The ant command returns only java help-text

Question

What can I do?

When I type 'ant' or 'ant -version' the terminal only shows java help (like 'java -h').

Is there any way to fix this issue?

EDIT: here's the terminal-log:

sebastian@sebastian-virtual-machine:~$ ant
Usage: java [options] <mainclass> [args...]
           (to execute a class)
   or  java [options] -jar <jarfile> [args...]
           (to execute a jar file)
   or  java [options] -m <module>[/<mainclass>] [args...]
       java [options] --module <module>[/<mainclass>] [args...]
           (to execute the main class in a module)

 Arguments following the main class, -jar <jarfile>, -m or --module
 <module>/<mainclass> are passed as the arguments to main class.

 where options include:

    -zero     to select the "zero" VM
    -cp <class search path of directories and zip/jar files>
    -classpath <class search path of directories and zip/jar files>
    --class-path <class search path of directories and zip/jar files>
                  A : separated list of directories, JAR archives,
                  and ZIP archives to search for class files.
    -p <module path>
    --module-path <module path>...
                  A : separated list of directories, each directory
                  is a directory of modules.
    --upgrade-module-path <module path>...
                  A : separated list of directories, each directory
                  is a directory of modules that replace upgradeable
                  modules in the runtime image
    --add-modules <module name>[,<module name>...]
                  root modules to resolve in addition to the initial module.
                  <module name> can also be ALL-DEFAULT, ALL-SYSTEM,
                  ALL-MODULE-PATH.
    --list-modules
                  list observable modules and exit
    -d <module name>
    --describe-module <module name>
                  describe a module and exit
    --dry-run     create VM and load main class but do not execute main method.
                  The --dry-run option may be useful for validating the
                  command-line options such as the module system configuration.
    --validate-modules
                  validate all modules and exit
                  The --validate-modules option may be useful for finding
                  conflicts and other errors with modules on the module path.
    -D<name>=<value>
                  set a system property
    -verbose:[class|module|gc|jni]
                  enable verbose output
    -version      print product version to the error stream and exit
    --version     print product version to the output stream and exit
    -showversion  print product version to the error stream and continue
    --show-version
                  print product version to the output stream and continue
    --show-module-resolution
                  show module resolution output during startup
    -? -h -help
                  print this help message to the error stream
    --help        print this help message to the output stream
    -X            print help on extra options to the error stream
    --help-extra  print help on extra options to the output stream
    -ea[:<packagename>...|:<classname>]
    -enableassertions[:<packagename>...|:<classname>]
                  enable assertions with specified granularity
    -da[:<packagename>...|:<classname>]
    -disableassertions[:<packagename>...|:<classname>]
                  disable assertions with specified granularity
    -esa | -enablesystemassertions
                  enable system assertions
    -dsa | -disablesystemassertions
                  disable system assertions
    -agentlib:<libname>[=<options>]
                  load native agent library <libname>, e.g. -agentlib:jdwp
                  see also -agentlib:jdwp=help
    -agentpath:<pathname>[=<options>]
                  load native agent library by full pathname
    -javaagent:<jarpath>[=<options>]
                  load Java programming language agent, see java.lang.instrument
    -splash:<imagepath>
                  show splash screen with specified image
                  HiDPI scaled images are automatically supported and used
                  if available. The unscaled image filename, e.g. image.ext,
                  should always be passed as the argument to the -splash option.
                  The most appropriate scaled image provided will be picked up
                  automatically.
                  See the SplashScreen API documentation for more information
    @argument files
                  one or more argument files containing options
    -disable-@files
                  prevent further argument file expansion
To specify an argument for a long option, you can use --<name>=<value> or
--<name> <value>.

sebastian@sebastian-virtual-machine:~$ java
Usage: java [options] <mainclass> [args...]
           (to execute a class)
   or  java [options] -jar <jarfile> [args...]
           (to execute a jar file)
   or  java [options] -m <module>[/<mainclass>] [args...]
       java [options] --module <module>[/<mainclass>] [args...]
           (to execute the main class in a module)

