NetBeans RCP

Run a pre-built NetBeans Platform application in the browser with SwingBridge, with no changes to the RCP source.

When to Use It
Prerequisites
Embedding Modes
Multi-Tenancy and Lifecycle
Topics

NetBeansRcpBridge embeds a pre-built NetBeans Platform (RCP) application as a SwingBridge guest, rendering it in the browser. The whole platform shell — or a single TopComponent — runs on the server inside the Vaadin session, and users interact with it through their browser.

NetBeansRcpBridge extends SwingBridge, so everything in the rest of this guide still applies: the project setup, the JVM flags, server push, the JAR-loading conventions, and per-session isolation. This section covers only what is specific to NetBeans Platform applications.

You can point SwingBridge at your existing, pre-built distribution and mount the bridge in a view without changing NetBeans RCP sources.

When to Use It

Use NetBeansRcpBridge when:

An existing NetBeans Platform application should be reachable through a browser instead of installed as a desktop client.
Individual RCP views (a dashboard, an explorer, a grid) should appear as ordinary Vaadin views on their own routes, composed alongside native Vaadin UI.
A staged modernization is preferred: the RCP application keeps running unchanged while screens are migrated to Vaadin one at a time.

For a plain Swing application (a main method that opens a JFrame, not a NetBeans Platform distribution), use the base SwingBridge component instead — see Quick Start.

Prerequisites

A pre-built NetBeans Platform distribution. This is the directory the platform’s own launcher would run — it contains etc/<branding>.clusters, platform/lib/boot.jar, the branding cluster, and the feature module clusters. Bare .nbm files, without a host application, are not supported.
JDK 21. JDK 24 and later require a NetBeans Platform variant that has dropped the dependency on TopSecurityManager.
A working SwingBridge project, plus a small set of additional JVM flags. See Requirements and Configuration.

Note	`NetBeansRcpBridge` is a commercial feature licensed under the same Vaadin subscription as the rest of SwingBridge. See License Installation.

Embedding Modes

A bridge instance embeds the application in one of two ways:

Mode What it renders

Mode	What it renders
Full shell	`new NetBeansRcpBridge()` renders the whole platform shell — the main window, menu bar, toolbar, and docked windows — exactly as the desktop application looks.
Single TopComponent	`new NetBeansRcpBridge().embedTopComponent("DashboardTopComponent")` renders one `TopComponent` without the platform shell: no menu bar, toolbar, status bar, or docking — only the view’s content.

Full shell

new NetBeansRcpBridge() renders the whole platform shell — the main window, menu bar, toolbar, and docked windows — exactly as the desktop application looks.

Single TopComponent

new NetBeansRcpBridge().embedTopComponent("DashboardTopComponent") renders one TopComponent without the platform shell: no menu bar, toolbar, status bar, or docking — only the view’s content.

A single-TopComponent view can also turn an RCP-side window open (such as a grid row double-click that opens a detail view) into Vaadin navigation, with no change to the RCP application. See Embedding Modes.

Multi-Tenancy and Lifecycle

Each Vaadin session that mounts the bridge runs the NetBeans Platform in its own isolated classloader, thread group, and AWT AppContext, with a per-session user directory. Two browser users never share platform state. When a session ends, the embedded tenant is stopped cleanly and its resources are reclaimed. See Multi-Tenancy and Lifecycle.

Topics

Quick Start: Embed a pre-built NetBeans Platform application in a Vaadin view in a few steps.
Embedding Modes: Embed the whole NetBeans Platform shell, a single TopComponent, or drive Vaadin navigation from an RCP action.
Requirements and Configuration: Cluster discovery, the additional JVM flags, and system properties for embedding a NetBeans Platform application.
Multi-Tenancy and Lifecycle: How SwingBridge isolates NetBeans Platform tenants per session, the boot and teardown lifecycle, performance, and known limitations.

Docs