# Web archive (WAR) files

A Web application is a group of HTML pages, JSP pages, servlets, resources and source file, which can be managed as a single unit. A Web archive (WAR) file is a packaged Web application. WAR files can be used to import a Web application into a Web server.

In addition to project resources, the WAR file includes a Web deployment descriptor file. The Web deployment descriptor is an XML file that contains deployment information, MIME types, session configuration details, and other settings for a Web application. The Web deployment descriptor file (web.xml) provides information about the WAR file is shared with the developers, assemblers, and deployers in a Java EE environment.

The Web development environment provides facilities for importing and exporting WAR files, using the following wizards:

- Import Resources from a WAR File, which requires that you to specify a Web project. You can use existing projects or create them as you use the wizard.
- Export Resources to a WAR File, which requires only an export location and some optional settings

Related concepts
Web resources
Related tasks
Importing Web archive (WAR) files
Exporting Web Archive (WAR) files