2048FX

The game 2048 built using JavaFX 26.0.1 and Java 25. This is a Java port based on the JavaScript version: https://github.com/gabrielecirulli/2048.

Check down below for a screenshot.

Quick start

You will need OpenJDK 25 installed to build and run the project. Maven is the build system used by CI; use the included Maven wrapper:

./mvnw javafx:run

Releases

Visit the fx2048 website or download ready-to-run packages for Windows, macOS, and Linux from GitHub Releases. The release workflow builds macOS arm64 DMG, Windows x64 MSI, Linux amd64/arm64 DEB packages, and also publishes a runnable JAR artifact.

Screenshot

Building and running

Run the app:

./mvnw javafx:run

The application is launched with an 8 MB initial heap, maximum 32 MB heap, G1GC, 10-second periodic concurrent collections, a 512 KB thread stack, a 12 MB reserved code cache, and C1-only compilation by default.

Create a distribution to your operating system (Windows, Linux, or Mac OS)

You can create a ZIP file that bundles a custom runtime and the game, or create a native OS package. On macOS, the package is a DMG that opens in Finder for drag-and-drop installation.

To create a ZIP bundle, run:

./mvnw javafx:jlink

To create a native OS package, run:

./mvnw clean package javafx:jlink jpackage:jpackage

Run in a browser with JPro

JPro support is available through the Maven jpro profile for:

• macOS arm64 (jpro-macos-aarch64)
• Linux amd64 (jpro-linux-amd64)
• Linux arm64 (jpro-linux-aarch64)

Windows is intentionally not supported in this JPro setup.

JPro runs the JavaFX application on the server and streams the UI to a browser. This path does not use the desktop AppLauncher, jlink, or jpackage launchers. Instead, the jpro profile points JPro directly at io.github.brunoborges.fx2048.app.Game2048, the class that extends javafx.application.Application, and combines it with a platform profile that selects the JPro-compatible JavaFX native artifacts.

Start JPro in development mode:

./mvnw -Pjpro,jpro-macos-aarch64 jpro:run
# or:
# ./mvnw -Pjpro,jpro-linux-amd64 jpro:run
# ./mvnw -Pjpro,jpro-linux-aarch64 jpro:run

Start JPro in background/server mode:

./mvnw -Pjpro,jpro-macos-aarch64 jpro:restart
# or:
# ./mvnw -Pjpro,jpro-linux-amd64 jpro:restart
# ./mvnw -Pjpro,jpro-linux-aarch64 jpro:restart

Then open:

http://localhost:8080/index.html

The jpro:restart goal writes the server PID to RUNNING_PID. Stop it with:

kill $(cat RUNNING_PID)
rm -f RUNNING_PID

Create a GitHub release

Run the Release workflow manually from main to publish a new version. If pom.xml is at 1.0.2-SNAPSHOT, the workflow prepares and tags v1.0.2, publishes the platform packages, and bumps main to 1.0.3-SNAPSHOT.

Direct v* tag pushes are also supported when the tag points at a commit whose Maven project version exactly matches the tag without the leading v. The same version is shown in the application title/About dialog.

macOS release packages are signed and notarized. Configure these GitHub Actions secrets before running a release:

Secret	Purpose
MACOS_CERTIFICATE_BASE64	Base64-encoded Developer ID Application .p12 certificate
MACOS_CERTIFICATE_PASSWORD	Password for the .p12 certificate
MACOS_SIGNING_KEY_USER_NAME	Developer ID Application signing identity user/team name
APPLE_ID	Apple ID used for notarization
APPLE_TEAM_ID	Apple Developer Team ID
APPLE_APP_SPECIFIC_PASSWORD	App-specific password for notarization

Architecture

2048FX is a modular JavaFX desktop app. The JPMS module is fxgame, with io.github.brunoborges.fx2048.app.AppLauncher as the desktop launcher.

• Game2048 creates the JavaFX Stage, installs the stylesheet, sizes the window, and saves the best score when the app stops.
• GamePane is the root pane. It creates the GameManager, handles resizing, keyboard shortcuts, arrow-key movement, fullscreen, and swipe input.
• GameManager owns the rules, board state, moves, merges, random tile creation, win/game-over checks, undo flow, and animation sequencing.
• Board builds the visible UI, including score, best score, timer, toolbar, overlays, settings, and tile rendering.
• SessionManager, RecordManager, and UserSettings persist sessions, records, and preferences under ${user.home}/.fx2048.

The default board is 6x6. The settings panel supports custom grid sizes from 4x4 to 16x16, auto-save, and animation speed.

Troubleshooting

Problem	Fix
Build fails because of the Java version	Use JDK 25 and make sure JAVA_HOME points to it.
./mvnw is not executable on macOS or Linux	Run chmod +x mvnw, then retry the Maven command.
JavaFX native libraries do not match your OS or CPU	Use the Maven wrapper and avoid overriding javafx.platform; OS-specific Maven profiles select the right JavaFX classifier.
Native packaging fails	Ensure the platform packaging tools are available for your OS, then run ./mvnw clean package javafx:jlink jpackage:jpackage.
The JPro browser profile does not run on Windows	Use macOS arm64, Linux amd64, or Linux arm64; Windows is intentionally not supported for this JPro setup.

Attribution

2048FX is maintained by Bruno Borges. Jose Pereda contributed styling and features to the project.

The game is a JavaFX port based on Gabriele Cirulli's 2048. The bundled Clear Sans font was downloaded from Intel's Clear Sans project and may be used and redistributed under the Apache License 2.0.

Feedback / Contributing / Comments

Submit an issue and share your thoughts.

Running with Java 8

If you want to run with Java 8, you can download the tag java-8. New features in the master branch will not be back-ported.

Star History

License

The project is licensed under GPL 3. See LICENSE file for the full license.