Install Tomcat on OS X

I need to install a Java Servlet Server on my Macbook, and I could not find a one-click installer for OS X 🙂

Search the internet for finding the shortest way to install it, and take note for myself, maybe someone will also need this and hope it helps.

1. Make sure you have at least Java 1.6. If you’re running Snow Leopard then it is set. Also, open a Terminal.
2. Get the latest Tomcat from Apache Server: Tomcat 7.0
   Download the “tar.gz” under Binary Distribution | Core section,
   In this case, we will have file apache-tomcat-7.0.19.tar.gz
3. Unarchive that tar.gz and keep the folder structure
4. Move the folder to /usr/local, ie:
   sudo mv apache-tomcat-7.0.19 /usr/local
5. Create symbolic link in /Library/Tomcat, so it will be easier when we need to upgrade Tomcat files
   sudo ln -s /usr/local/apache-tomcat-7.0.19 /Library/Tomcat
6. Change ownership to you
   sudo chown -R <username> /Library/Tomcat
7. Change scripts’ mode to executable
   sudo chmod +x /Library/Tomcat/bin/*.sh
8. Go to folder bin, launch startup.sh
   ./startup.sh
9. Launch browser, and go to: http://localhost:8080

To start and stop Tomcat, we can use provided scripts in “bin” folder:

• startup.sh – activate Tomcat
• shutdown.sh – deactivate Tomcat

or we can use Application like Tomcat Controller a Freeware by Activata :