38.6 WildFly Application Server

WildFly Overview

WildFly (formerly JBoss Application Server) is developed under the leadership of Red Hat and is an open-source Jakarta EE application server that provides a runtime environment and services for enterprise Java applications.

WildFly supports two running modes: standalone (standalone mode) for single-server deployments, and domain (domain mode) for multi-server centralized management.

Installing the WildFly Application Server

This section describes the practical method for deploying WildFly on FreeBSD.

There are two main ways to install WildFly:

• Install using pkg:

# pkg install wildfly

• Install using Ports:

# cd /usr/ports/java/wildfly/
# make install clean

After installation, you can view the information provided by the package to understand the subsequent configuration steps.

# pkg info -D wildfly

File Structure

/
├── usr
│   └── local
│       └── wildfly
│           ├── bin
│           │   └── add-user.sh                # WildFly user addition script
│           ├── standalone
│           │   └── configuration
│           │       ├── mgmt-users.properties # Standalone mode management user configuration
│           │       └── mgmt-groups.properties # Standalone mode management group configuration
│           └── domain
│               └── configuration
│                   ├── mgmt-users.properties # Domain mode management user configuration
│                   └── mgmt-groups.properties # Domain mode management group configuration
└── var
    └── log
        └── wildfly
            ├── error                             # WildFly error log
            └── log                               # WildFly general log

Configuring the WildFly Application Server

After installation, basic configuration must be completed before use.

Service Startup Configuration

Configure the WildFly service and set the bind address:

# service wildfly enable   # Set WildFly service to start automatically at system boot
# sysrc wildfly_args="-Djboss.bind.address=0.0.0.0 -Djboss.bind.address.management=0.0.0.0"   # Configure WildFly to bind to all network interfaces

Service Startup and Verification

Start the WildFly service:

# service wildfly start

• Open http://127.0.0.1:8080 (also accessible from other devices on the LAN) to verify the service status.

WildFly Service Status

• Execute the WildFly user addition script /usr/local/wildfly/bin/add-user.sh to create an administrator account.

# /usr/local/wildfly/bin/add-user.sh

What type of user do you wish to add?
 a) Management User (mgmt-users.properties)
 b) Application User (application-users.properties)
(a): # Press Enter to select the default option
# Option a is for administrator account, option b is for application user

Enter the details of the new user to add.
Using realm 'ManagementRealm' as discovered from the existing property files.
Username : test # Enter the username to create
Password recommendations are listed below. To modify these restrictions edit the add-user.properties configuration file.
 - The password should be different from the username
# The password must not be the same as the username
 - The password should not be one of the following restricted values {root, admin, administrator}
# The password must not be root, admin, or administrator
 - The password should contain at least 8 characters, 1 alphabetic character(s), 1 digit(s), 1 non-alphanumeric symbol(s)
# The password should contain at least 8 characters, with at least 1 letter, 1 digit, and 1 non-alphanumeric character
Password : # Enter the password for the new user test, requirements as above
Re-enter Password : # Re-enter the password
What groups do you want this user to belong to? (Please enter a comma separated list, or leave blank for none)[  ]: # Press Enter to leave blank, skipping user group assignment
# Which user groups do you want this user to belong to? (Please enter a comma-separated list, or leave blank for none)[  ]:
About to add user 'test' for realm 'ManagementRealm'
# About to add user 'test' for realm 'ManagementRealm'.
Is this correct yes/no? yes # Confirm creation
Added user 'test' to file '/usr/local/wildfly/standalone/configuration/mgmt-users.properties'
Added user 'test' to file '/usr/local/wildfly/domain/configuration/mgmt-users.properties'
Added user 'test' with groups  to file '/usr/local/wildfly/standalone/configuration/mgmt-groups.properties'
Added user 'test' with groups  to file '/usr/local/wildfly/domain/configuration/mgmt-groups.properties'

• Open http://localhost:9990 (also accessible from other devices on the LAN) to log in to the management interface.

WildFly Management Interface

WildFly Management Interface

Troubleshooting and Unfinished Items

If the service fails to start, you can check the error logs through the /var/log/wildfly/error file and the /var/log/wildfly/log file.

References

• WildFly Project. WildFly Documentation[EB/OL]. [2026-04-17]. https://docs.wildfly.org/. Official WildFly documentation, covering Jakarta EE support and configuration guides for various versions.