Maven Build Lifecycle

Master Maven's build lifecycle including phases, goals, profiles, and build customization for efficient Java project builds.

Overview

Maven's build lifecycle is a well-defined sequence of phases that execute in order. Understanding the lifecycle is essential for effective build configuration and optimization.

Default Lifecycle Phases

Complete Phase Order

1.  validate      - Validate project structure
2.  initialize    - Initialize build state
3.  generate-sources
4.  process-sources
5.  generate-resources
6.  process-resources - Copy resources to output
7.  compile       - Compile source code
8.  process-classes
9.  generate-test-sources
10. process-test-sources
11. generate-test-resources
12. process-test-resources
13. test-compile  - Compile test sources
14. process-test-classes
15. test          - Run unit tests
16. prepare-package
17. package       - Create JAR/WAR
18. pre-integration-test
19. integration-test - Run integration tests
20. post-integration-test
21. verify        - Run verification checks
22. install       - Install to local repo
23. deploy        - Deploy to remote repo

Common Phase Commands

bash

# Compile only
mvn compile

# Compile and run tests
mvn test

# Create package
mvn package

# Install to local repository
mvn install

# Deploy to remote repository
mvn deploy

# Clean and build
mvn clean install

# Skip tests
mvn install -DskipTests

# Skip test compilation and execution
mvn install -Dmaven.test.skip=true

Clean Lifecycle

1. pre-clean
2. clean         - Delete target directory
3. post-clean

bash

# Clean build artifacts
mvn clean

# Clean specific directory
mvn clean -DbuildDirectory=out

Site Lifecycle

1. pre-site
2. site          - Generate documentation
3. post-site
4. site-deploy   - Deploy documentation

bash

# Generate site
mvn site

# Generate and deploy site
mvn site-deploy

Goals vs Phases

Executing Phases

bash

# Execute phase (runs all previous phases)
mvn package

Executing Goals

bash

# Execute specific goal
mvn compiler:compile
mvn surefire:test
mvn jar:jar

# Multiple goals
mvn dependency:tree compiler:compile

Phase-to-Goal Bindings

xml

<build>
    <plugins>
        <plugin>
            <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
            <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
            <version>3.12.1</version>
            <executions>
                <execution>
                    <id>compile-sources</id>
                    <phase>compile</phase>
                    <goals>
                        <goal>compile</goal>
                    </goals>
                </execution>
            </executions>
        </plugin>
    </plugins>
</build>

Build Profiles

Profile Definition

xml

<profiles>
    <profile>
        <id>development</id>
        <activation>
            <activeByDefault>true</activeByDefault>
        </activation>
        <properties>
            <env>dev</env>
            <skip.integration.tests>true</skip.integration.tests>
        </properties>
    </profile>

    <profile>
        <id>production</id>
        <properties>
            <env>prod</env>
            <skip.integration.tests>false</skip.integration.tests>
        </properties>
        <build>
            <plugins>
                <plugin>
                    <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                    <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
                    <configuration>
                        <debug>false</debug>
                        <optimize>true</optimize>
                    </configuration>
                </plugin>
            </plugins>
        </build>
    </profile>
</profiles>

Profile Activation

bash

# Activate by name
mvn install -Pproduction

# Multiple profiles
mvn install -Pproduction,ci

# Deactivate profile
mvn install -P!development

Activation Triggers

xml

<profile>
    <id>jdk17</id>
    <activation>
        <!-- Activate by JDK version -->
        <jdk>17</jdk>
    </activation>
</profile>

<profile>
    <id>windows</id>
    <activation>
        <!-- Activate by OS -->
        <os>
            <family>windows</family>
        </os>
    </activation>
</profile>

<profile>
    <id>ci</id>
    <activation>
        <!-- Activate by environment variable -->
        <property>
            <name>env.CI</name>
            <value>true</value>
        </property>
    </activation>
</profile>

<profile>
    <id>with-config</id>
    <activation>
        <!-- Activate by file existence -->
        <file>
            <exists>src/main/config/app.properties</exists>
        </file>
    </activation>
</profile>

Resource Filtering

Enable Filtering

xml

<build>
    <resources>
        <resource>
            <directory>src/main/resources</directory>
            <filtering>true</filtering>
            <includes>
                <include>**/*.properties</include>
                <include>**/*.xml</include>
            </includes>
        </resource>
        <resource>
            <directory>src/main/resources</directory>
            <filtering>false</filtering>
            <excludes>
                <exclude>**/*.properties</exclude>
                <exclude>**/*.xml</exclude>
            </excludes>
        </resource>
    </resources>
</build>

Property Substitution

properties

# application.properties
app.name=${project.name}
app.version=${project.version}
app.environment=${env}
build.timestamp=${maven.build.timestamp}

Build Customization

Source and Target Configuration

xml

<properties>
    <maven.compiler.source>17</maven.compiler.source>
    <maven.compiler.target>17</maven.compiler.target>
    <maven.compiler.release>17</maven.compiler.release>
    <project.build.sourceEncoding>UTF-8</project.build.sourceEncoding>
</properties>

Custom Source Directories

xml

<build>
    <sourceDirectory>src/main/java</sourceDirectory>
    <testSourceDirectory>src/test/java</testSourceDirectory>
    <resources>
        <resource>
            <directory>src/main/resources</directory>
        </resource>
    </resources>
    <testResources>
        <testResource>
            <directory>src/test/resources</directory>
        </testResource>
    </testResources>
</build>

