Introduction

JAR files support a wide range of functionality, including electronic signing, version control, package sealing, and others. What gives a JAR file this versatility? The answer is the JAR file’s manifest.

The manifest is a special file that can contain information about the files packaged in a JAR file. By tailoring this “meta” information that the manifest contains, you enable the JAR file to serve a variety of purposes.

This example  will explain the contents of the manifest file and show you how to work with it, with examples for the basic features.

For more information about the MANIFEST See https://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/deployment/jar/manifestindex.html

try {
    // Open the JAR file
    JarFile jarfile = new JarFile("filename.jar");

    // Get the manifest
    Manifest manifest = jarfile.getManifest();

    // Get the manifest entries
    Map map = manifest.getEntries();

    // Enumerate each entry
    for (Iterator it=map.keySet().iterator(); it.hasNext(); ) {
        // Get entry name
        String entryName = (String)it.next();

        // Get all attributes for the entry
        Attributes attrs = (Attributes)map.get(entryName);

        // Enumerate each attribute
        for (Iterator it2=attrs.keySet().iterator(); it2.hasNext(); ) {
            // Get attribute name
            Attributes.Name attrName = (Attributes.Name)it2.next();

            // Get attribute value
            String attrValue = attrs.getValue(attrName);
        }
    }
} catch (IOException e) {
}