How to Set Up SDF in Eclipse

NetSuite for Developers

Eclipse is a powerful IDE that you can integrate with NetSuite’s SDF (SuiteCloud Development Framework). Join us below for a step-by-step guide in setting up SDF with Eclipse on your computer.

Configuring our computers for use with SDF was something of a challenge for us, even with the documentation provided from NetSuite, but that doesn’t have to be the case for you. Here’s a simple overview of the process (written from a Mac perspective):

Set Up NetSuite

  1. Install the “SuiteCloud Development Integration” bundle
    • This adds an Integration record which you can view under Setup > Integration > Manage Integrations
  2. Enable the authentication tokens feature in NetSuite
    • Navigate to Setup > Company > Enable Features
    • Go to SuiteCloud > Manage Authentication and check the box next to “Token-Based Authentication” if it isn’t checked.
  3. Set up an SDF Developer role in the account you’ll be customizing, and assign the role to your user account.
    • Navigate to Setup > Users/Roles > Manage Roles
    • Find the Developer role and select Customize to create a new Role based off the existing Developer Role.
    • Navigate to your employee record and find the Access tab. Add the new SDF Developer role to your account.
  4. Log in with your SDF Developer role, navigate to your Dashboard and, in the Settings Portlet at the bottom left, select Manage Access Tokens. From here, you can click “New My Access Token” to generate a secret and key for use in Eclipse.

Set Up Your Workstation

  1. Download Eclipse.
    • Some recommend installing an outdated version of Eclipse, but we have not found any significant issues with the latest releases.
  2. Ensure you have some version of Java 8.
    • AdoptOpenJDK is a great, free alternative to Java’s JDK, which requires a commercial license to use as of April 16, 2019. However, if you would like to pay for the official version with updates, it could cost as little as $2.50/user/month.
  3. On my Mac, I needed to follow the advice from a Stack Overflow post to get the Eclipse SDF plugin working correctly. The answer worked perfectly for me—in a nutshell:
    • Locate where Java is installed on your computer. On a Mac, check /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/{your_java_8_jdk}/Contents/Home/bin/java
    • Open the Eclipse “ini” file at /Applications/Eclipse/Contents/Eclipse/eclipse.ini. If you’re using Finder, you can right-click Eclipse and select “Show Package Contents” to get to it.
  4. Install the NetSuite SDF Eclipse Plugin. NetSuite’s intructions are pretty good for this step.
  5. Once have installed the IDE and restarted Eclipse, you should be able to add your account from Eclipse > NetSuite (in the top menu bar) > Manage Accounts. Just log in with your NetSuite username and password and go through the setup.
    • You will be prompted at various times about setting up or entering a Master Password. This is a password you set on your local machine to protect the NetSuite credentials you enter.
  6. After entering your username and password, you’ll need to use the “Save Token” button on your SDF Developer role to ensure proper access to the system.

Why Use Tokens? In the words of Oracle, Token Based Authentication “prevents SDF Developers from getting automatically logged out of their account and their development environment while working with them simultaneously.” Basically, if you use your username/password in Eclipse to push changes, any time it connects and authenticates, your browser session will end. Using tokens allows Eclipse to connect to your NetSuite account to push changes without kicking you out of your session in the browser.

Conclusion

With those steps complete, you’re now ready to begin using SDF. If you have a comment or question, put in a comment below, and we’ll see how we can help. And be sure to subscribe to our email list for the latest help in all things SuiteScript!