# WAR plugin: project layout is missing **URL:** \ **Category:** Help/Discuss\ **Created:** [August 9, 2021, 6:28am UTC](https://discuss.gradle.org/t/war-plugin-project-layout-is-missing/40680 "2021-08-09T06:28:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![NICKSAUNDERS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecc23a/32.png) [@NICKSAUNDERS](https://discuss.gradle.org/u/NICKSAUNDERS)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2021, 6:28am UTC](https://discuss.gradle.org/t/war-plugin-project-layout-is-missing/40680/1 "2021-08-09T06:28:51Z")
how do I get the proper structure for a web app? ```gradle nicholas@mordor:~/NetBeansProjects/make_war$ nicholas@mordor:~/NetBeansProjects/make_war$ pwd /home/nicholas/NetBeansProjects/make_war nicholas@mordor:~/NetBeansProjects/make_war$ nicholas@mordor:~/NetBeansProjects/make_war$ ls nicholas@mordor:~/NetBeansProjects/make_war$ nicholas@mordor:~/NetBeansProjects/make_war$ gradle init Select type of project to generate: 1: basic 2: application 3: library 4: Gradle plugin Enter selection (default: basic) [1..4] 2 Select implementation language: 1: C++ 2: Groovy 3: Java 4: Kotlin 5: Scala 6: Swift Enter selection (default: Java) [1..6] 3 Split functionality across multiple subprojects?: 1: no - only one application project 2: yes - application and library projects Enter selection (default: no - only one application project) [1..2] 1 Select build script DSL: 1: Groovy 2: Kotlin Enter selection (default: Groovy) [1..2] 1 Select test framework: 1: JUnit 4 2: TestNG 3: Spock 4: JUnit Jupiter Enter selection (default: JUnit 4) [1..4] 2 Project name (default: make_war): Source package (default: make_war): > Task :init Get more help with your project: https://docs.gradle.org/7.0.2/samples/sample_building_java_applications.html BUILD SUCCESSFUL in 23s 2 actionable tasks: 2 executed nicholas@mordor:~/NetBeansProjects/make_war$ nicholas@mordor:~/NetBeansProjects/make_war$ tree . ├── app │ ├── build.gradle │ └── src │ ├── main │ │ ├── java │ │ │ └── make_war │ │ │ └── App.java │ │ └── resources │ └── test │ ├── java │ │ └── make_war │ │ └── AppTest.java │ └── resources ├── gradle │ └── wrapper │ ├── gradle-wrapper.jar │ └── gradle-wrapper.properties ├── gradlew ├── gradlew.bat └── settings.gradle 12 directories, 8 files nicholas@mordor:~/NetBeansProjects/make_war$ nicholas@mordor:~/NetBeansProjects/make_war$ nano app/build.gradle nicholas@mordor:~/NetBeansProjects/make_war$ nicholas@mordor:~/NetBeansProjects/make_war$ cat app/build.gradle /* * This file was generated by the Gradle 'init' task. * * This generated file contains a sample Java application project to get you started. * For more details take a look at the 'Building Java & JVM projects' chapter in the Gradle * User Manual available at https://docs.gradle.org/7.0.2/userguide/building_java_projects.html */ plugins { // Apply the application plugin to add support for building a CLI application in Java. id 'application' id 'war' } repositories { // Use Maven Central for resolving dependencies. mavenCentral() } dependencies { // Use TestNG framework, also requires calling test.useTestNG() below testImplementation 'org.testng:testng:7.3.0' // This dependency is used by the application. implementation 'com.google.guava:guava:30.0-jre' } application { // Define the main class for the application. mainClass = 'make_war.App' } tasks.named('test') { // Use TestNG for unit tests. useTestNG() } nicholas@mordor:~/NetBeansProjects/make_war$ nicholas@mordor:~/NetBeansProjects/make_war$ gradle clean war BUILD SUCCESSFUL in 902ms 3 actionable tasks: 3 executed nicholas@mordor:~/NetBeansProjects/make_war$ nicholas@mordor:~/NetBeansProjects/make_war$ tree . ├── app │ ├── build │ │ ├── classes │ │ │ └── java │ │ │ └── main │ │ │ └── make_war │ │ │ └── App.class │ │ ├── generated │ │ │ └── sources │ │ │ ├── annotationProcessor │ │ │ │ └── java │ │ │ │ └── main │ │ │ └── headers │ │ │ └── java │ │ │ └── main │ │ ├── libs │ │ │ └── app.war │ │ └── tmp │ │ ├── compileJava │ │ │ └── source-classes-mapping.txt │ │ └── war │ │ └── MANIFEST.MF │ ├── build.gradle │ └── src │ ├── main │ │ ├── java │ │ │ └── make_war │ │ │ └── App.java │ │ └── resources │ └── test │ ├── java │ │ └── make_war │ │ └── AppTest.java │ └── resources ├── gradle │ └── wrapper │ ├── gradle-wrapper.jar │ └── gradle-wrapper.properties ├── gradlew ├── gradlew.bat └── settings.gradle 29 directories, 12 files nicholas@mordor:~/NetBeansProjects/make_war$ ``` the documentation here: > **[The War Plugin](https://docs.gradle.org/current/userguide/war_plugin.html)** states that: ## [Project layout](https://docs.gradle.org/current/userguide/war_plugin.html#sec:war_project_layout) In addition to the [standard Java project layout](https://docs.gradle.org/current/userguide/java_plugin.html#sec:java_project_layout), the War Plugin adds: `src/main/webapp` Web application sources does it? really? how? ---
**Author:** ![Chris\_Dore](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/gradle/user_avatar/discuss.gradle.org/chris_dore/32/7592_2.png) [@Chris\_Dore](https://discuss.gradle.org/u/Chris_Dore)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2021, 6:53am UTC](https://discuss.gradle.org/t/war-plugin-project-layout-is-missing/40680/2 "2021-08-09T06:53:48Z")
I can see how the text could be misleading. The plugin does not create the directory `src/main/webapp`, you need to do that yourself. The plugin is configured with the [default settings/convention](https://docs.gradle.org/current/userguide/war_plugin.html#sec:war_default_settings) that content located in `/src/main/webapp` is copied into the war file. ---
**Author:** ![NICKSAUNDERS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecc23a/32.png) [@NICKSAUNDERS](https://discuss.gradle.org/u/NICKSAUNDERS)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2021, 5:57pm UTC](https://discuss.gradle.org/t/war-plugin-project-layout-is-missing/40680/3 "2021-08-09T17:57:35Z")
well, okay – can’t see why gradle wouldn’t create that skeleton structure during “init” tho. Good to know. ---
**Author:** ![Chris\_Dore](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/gradle/user_avatar/discuss.gradle.org/chris_dore/32/7592_2.png) [@Chris\_Dore](https://discuss.gradle.org/u/Chris_Dore)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2021, 8:49pm UTC](https://discuss.gradle.org/t/war-plugin-project-layout-is-missing/40680/4 "2021-08-09T20:49:34Z")
The `war` plugin was something extra you added to the project after using `init`, correct? If that’s true then I’m not sure what `init` could have done to anticipate your intentions, or are you suggesting a feature should be added to the `init` task for war support?