Getting a lightweight installation of Java Eclipse

You can download the empty Eclipse platform and then manually install the JDT tools.

1. Go to the The Eclipse Project Downloads page.
2. Choose the bundle you want, probably Latest Release.
3. On the download page of the chosen bundle:
   1. Download Platform Runtime Binary
   2. Download JDT Runtime Binary
4. Extract the Platform Runtime Binary archive file and run it (for example, by double clicking on eclipse.exe).
5. Install the JDT binary:
   1. Click Help → Install New Software → Add... → Archive.
   2. Choose the JDT zip file you downloaded.
   3. Uncheck Group Items by category.
   4. Select the Eclipse Java Development Tools.
   5. Click next to install and restart Eclipse when prompted.

JDT from the Eclipse update site

You can also install JDT from the Eclipse update site, instead of downloading the binary.

To do this, do this following:

1. Skip downloading the JDT Runtime Binary, only download, extract and run the Platform Runtime Binary.
2. Go to the Install New Software, but instead of Archive chose the Eclipse download site.
3. Search and install Eclipse Java Development Tools.

The "Eclipse IDE for Java Developers" version isn't the smallest one! Look for "Eclipse Classic" - it doesn't contain most of the things you mentioned. It's larger in download size only, because it comes with source code.

See this comparison: http://www.eclipse.org/downloads/compare.php

You can use a thirdparty distribution builder like Yoxos and download just what you want.

A bit late to this party, but I asked myself the same question for a while, and while now I'm back to a more fully-fledged Eclipse installation, I used to to the following to streamline it a bit. Hope it helps.

What I Needed

Functionalities:

• Java Support
• Java + Java EE (XML) + Debug Perspectives

Pretty much it. There's a lot of other things I like to use in Eclipse, but I needed to keep it down to the skinniest possible because I was in a 3GB environment where I also needed to run other servers in parallel, so I couldn't afford much.

Resulting Perspectives:

• Lightweight Java
• Lightweight Browser (fairly tweaked for code reviews and code inspection - that one was actually heavier than the others)
• Lightweight Debug

What I Did

• Install Eclipse Java EE (install classic if not caring about the Java EE/XML bits)
• disable hungry views
  • disable outline (when you need one, just do CTRL+O)
  • disable call and type hierarchies
• disable decorators
• disable menu entries (right-
• disable toolbar items
  • even better: hide the toolbar
• disable hovers and actions associated with that
• disable spell-checking
• disable XML validation
• disable Mylyn
• disable non-needed search forms in CTRL+H dialog (I usually actually only use the "File Search" mode, sometimes the "Java" one)
• disable usage reporting
• disable unnecessary plugins or features
• disables perspectives and plugins loaded automatically on startup
• restrict internal limits:
  • some views have a scope (enclosing class, project, working set, workspace...)
  • some views and UI elements have boundaries (console/loggers, highlighters, markers...)
• tweak the eclipse.ini to:
  • -clean the workspace (slower, but I tend to prefer to do that)
  • use G1GC
  • reduce memory usage (I noticed that I can perfectly live with -xss128k and -xmx384 with G1, for instance. YMMV, of course, as always with JVM tuning.)
  • use a server VM (and point directly to the VM's DLL)

Also disable views you don't need in the "Debug" and "Code Browsing" perspectives.

Sorry, I had actually saved all of these as a set of 3 lightweight perspectives to re-import everytime on my new project, but I cannot get my hands on them at the moment. If I ever find then, I'll add a link to them here.

Instead of going for a ready package from Eclipse Downloads, from the same page go for the Eclipse Installer. Currently available for Mac, Windows & the beloved Linux. Launch the Installer which should update (or not if you are lucky enough :) ). Select "Eclipse Platform" which is the absolute minimum from this IDE, set your other installation preferences and install.

After the download/installation process, I'd suggest your head to Help->Install New Software and search for the Eclipse Marketplace (Yes, even that is not included in this package) just to make your life a bit easier.