Final Name and Output

xml

<build>
    <finalName>${project.artifactId}-${project.version}</finalName>
    <directory>target</directory>
    <outputDirectory>target/classes</outputDirectory>
    <testOutputDirectory>target/test-classes</testOutputDirectory>
</build>

Multi-Module Builds

Reactor Options

bash

# Build all modules
mvn install

# Build specific module and dependencies
mvn install -pl module-name -am

# Build dependents of a module
mvn install -pl module-name -amd

# Resume from specific module
mvn install -rf :module-name

# Build in parallel
mvn install -T 4
mvn install -T 1C  # 1 thread per CPU core

Module Order Control

xml

<!-- parent/pom.xml -->
<modules>
    <module>common</module>
    <module>api</module>
    <module>service</module>
    <module>web</module>
</modules>

Test Configuration

Surefire Plugin (Unit Tests)

xml

<plugin>
    <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
    <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
    <version>3.2.3</version>
    <configuration>
        <includes>
            <include>**/*Test.java</include>
            <include>**/*Tests.java</include>
        </includes>
        <excludes>
            <exclude>**/*IntegrationTest.java</exclude>
        </excludes>
        <parallel>methods</parallel>
        <threadCount>4</threadCount>
        <forkCount>1</forkCount>
        <reuseForks>true</reuseForks>
    </configuration>
</plugin>

Failsafe Plugin (Integration Tests)

xml

<plugin>
    <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
    <artifactId>maven-failsafe-plugin</artifactId>
    <version>3.2.3</version>
    <executions>
        <execution>
            <goals>
                <goal>integration-test</goal>
                <goal>verify</goal>
            </goals>
        </execution>
    </executions>
    <configuration>
        <includes>
            <include>**/*IT.java</include>
            <include>**/*IntegrationTest.java</include>
        </includes>
    </configuration>
</plugin>

Build Optimization

Incremental Builds

bash

# Skip unchanged modules
mvn install -amd

# Use build cache (requires Maven Daemon)
mvnd install

Parallel Builds

xml

<build>
    <plugins>
        <plugin>
            <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
            <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
            <configuration>
                <fork>true</fork>
                <compilerArgs>
                    <arg>-J-Xmx512m</arg>
                </compilerArgs>
            </configuration>
        </plugin>
    </plugins>
</build>

Build Cache

bash

# Enable build cache (Maven 4+)
mvn install -Dmaven.build.cache.enabled=true

Debugging Builds

Verbose Output

bash

# Debug mode
mvn install -X

# Error stacktrace
mvn install -e

# Quiet mode
mvn install -q

Effective POM

bash

# View resolved POM
mvn help:effective-pom

# View effective settings
mvn help:effective-settings

# Active profiles
mvn help:active-profiles

Dependency Analysis

bash

# Check plugin versions
mvn versions:display-plugin-updates

# Check dependency versions
mvn versions:display-dependency-updates

Best Practices

Use Clean Builds - Run mvn clean before releases
Consistent Versions - Lock plugin versions
Profile Isolation - Keep profiles focused
Fail Fast - Use -ff in CI for quick feedback
Parallel Builds - Use -T for multi-module projects
Skip Wisely - Know the difference between skip options
Resource Filtering - Enable only where needed
Test Separation - Unit tests in Surefire, integration in Failsafe
Reproducible Builds - Pin all plugin versions
Document Profiles - Comment profile purposes

Common Pitfalls

Skipping Tests - Don't skip tests in CI
SNAPSHOT in Release - Remove snapshots before release
Missing Clean - Stale files causing issues
Profile Conflicts - Overlapping profile configurations
Resource Filtering - Accidentally filtering binaries
Phase Confusion - Running wrong phase
Memory Issues - Insufficient heap for large builds
Reactor Order - Module dependency issues

CI/CD Integration

GitHub Actions

yaml

- name: Build with Maven
  run: mvn -B clean verify -Pci

- name: Release
  run: mvn -B deploy -Prelease -DskipTests

Jenkins Pipeline

groovy

stage('Build') {
    steps {
        sh 'mvn -B clean package -DskipTests'
    }
}
stage('Test') {
    steps {
        sh 'mvn -B test'
    }
}
stage('Integration Test') {
    steps {
        sh 'mvn -B verify -DskipUnitTests'
    }
}

When to Use This Skill

Setting up new Maven projects
Customizing build phases
Creating build profiles for environments
Configuring test execution
Optimizing build performance
Debugging build failures
Setting up CI/CD pipelines
Multi-module project configuration

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SKILL.md

Maven Build Lifecycle

Overview

Default Lifecycle Phases

Complete Phase Order

Common Phase Commands

Clean Lifecycle

Site Lifecycle

Goals vs Phases

Executing Phases

Executing Goals

Phase-to-Goal Bindings

Build Profiles

Profile Definition

Profile Activation

Activation Triggers

Resource Filtering

Enable Filtering

Property Substitution

Build Customization

Source and Target Configuration

Custom Source Directories

Final Name and Output

Multi-Module Builds

Reactor Options

Module Order Control

Test Configuration

Surefire Plugin (Unit Tests)

Failsafe Plugin (Integration Tests)

Build Optimization

Incremental Builds

Parallel Builds

Build Cache

Debugging Builds

Verbose Output

Effective POM

Dependency Analysis

Best Practices

Common Pitfalls

CI/CD Integration

GitHub Actions

Jenkins Pipeline

When to Use This Skill