 Arguments following the main class, -jar <jarfile>, -m or --module
 <module>/<mainclass> are passed as the arguments to main class.

 where options include:

    -zero     to select the "zero" VM
    -cp <class search path of directories and zip/jar files>
    -classpath <class search path of directories and zip/jar files>
    --class-path <class search path of directories and zip/jar files>
                  A : separated list of directories, JAR archives,
                  and ZIP archives to search for class files.
    -p <module path>
    --module-path <module path>...
                  A : separated list of directories, each directory
                  is a directory of modules.
    --upgrade-module-path <module path>...
                  A : separated list of directories, each directory
                  is a directory of modules that replace upgradeable
                  modules in the runtime image
    --add-modules <module name>[,<module name>...]
                  root modules to resolve in addition to the initial module.
                  <module name> can also be ALL-DEFAULT, ALL-SYSTEM,
                  ALL-MODULE-PATH.
    --list-modules
                  list observable modules and exit
    -d <module name>
    --describe-module <module name>
                  describe a module and exit
    --dry-run     create VM and load main class but do not execute main method.
                  The --dry-run option may be useful for validating the
                  command-line options such as the module system configuration.
    --validate-modules
                  validate all modules and exit
                  The --validate-modules option may be useful for finding
                  conflicts and other errors with modules on the module path.
    -D<name>=<value>
                  set a system property
    -verbose:[class|module|gc|jni]
                  enable verbose output
    -version      print product version to the error stream and exit
    --version     print product version to the output stream and exit
    -showversion  print product version to the error stream and continue
    --show-version
                  print product version to the output stream and continue
    --show-module-resolution
                  show module resolution output during startup
    -? -h -help
                  print this help message to the error stream
    --help        print this help message to the output stream
    -X            print help on extra options to the error stream
    --help-extra  print help on extra options to the output stream
    -ea[:<packagename>...|:<classname>]
    -enableassertions[:<packagename>...|:<classname>]
                  enable assertions with specified granularity
    -da[:<packagename>...|:<classname>]
    -disableassertions[:<packagename>...|:<classname>]
                  disable assertions with specified granularity
    -esa | -enablesystemassertions
                  enable system assertions
    -dsa | -disablesystemassertions
                  disable system assertions
    -agentlib:<libname>[=<options>]
                  load native agent library <libname>, e.g. -agentlib:jdwp
                  see also -agentlib:jdwp=help
    -agentpath:<pathname>[=<options>]
                  load native agent library by full pathname
    -javaagent:<jarpath>[=<options>]
                  load Java programming language agent, see java.lang.instrument
    -splash:<imagepath>
                  show splash screen with specified image
                  HiDPI scaled images are automatically supported and used
                  if available. The unscaled image filename, e.g. image.ext,
                  should always be passed as the argument to the -splash option.
                  The most appropriate scaled image provided will be picked up
                  automatically.
                  See the SplashScreen API documentation for more information
    @argument files
                  one or more argument files containing options
    -disable-@files
                  prevent further argument file expansion
To specify an argument for a long option, you can use --<name>=<value> or
--<name> <value>.

sebastian@sebastian-virtual-machine:~$ 

@StephenC Thank for your help, if im running 'sudo ant' it's working, but if i run it with the user it prints out 'java -h'.

Is there any way to fix this issue?

See terminal-log:

sebastian@sebastian-virtual-machine:/usr/share/ant/bin$ sudo ant
Buildfile: build.xml does not exist!
Build failed
sebastian@sebastian-virtual-machine:/usr/share/ant/bin$ sudo ant -version
Apache Ant(TM) version 1.10.3 compiled on March 29 2018
sebastian@sebastian-virtual-machine:/usr/share/ant/bin$ ant -version
Usage: java [options] <mainclass> [args...]
           (to execute a class)
   or  java [options] -jar <jarfile> [args...]
           (to execute a jar file)
   or  java [options] -m <module>[/<mainclass>] [args...]
       java [options] --module <module>[/<mainclass>] [args...]
           (to execute the main class in a module)

 Arguments following the main class, -jar <jarfile>, -m or --module
 <module>/<mainclass> are passed as the arguments to main class.

