# Copy issue from subproject

**URL:** <https://discuss.gradle.org/t/copy-issue-from-subproject/47129>\
**Category:** Help/Discuss\
**Created:** [December 1, 2023, 2:59pm UTC](https://discuss.gradle.org/t/copy-issue-from-subproject/47129 "2023-12-01T14:59:36Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![maverick67](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/gradle/user_avatar/discuss.gradle.org/maverick67/32/70_2.png) [@maverick67](https://discuss.gradle.org/u/maverick67)\
**Post date:** [December 1, 2023, 2:59pm UTC](https://discuss.gradle.org/t/copy-issue-from-subproject/47129/1 "2023-12-01T14:59:36Z")

</div>

Hi, I have a multi-project build (that creates an EAR file) and i’m having an issue when trying to build.

I have a tasks that creates an “uber” ejb jar file from subprojects that looks something like:

```gradle
tasks.register<Jar>("all-ejbs") {
    archiveFileName = "all-ejbs.jar"

    metaInf {
        from(project(":subproject:ejbProject1").configurations.archives.get().allArtifacts.files.map { zipTree(it) }) {
            include("META-INF/**")
        }
    }
}

```

along with other things. Then in the `dependencies` block:

```gradle
dependencies {
    deploy(tasks.getByName("all-ejbs").outputs.files)
}

```

When i run the `ear` task, i get the following error:  
`> Configuration with name 'archives' not found.`

If i remove the `deploy` line and just run the `all-ejbs` task, it works.

Any ideas? Thanks.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Vampire](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/gradle/user_avatar/discuss.gradle.org/vampire/32/9082_2.png) [@Vampire](https://discuss.gradle.org/u/Vampire)\
**Post date:** [December 1, 2023, 3:10pm UTC](https://discuss.gradle.org/t/copy-issue-from-subproject/47129/2 "2023-12-01T15:10:10Z")

</div>

You should definitely not reach into other projects like that and especially do not try to get artifacts out that way. That is highly fragile and unsafe even if you would get it to work.

Please have a look at [Sharing outputs between projects](https://docs.gradle.org/current/userguide/cross_project_publications.html) on how to properly share outputs between projects of a multi-project build.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![maverick67](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/gradle/user_avatar/discuss.gradle.org/maverick67/32/70_2.png) [@maverick67](https://discuss.gradle.org/u/maverick67)\
**Post date:** [December 1, 2023, 4:11pm UTC](https://discuss.gradle.org/t/copy-issue-from-subproject/47129/3 "2023-12-01T16:11:26Z")

</div>

ok, gotcha (i think). so if i did something like:

```gradle
val allEjbs by configurations.creating {
    isTransitive = false
}

```

then

```gradle
dependencies {
    allEjbs(project(":subproject:ejbProject1"))
    allEjbs(project(":subproject:ejbProject2"))

    deploy(tasks.getByName("all-ejbs").outputs.files)
}

```

i’m not sure how to do something like:

```gradle
tasks.register<Jar>("all-ejbs") {
    archiveFileName = "all-ejbs.jar"

    metaInf {
        allEjbs.allDependencies.withType<ProjectDependency>().forEach {
            when (it.name) {
                "ejbProject1" -> {
                    from(???) {
                        include("META-INF/**")
                    }
                }
                "ejbProject2" -> {
                    from(???) {
                        include("META-INF/*.xml")
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

```

what would i replace “???” with

I found i could do something like:

```gradle
from(allEjbs.map {zipTree(it)}) {
    include("META-INF/**")
}

```

but i need to copy specific things from each project

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Vampire](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/gradle/user_avatar/discuss.gradle.org/vampire/32/9082_2.png) [@Vampire](https://discuss.gradle.org/u/Vampire)\
**Post date:** [December 1, 2023, 5:13pm UTC](https://discuss.gradle.org/t/copy-issue-from-subproject/47129/4 "2023-12-01T17:13:29Z")

</div>

No, don’t try to use `allEjbs.allDependencies`. Just use `allEjbs.files` to get the files you depended on. And you also have to make sure it is recognized as input of the task so that you get the necessary task dependencies.

And I also don’t think `deploy(tasks.getByName("all-ejbs").outputs.files)` is a good idea either. You probably instead want to do `ear { lib { from(allEjbs) } }` to get just get the ejbs as libs into your ear. Is there a particular reason why you want to build a fat jar, instead of just using the jars as they are and how it is intended? Or even better just throw all that away and just declare the dependencies for the `earlib` configuration which then makes them packaged properly?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![maverick67](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/gradle/user_avatar/discuss.gradle.org/maverick67/32/70_2.png) [@maverick67](https://discuss.gradle.org/u/maverick67)\
**Post date:** [December 1, 2023, 6:04pm UTC](https://discuss.gradle.org/t/copy-issue-from-subproject/47129/5 "2023-12-01T18:04:41Z")

</div>

Unfortunately, it is a requirement that i can’t get around. This is a migration of an old (large) build that used ant and shell scripts to build. At some point 15-20 years ago, someone thought it was a good idea and a lot of code (like jndi lookups) seem to depend on this structure. ☹