The core configuration file for the framework is the default (struts.xml) file and should reside on the classpath of the webapp (generally /WEB-INF/classes).

• The default file may include other configuration files as needed.
• A struts-plugin.xml file can be placed in a JAR and automatically plugged into an application, so that modules can be self-contained and automatically configured.
  • In the case of Freemarker and Velocity modules, the templates can also be loaded from the classpath, so the entire module can be plugged in as a single JAR.

FAQ

Can we break up a large struts.xml file into smaller pieces?

Next: struts.xml Examples