Eclipse – Get source jar files attached to Eclipse for Maven-managed dependencies

eclipsejavadocmaven-2

I am using Maven (and the Maven Eclipse Integration) to manage the dependencies for my Java projects in Eclipse. The automatic download feature for JAR files from the Maven repositories is a real time saver. Unfortunately, it does not include API documentation and source code.

How can I set up Maven to automatically also get the source and javadoc attachments and register them properly with Eclipse?

Best Answer

I am sure m2eclipse Maven plugin for Eclipse - the other way around - can do that. You can configure it to download both the source files and javadoc automatically for you.

This is achieved by going into Window > Preferences > Maven and checking the "Download Artifact Sources" and "Download Artifact JavaDoc" options.

Screenshot of Maven Preferences

Related Solutions

Java – How to reference javadocs to dependencies in Maven’s eclipse plugin when javadoc not attached to dependency

From the Maven Eclipse Plugin FAQ

The following example shows how to do this in the command-line:

mvn eclipse:eclipse -DdownloadSources=true  -DdownloadJavadocs=true

or in your pom.xml:

<project>
  [...]
  <build>
    [...]
    <plugins>
      [...]
      <plugin>
        <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
        <artifactId>maven-eclipse-plugin</artifactId>
        <configuration>
          <downloadSources>true</downloadSources>
          <downloadJavadocs>true</downloadJavadocs>
        </configuration>
      </plugin>
      [...]
    </plugins>
    [...]
  </build>
  [...]
</project>

Java – How to create an executable JAR with dependencies using Maven

<build>
  <plugins>
    <plugin>
      <artifactId>maven-assembly-plugin</artifactId>
      <configuration>
        <archive>
          <manifest>
            <mainClass>fully.qualified.MainClass</mainClass>
          </manifest>
        </archive>
        <descriptorRefs>
          <descriptorRef>jar-with-dependencies</descriptorRef>
        </descriptorRefs>
      </configuration>
    </plugin>
  </plugins>
</build>

and you run it with

mvn clean compile assembly:single

Compile goal should be added before assembly:single or otherwise the code on your own project is not included.

See more details in comments.

Commonly this goal is tied to a build phase to execute automatically. This ensures the JAR is built when executing mvn install or performing a deployment/release.

<plugin>
  <artifactId>maven-assembly-plugin</artifactId>
  <configuration>
    <archive>
      <manifest>
        <mainClass>fully.qualified.MainClass</mainClass>
      </manifest>
    </archive>
    <descriptorRefs>
      <descriptorRef>jar-with-dependencies</descriptorRef>
    </descriptorRefs>
  </configuration>
  <executions>
    <execution>
      <id>make-assembly</id> <!-- this is used for inheritance merges -->
      <phase>package</phase> <!-- bind to the packaging phase -->
      <goals>
        <goal>single</goal>
      </goals>
    </execution>
  </executions>
</plugin>

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Java – How to reference javadocs to dependencies in Maven’s eclipse plugin when javadoc not attached to dependency

Java – How to create an executable JAR with dependencies using Maven

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