Magnolia 6.1 reached end of life on March 31, 2021. This branch is no longer supported, see End-of-life policy.
This page explains the terms webapp and Magnolia bundle, and provides details about the different bundles and webapps Magnolia provides.
What is a webapp?
A Java Web Application (webapp) is a collection of servlets, other Java classes, static resources such as HTML pages, other resources, and meta information that describes the webapp bundled together. You can run a webapp on a servlet container. A Java webapp has a typical structure. It can be packaged as a WAR file. A webapp usually contains already packed portions called libraries or modules as JAR files.
What is a Magnolia bundle?
A Magnolia bundle is a set of modules that are built together in a functional block with a servlet container. Typically a Magnolia bundle consists of:
- An Apache Tomcat servlet container.
- Two Magnolia webapps.
- Magnolia specific shell scripts to start and stop Tomcat.
When the setup and installation is finished, Tomcat hosts these two webapps:
magnoliaAuthor- The author context to administer the Magnolia installations and content.magnoliaPublic- The public context that serves content for website visitors and other content consumers.
Both webapps contain exactly the same modules; they only differ in terms of configuration. Before Tomcat is started the first time, the bundle contains only one complete webapp (magnoliaAuthor) that is then partially copied to create the second webapp (magnoliaPublic).
Magnolia bundles and webapps
Magnolia provides a set of different preconfigured bundles and webapps you can use for different purposes and that run with different licenses (Community Edition, DX Core, Cloud).
Choosing the right bundle or webapp
In the table below you find download links for a limited number of pre-configured bundles including Tomcat, and several different webapps.
If you are using Magnolia CLI jumpstart, you can choose and adapt your webapp. This means you can create a Tomcat bundle with the webapp of your choice using CLI.
With or without Tomcat
Some of the bundles include Apache Tomcat, other bundles are stand-alone Java web applications. If you choose a Tomcat bundle, you get a pre-configured and optimized set up that is installed with a few clicks and up and running in minutes.
- Tomcat bundle – Ideal if you are evaluating the product or starting development on a project.
Stand-alone webapp – Ideal if you want to use your existing servlet container or application server. Check the list of supported application servers if you prefer a specific vendor. Magnolia provides preconfigured webapp bundles for IBM WebSphere and Oracle WebLogic.
Stand-alone Tomcat – A pre-configured Apache Tomcat servlet container ready to be used with any Magnolia webapp.
We always try to deliver the latest Tomcat version in our bundles, but we encourage you to check for latest and most secure available Tomcat when preparing production deployment, since whatever is in the bundle might not be latest release around at that time anymore.
Differentiation by license
Magnolia CMS is available as Community Edition (CE) or DX Core. A CE based webapp contains many useful modules suitable for many purposes. DX Core-based webapps provide additional enterprise features. You may also want to check the List of modules for module availability in the different versions.
Magnolia DX Core cannot be started without a license key.
Magnolia Cloud provides DX Core features and more and also requires a license. A specific Cloud webapp is available for Partners implementing a cloud solution for our customers.
With or without a demo project
- The Travel demo is the standard demo.
- We provide webapps with or without the demo project.
- We have stopped creating webapps and bundles with the STK.
Custom bundles
While the bundles provided by Magnolia fit well for many use cases, you may want to build your own custom bundle. Many developers start a Magnolia project using an existing bundle as a basis, but it often contains more modules than you actually need. A small, targeted bundle makes building and deploying faster. In this case, starting with the empty webapp may be the best choice for your project.
For more information about creating and adapting custom bundles, read creating a custom webapp with Maven or how to get and adapt a bundle with Magnolia CLI.
If you are a Magnolia Cloud Partner, you should use dx-core-cloud-webapp when creating a custom cloud bundle for a customer.
List of preconfigured Magnolia bundles
Magnolia provides the following stand-alone, pre-configured Apache Tomcat server that does not include a webapp:
| Artifact | Download | Usage / purpose |
|---|---|---|
| A preconfigured Tomcat server ready to be used with any Magnolia webapp. |
Magnolia provides the following webapps and bundles.
To get the complete list of the modules in each webapp or bundle, look at the corresponding pom file of the bundle or see Supported modules in the cloud.
| Artifact name | Download | Usage | Travel demo |
|---|---|---|---|
| DX Core | |||
| This is the DX Core webapp for projects.
|  | |
dx-core-demo-webapp | DX Core webapp plus the travel demo for evaluation purposes.
|  | |
| Webapp tuned for Weblogic. | | |
| Webapp tuned for Websphere.
| | |
dx-core-wildfly-webapp | Webapp tuned for Wildfly. | | |
dx-core-cloud-webapp | Mostly for internal and partner cloud Magnolia usage.
| | |
| Community Edition | |||
| This is the most basic Magnolia webapp. Use this as a basis for your custom webapp. | | |
| Complete Magnolia Community Edition webapp for community projects. | | |
| Community Edition webapp plus the travel demo for evaluation purposes. | | |
magnolia-community-demo-bundle |
| | |
Does not include workflow modules.Overview
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