Run Modes run-modes

Run modes let you tune your AEM instance for a specific purpose; for example, author or publish, test, development, intranet or others.

You can:

All settings and definitions are stored in the one repository and activated by setting the Run Mode.

Installation Run Modes installation-run-modes

Installation (or fixed) run modes are used at installation time and then fixed for the entire lifetime of the instance, they cannot be changed.

Installation run modes are provided out-of-the-box:

These are two pairs of mutually exclusive run modes; for example, you can:

Customized Run Modes customized-run-modes

You can also create your own, customized, run modes. These can be combined to cover scenarios such as:

Customized run modes can also be selected at each startup.

Using samplecontent and nosamplecontent using-samplecontent-and-nosamplecontent

These modes let you control the use of sample content. The sample content is defined before the quickstart is built and can include packages, configurations, and so on:

The nosamplecontent run mode is designed for production installations.

Defining configuration properties for a run mode defining-configuration-properties-for-a-run-mode

A collection of values for configuration properties, used for a particular run mode, can be saved in the repository.

The run mode is indicated by a suffix on the folder name. This lets you store all configurations in one repository as. For example:

See OSGi Configuration in the Repository for further details on defining the individual configuration nodes within these folders and for creating configurations for combinations of multiple run modes.

Defining additional bundles to be installed for a run mode defining-additional-bundles-to-be-installed-for-a-run-mode

Additional bundles that should be installed for a particular run mode can also be specified. For these definitions, install folders are used to hold the bundles. Again the run mode is indicated by a prefix:

These folders are of type nt:folder and should contain the appropriate bundle.

Starting CQ with a specific run mode starting-cq-with-a-specific-run-mode

If you have defined configurations for multiple run modes then you need to define which is to be used upon startup. There are several methods for specifying which run mode to use; the order of resolution is:

When you are using an application server you can also define the run mode in web.xml.

Using the sling.properties file using-the-sling-properties-file

The sling.properties file can be used to define the required run mode:

Using the -r option using-the-r-option

A custom run mode can be activated by using the -r option when launching the quickstart. For example, use the following command to launch a AEM instance with run mode set to dev. ``

java -jar cq-56-p4545.jar -r dev

Using a system property in the start script using-a-system-property-in-the-start-script

A system property in the start script can be used to specify the run mode.

Filename detection - renaming the jar file filename-detection-renaming-the-jar-file

The following two installation run modes can be activated by renaming the installation jar file before installation:

The jar file must use the naming convention:

cq5-<run-mode>-p<port-number>

For example, set the publish run mode by naming the jar file:

cq5-publish-p4503

Defining the run mode in web.xml (with Application Server) defining-the-run-mode-in-web-xml-with-application-server

When you are using an application server you can also configure the property:

sling.run.modes

in the file:

WEB-INF/web.xml

This is in the AEM war file and should be updated before deployment.

See Installing AEM with an Application Server for further details.