in the following example. The reports are automatically generated and opened in your web browser. You can find the reports under ../samples/report-* (Linux/macOS) or ..\samples\report-* (Windows).

   • Linux / macOS
   • Windows

   ./samples/run-assessment <path-to-airsonic-advanced>
   

In the samples directory, you can find the following scripts to run different types of analysis:

• run-assessment: Provides a report with code assessment and steps for migrating Airsonic to Azure App Service on Tomcat.
• run-assessment-transform-rules: Converts Windup XML rules to analyzer-lsp-compatible YAML rules.
• run-assessment-custom-rules: Provides a code assessment report using custom rules transform XML to YAML.
• run-assessment-openjdk21: Generates a report with code assessment and steps for migrating Airsonic to OpenJDK 21.
• run-assessment-package-only: Produces a report by assessing specific packages.

Next steps

• Interpret the AppCAT 7 report
• CLI command guide for AppCAT 7
• Rules development guide for AppCAT 7