Maven Best Practices

Improve Maven POM configuration using industry-standard best practices.

Prerequisites: Run ./mvnw validate or mvn validate before applying recommendations. If validation fails, stop and ask the user to fix issues—do not proceed until resolved.

Core areas: Dependency management via <dependencyManagement> and BOMs, standard directory layout (src/main/java, src/test/java), centralized plugin management, build profiles for environment-specific settings, readable POM structure with version properties, explicit repository declaration, version centralization, multi-module project structure with proper inheritance, and cross-module version consistency.

Multi-module scope: After reading the root pom.xml, check for a <modules> section. If present, read every child module's pom.xml before making any recommendations. Check each child for hardcoded versions that duplicate parent <dependencyManagement>, redundant <pluginManagement> blocks, properties that should be centralized, and version drift across sibling modules.

Before applying changes: Read the reference for detailed examples, good/bad patterns, and constraints.

Reference

For detailed guidance, examples, and constraints, see references/110-java-maven-best-practices.md.