mvn-dependency
Manage Maven project dependencies
TLDR
Display the full dependency tree, including direct and transitive dependencies
Analyze the dependencies and highlight unused or undeclared ones
Copy all project dependencies (by default, to target/dependency/)
Resolve and download all project dependencies to the local Maven repository
Force Maven to update all dependencies from remote repositories
SYNOPSIS
mvn dependency:goal [-Doption=value]...
PARAMETERS
-Dclassifier=value
Classifier for dependency artifacts (e.g., sources, javadoc).
-DexcludeGroupIds=groups
Comma-separated GroupIds to exclude from processing.
-DexcludeArtifacts=artifacts
Comma-separated ArtifactIds to exclude.
-DincludeGroupIds=groups
Comma-separated GroupIds to include.
-DincludeArtifacts=artifacts
Comma-separated ArtifactIds to include.
-DoutputDirectory=dir
Target directory for output files.
-DoutputFile=name
Name of the output file.
-DoverwriteReleases
Overwrite existing release artifacts.
-DoverwriteSnapshots
Overwrite existing snapshot artifacts.
-Dsilent
Suppress console output.
-DstripVersion
Strip version from output filenames.
DESCRIPTION
The Maven Dependency Plugin (invoked as mvn dependency:goal) provides essential functionality for handling artifacts and dependencies in Maven-based Java projects. It enables developers to analyze dependency usage, resolve and download dependencies, copy or unpack artifacts to custom locations, generate classpaths, and prepare projects for offline builds.
Key capabilities include visualizing the full dependency tree with dependency:tree to spot conflicts or transitives, detecting unused or undeclared dependencies via dependency:analyze, downloading sources/javadocs with dependency:sources, and copying dependencies into a lib directory for distribution using dependency:copy-dependencies. This plugin streamlines build processes, improves reproducibility, and aids in dependency hygiene.
Goals share common options like exclusion/inclusion filters and output settings, configurable via -D properties. It's integral for CI/CD pipelines and large-scale projects, reducing classpath issues and optimizing artifact management. Requires Maven 3.x and a valid pom.xml. (178 words)
CAVEATS
Requires installed Maven and pom.xml; some goals need network access to repositories. Not for non-Maven projects. Output varies by goal.
COMMON GOALS
dependency:tree - Displays dependency tree.
dependency:analyze - Checks for unused/undeclared deps.
dependency:copy-dependencies - Copies deps to directory.
dependency:sources - Downloads source JARs.
EXAMPLE
mvn dependency:tree - View full tree.
mvn dependency:copy-dependencies -DoutputDirectory=target/lib - Copy to lib dir.
HISTORY
Introduced in Maven 2.0 (2005); evolved through Maven 3.x. Current version 3.6.1 (2023) adds better conflict resolution and AOT support.
SEE ALSO
mvn(1)
