Setup your Development Environment for Rules SDK

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How-to Guide

Author:

Lesley Dean

Changed on:

5 Sept 2025

Key Points

Step-by-step guide to setup Rule SDK in your local Environment.

Steps

Please note

The Rules SDK is a Java and Maven based software development kit.By default, Rules SDK expects JDK 8 and Maven 3.6.3, however later versions may be used by modifying the generated project and environment outlined in the (Optional) Update your Plugin Project for JDK 17+ guide.

Prerequisites

A fully setup and functioning Fluent Account
Java Development Kit (JDK)
Apache Maven
Java IDE (IntelliJ)
GraphQL Plugin for IntelliJ
NodeJS
Postman

Note

All screenshots are from a Mac

Install the Java Development Kit (JDK)

The Rules SDK uses Java 8, however a later version of the JDK can be used. We recommend using JDK 17.

Note

If you are using a JDK later than version 8, make sure to follow the (Optional) Update your Plugin Project for JDK 17+ guide after you have completed Step 2: Create a new Rules Plugin Project.

Follow the installation guide for your operating system:

Tip

If using Mac or Linux, you can use Homebrew to install the JDK: `brew install openjdk@17`

Important: Using a JDK version later than 8?

If you are using a JDK later than version 8, you will need to update a number of `pom.xml` file dependencies and plugins.See the (Optional) Update your Plugin Project for JDK 17+ for details.

Install Apache Maven

The Rules SDK expects Maven version 3.6, however a later version may be used. We recommend using Apache Maven 3.9.2.

Note

We will provide additional steps to ensure your custom Rules plugin works with Maven 3.8+.

Follow the installation guide for your operating system:

Tip

If using Mac or Linux, you can use Homebrew to install Maven: `brew install maven`

Important: Possible Action Required (Only affects SDK Versions prior to sdk-1.2023.8.4)

Prior to Rules SDK v1.2023.8.4, the Rules SDK dependencies reside in a Maven repo hosted on an `http` endpoint.To ensure that the Rules SDK dependencies can be successfully downloaded regardless of the Maven version active on the path, add the following `mirrors` configuration to your local `settings.xml` file:

Unix/Mac OS X – `~/.m2/repository`
Windows – `C:\Users\{your-username}\.m2\repository`

    <mirrors>
       <mirror>
           <id>maven-s3-release-repo-unsecure</id>
           <mirrorOf>maven-s3-release-repo</mirrorOf>
           <url>http://mvnrepo.fluentretail.com.s3-website-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/releases</url>
           <blocked>false</blocked>
       </mirror>
       <mirror>
           <id>maven-s3-release-repo-unsecure</id>
           <mirrorOf>maven-s3-snapshot-repo</mirrorOf>
           <url>http://mvnrepo.fluentretail.com.s3-website-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/snapshots</url>
           <blocked>false</blocked>
       </mirror>
   </mirrors>
For CI/CD pipelines, you may also need to include this settings configuration in your pipeline configuration, and run Maven with the global settings: `mvn --global-settings /path/to/settings.xml clean package`Some additional useful links:

Install a Java IDE (IntelliJ)

Download and install IntelliJ. Community Edition is free.

IntelliJ IDEA

Note

IntelliJ is recommended, however Visual Studio Code can also be used. We recommend installing a GraphQL plugin for VS Code to provide auto-completion and validation.