I'm having some trouble finding a config file with classpath. I use : InputStream stream = myclass.class.getResourceAsStream("properties.file"); The properties.file is located under config directory. When running the program with eclipse, it works. I just added config folder in the classpath in the launch configuration. But If I want to run the exported jar like this : java -jar -cp C:\project\lib;C:\project\config myclass.jar I get the oh wonderful java.lang.NullPointerException because it can't find the file. This sounds classic and stupid but I can't find a clue. What does eclipse do that I don't ? Thanks