 where options include:

    -zero     to select the "zero" VM
    -cp <class search path of directories and zip/jar files>
    -classpath <class search path of directories and zip/jar files>
    --class-path <class search path of directories and zip/jar files>
                  A : separated list of directories, JAR archives,
                  and ZIP archives to search for class files.
    -p <module path>
    --module-path <module path>...
                  A : separated list of directories, each directory
                  is a directory of modules.
    --upgrade-module-path <module path>...
                  A : separated list of directories, each directory
                  is a directory of modules that replace upgradeable
                  modules in the runtime image
    --add-modules <module name>[,<module name>...]
                  root modules to resolve in addition to the initial module.
                  <module name> can also be ALL-DEFAULT, ALL-SYSTEM,
                  ALL-MODULE-PATH.
    --list-modules
                  list observable modules and exit
    -d <module name>
    --describe-module <module name>
                  describe a module and exit
    --dry-run     create VM and load main class but do not execute main method.
                  The --dry-run option may be useful for validating the
                  command-line options such as the module system configuration.
    --validate-modules
                  validate all modules and exit
                  The --validate-modules option may be useful for finding
                  conflicts and other errors with modules on the module path.
    -D<name>=<value>
                  set a system property
    -verbose:[class|module|gc|jni]
                  enable verbose output
    -version      print product version to the error stream and exit
    --version     print product version to the output stream and exit
    -showversion  print product version to the error stream and continue
    --show-version
                  print product version to the output stream and continue
    --show-module-resolution
                  show module resolution output during startup
    -? -h -help
                  print this help message to the error stream
    --help        print this help message to the output stream
    -X            print help on extra options to the error stream
    --help-extra  print help on extra options to the output stream
    -ea[:<packagename>...|:<classname>]
    -enableassertions[:<packagename>...|:<classname>]
                  enable assertions with specified granularity
    -da[:<packagename>...|:<classname>]
    -disableassertions[:<packagename>...|:<classname>]
                  disable assertions with specified granularity
    -esa | -enablesystemassertions
                  enable system assertions
    -dsa | -disablesystemassertions
                  disable system assertions
    -agentlib:<libname>[=<options>]
                  load native agent library <libname>, e.g. -agentlib:jdwp
                  see also -agentlib:jdwp=help
    -agentpath:<pathname>[=<options>]
                  load native agent library by full pathname
    -javaagent:<jarpath>[=<options>]
                  load Java programming language agent, see java.lang.instrument
    -splash:<imagepath>
                  show splash screen with specified image
                  HiDPI scaled images are automatically supported and used
                  if available. The unscaled image filename, e.g. image.ext,
                  should always be passed as the argument to the -splash option.
                  The most appropriate scaled image provided will be picked up
                  automatically.
                  See the SplashScreen API documentation for more information
    @argument files
                  one or more argument files containing options
    -disable-@files
                  prevent further argument file expansion
To specify an argument for a long option, you can use --<name>=<value> or
--<name> <value>.

sebastian@sebastian-virtual-machine:/usr/share/ant/bin$ 

Answer 1

The evidence is that /usr/bin/ant has somehow gotten hard-linked or symlinked or aliased to the java command.

On Linux, the ant command is a shell script, and the (real) java command is a native code executable. So try the following:

$ type ant
$ file `which ant`

If it shows as a ELF binary, use Linux commands to compare the executable with the java executable.

If it shows as a shell script, you should first less it to see if it is the right script. Then you could tweak the script (e.g. by temporarily adding set -x to it) to see what it is actually doing when you run ant -version.

The type ant should also tell you if ant is a shell function or alias.

But the bottom line is that something on your system or your shell environment is a bit borked.

Answer 2

Check to see if you have a default task in Ant's build.xml, that runs or chains to the java command.

Sometimes this default task attempts to find stuff in the environment, or on the disk, to "configure" the would-be java command.

For example a call to

java ${something}

reduces to

java

when the ${something} evaulates to "".

If this Ant file has been moved around, often it won't find the configuration, and the java command will be launched as a bare java call, invoking the help output.