What command-line arguments are available for JVM configuration when launching a Java application?

JVM can be configured at startup of a Java application using various command-line arguments that influence the behavior of the virtual machine. Main categories of arguments:

• Memory settings:

  • -Xms<size> — initial heap size, e.g., -Xms512m
  • -Xmx<size> — maximum heap size, e.g., -Xmx1024m
  • -Xss<size> — stack size for each thread

• Garbage collector settings:

  • -XX:+UseG1GC — enable G1 collector
  • -XX:+UseConcMarkSweepGC — enable CMS
  • -XX:+UseParallelGC — enable parallel collector

• Debugging and monitoring:

  • -Xdebug — enable debug mode
  • -Xrunjdwp:transport=dt_socket,server=y,suspend=n,address=5005 — remote debugging setup
  • -XX:+PrintGCDetails — detailed garbage collection info

• Performance tuning:

  • -XX:MaxPermSize=<size> (for older JVM versions) — size of the permanent generation
  • -XX:+UseStringDeduplication — string deduplication (for G1)

• General:

  • -D<name>=<value> — set system properties
  • -verbose:gc — detailed garbage collection output

Example of startup with memory settings and G1 enabled:

java -Xms512m -Xmx2g -XX:+UseG1GC -Dconfig.file=app.properties -jar myapp.jar