Symptoms

Attempting to start the JIRA applications configuration tool in Linux fails with the following error in the shell:

jira@server:~/bin$ ./config.sh
Exception in thread "main" java.awt.HeadlessException:
No X11 DISPLAY variable was set, but this program performed an operation which requires it.
        at java.awt.GraphicsEnvironment.checkHeadless(GraphicsEnvironment.java:159)
        at java.awt.Window.<init>(Window.java:431)
        at java.awt.Frame.<init>(Frame.java:403)
        at java.awt.Frame.<init>(Frame.java:368)
        at javax.swing.JFrame.<init>(JFrame.java:163)
        at com.atlassian.jira.configurator.gui.ConfiguratorFrame.<init>(ConfiguratorFrame.java:45)
        at com.atlassian.jira.configurator.Configurator.startGui(Configurator.java:54)
        at com.atlassian.jira.configurator.Configurator.main(Configurator.java:41)

Diagnosis

Linux is being run on a headless Linux server (it has no monitor) and accessed remotely.

Cause

The JIRA applications configuration tool requires the X11 Window System to display its GUI. As the Linux system is running in headless, X11 is not available when connecting remotely.

Resolution

Enable X11 forwarding when connecting to the Linux server - this will allow the config tool to appear on the computer that is connecting to the server. This can be done with the following:

1. Remotely connect using the below flag with SSH:

   ssh -X jira@server

2. Run the JIRA application configuration tool, as in Using the JIRA application configuration tool.