OpenMRS Standalone

OpenMRS Standalone provides a simplified, all-inclusive installation option with both an embedded database and web server. You can have a local copy of OpenMRS running within minutes: simply download and expand the archive, and then run the extracted openmrs-standalone.jar file. Your browser will open a new instance of the OpenMRS system. For the OpenMRS Standalone -Reference Application 2.10.0 edition, the default username is "admin" and the default password is "Admin123". And for the OpenMRS Standalone - Platform 2.3.0 edition, the default username is "admin" and the default password is "test". OpenMRS Standalone is a great way to evaluate and explore OpenMRS capabilities. It may also be useful for small-scale production environments. At this time we are still developing operational experience with the standalone in production environments.

Installation

If you have no prior development experience there is a "For Dummies" version of the installation instructions (see child page), else continue with the instructions below

Step 1

Download and unzip the standalone file

Step 2

Just double click on the openmrs-standalone.jar file in that folder, or execute it as below:

OpenMRS will install itself the first time it is run.  The installer will offer an option to install demo data (demo concepts and/or patient data). 

See below for a list of command line options.

GUI Mode Options

Command Line Mode Options

Authentication Information

After running the standalone jar, it will take you to the OpenMRS log in web page where you can log in with the following default username and password:

OpenMRS username: admin

OpenMRS password: Admin123 or test

The MySQL database has these credentials by default:

MySQL username: openmrs

MySQL password: randomly generated at initial startup. Look in openmrs-runtime.properties file under connection.password

How to connect to the MySQL database

Go to the extracted standalone folder and copy the password from the openmrs-runtime.propertiesfile. Then go to the database/bin folder and execute this at the commandline:

That will prompt you for a password which you copied from the openmrs-runtime.propertiesfile.

If you are using graphical tools like Navicat and others, just create a new connection and enter the appropriate properties of username, password, port, etc as in the run-time properties file.

If running windows, then you can change the above command to: mysql.exe -u openmrs -p

If you are running multiple instances locally and want to specify a port, you can use something like this:

How to change the embedded Tomcat memory

You can override the default tomcat memory by changing these values in the "vm_arguments" run-time properties file property as below:

vm_arguments=-Xmx512m -Xms512m -XX:PermSize=256m -XX:MaxPermSize=256m -XX:NewSize=128m

How to run the embedded Tomcat in debug mode

You can run the embedded tomcat in debug mode by appending values to the "vm_arguments" run-time properties file property as below:
vm_arguments=-Xdebug -Xnoagent -Xrunjdwp:transport=dt_socket,server=y,suspend=n,address=5000

After starting the standalone with those vm arguments, if you are using an IDE like eclipse,

Go to "Run->Debug Configurations...". Click on "Remote Java Applications", then click "New". Type in the title. Set the port as 5000 and click the Debug button. Feel free to change the port to any other value.

How to upgrade OpenMRS in a Standalone

See Upgrading OpenMRS

How to profile with YourKit

You can profile the standalone with YourKit by appending values to the "vm_arguments" run-time properties file property as below:
vm_arguments=-agentpath:<full agent library path>

This is an example:  vm_arguments = -agentpath:/Projects/YourKit_Java_Profiler_11.0.8.app/bin/mac/libyjpagent.jnilib

You can get details of the vm arguments from: http://www.yourkit.com/docs/10/help/agent.jsp

Tips

• If you already have an installed instance of OpenMRS and do not want the standalone one to use the same database, you need to do three things:

  1. In the standalone extracted folder, rename the openmrs.war file in  "tomcat/webapps" to something different. e.g  openmrs-1.7.war, openmrs-1.8-beta.war, openmrs-1.8.war, etc.

  2. In the standalone extracted folder, rename the run time properties file to a name corresponding to the one you have given the war file. e.g the above three examples would have the following respective run time properties file names: openmrs-1.7-runtime.properties, openmrs-1.8-beta-runtime.properties, openmrs-1.8-runtime.properties

  3. Finally delete the openmrs folder (which was expanded from the war file) from the "tomcat/webapps" directory.

• If you try connecting to the MySQL server from commandline and get this error message: "ERROR 2002 (HY000): Can't connect to local MySQL server through socket '/tmp/mysql.sock' (2)":

  • Add this "&server.socket=/tmp/openmrs.sock" (without the double quotes) at the end of the value in the connection.url key of the runtime properties file, and then restart the standalone application. If after doing that, you still get the same error message, then on your command line, add this: --socket=/tmp/openmrs.sock

  • Then you can connect with something like: ./mysql -u openmrs -p --socket=/tmp/openmrs.sock

• If you have any server-side parameter that you want to add or used to add in the my.cnf file, simply add it to the connection.url in the runtime properties file in this format: &server.parametername=value.

  • For instance, if you wanted something like: max_allowed_packet=32M, you would add it as:  &server.max_allowed_packet=32M

• If you choose Expert Mode on the first time standalone screen, you will go through the database setup wizard where you will enter the mysql user name as openmrs and the password should be copied from the runtime properties file under a key named: connection.password

Frequently Asked Questions

Visit our Standalone FAQ section for a detailed FAQ list. 

Known Issues

Request New Feature or Report Bug

Please create a ticket in our issue tracker under the "OpenMRS Standalone" project.

Technical Documentation

The standalone is an executable jar. Inside the jar is a Java embedded MySQL jar and an embedded Tomcat jar. (TODO, add links to mysql and tomcat pages) The Tomcat home folder is the directory where you unzipped the standalone. The tomcathome/webapps already has the openmrs war file inside of it, ready to be run. When you execute the standalone jar, MySQL and Tomcat are started on open ports. Because the openmrs war file is in the tomcat webapps directory, it starts automatically.

Code for the standalone can be found in git: https://github.com/openmrs/openmrs-standalone

See the readme.txt file in the openmrs standalone code for instructions on how to build, package, and release the standalone application.

OpenMRS Standalone provides a simplified, all-inclusive installation option with both an embedded database and web server. You can have a local copy of OpenMRS running within minutes: simply download and expand the archive, and then run the extracted openmrs-standalone.jar file. Your browser will open a new instance of the OpenMRS system. The default username is "admin" and the default password is "Admin123".

OpenMRS Standalone is a great way to evaluate and explore OpenMRS capabilities. It may also be useful for small-scale production environments. At this time we are still developing operational experience with the standalone in production environments.