Starting FitNesse

In the standard distribution there is a file named run.bat for windows and run.sh for Unix, Linux, and OS X. Double-clicking this file should get things going in most cases. The main class that gets executed is fitnesseMain.FitNesseMain. Here is how to invoke this class:

Usage: java -jar fitnesse.jar [-pdrleoa]
        -p <port number> {80}
        -d <working directory> {.}
        -r <page root directory> {FitNesseRoot}
        -l <log directory> {no logging}
        -e <days> {14} Number of days before page versions expire
        -o omit updates
        -a {user:pwd | user-file-name} enable authentication.

The values shown between braces are the default values.

Most of the options here speak for themselves. The most commonly used option is -p port_number, which allows you to change the port on which the FitNesse server will start.

You can also pass these options to the run.bat and run.sh scripts. The run.sh script also accepts one or more -J JVM_option flags for passing options to the JVM. If you like to double-click the script file to start it and you always use particular options, such as a different port number, then consider editing the file to add these options.

See PasswordFile for a description of how to set up per user authentication.

Stopping FitNesse

Pressing ctrl-c generally works well for development use. However, it's not sufficient for automated control.

There are now stop.bat and stop.sh scripts to stop a running server. Invoke them with the same -p port_number option used to start the server.

Both scripts run java with a class to stop FitNesse. You can invoke this class directly, as well:

Usage: java fitnesse.Shutdown [-pa]
        -h <hostname> {localhost}
        -p <port number> {80}
        -c <username> <password> Supply user credentials.  Use when FitNesse has authentication activated.

This command will send an HTTP request to the designated server. If the server is using authentication then the -c option should be used with appropriate username and password.

Alternatively you may manually type a URL to shutdown a server.
http://hostname:port/?responder=shutdown