How to create an executable jar file with maven

Executable jars may be created using the maven shade plugin. The shade plugin allows for the creation of 'uber-jars'. This are self contained jar files which contain the application code as well as all dependencies.
The shade plugin is configured in the build-section of your pom.xml:

  <build>
    <plugins>
      <plugin>
        <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
        <artifactId>maven-shade-plugin</artifactId>
        <version>2.1</version>
        <configuration>
          <!-- put your configurations here -->
        </configuration>
        <executions>
          <execution>
            <phase>package</phase>
            <goals>
              <goal>shade</goal>
            </goals>
          </execution>
        </executions>
      </plugin>
    </plugins>
  </build>

To make the jar file executable, is has to contain an MANIFEST.MF which names the class containing the main function. Just add the following lines to the plugin config:

<configuration>
  <transformers>
    <transformer implementation="org.apache.maven.plugins.shade.resource.ManifestResourceTransformer">
      <mainClass>path.to.MainClass</mainClass>
    </transformer>
  </transformers>
</configuration>

See also: http://maven.apache.org/plugins/maven-shade-plugin/examples/executable-jar.html

How To Create An Empty Java Project With Maven

To create an empty maven-managed java project simply type:

mvn archetype:generate -DarchetypeArtifactId=maven-archetype-quickstart

You will be asked for the groupId and artifactId for your project, the project version and the main package for your code.

$ mvn archetype:generate -DarchetypeArtifactId=maven-archetype-quickstart
[INFO] Scanning for projects...
[INFO]                                                                        
[INFO] ------------------------------------------------------------------------
[INFO] Building Maven Stub Project (No POM) 1
[INFO] ------------------------------------------------------------------------
[INFO]
[INFO] >>> maven-archetype-plugin:2.0:generate (default-cli) @ standalone-pom >>>
[INFO]
[INFO] <<< maven-archetype-plugin:2.0:generate (default-cli) @ standalone-pom <<<
[INFO]
[INFO] --- maven-archetype-plugin:2.0:generate (default-cli) @ standalone-pom ---
[INFO] Generating project in Interactive mode
Define value for property 'groupId': : cloudobjects
Define value for property 'artifactId': : demoProject
Define value for property 'version':  1.0-SNAPSHOT: :
Define value for property 'package':  cloudobjects: : de.cloudobjects
Confirm properties configuration:
groupId: cloudobjects
artifactId: demoProject
version: 1.0-SNAPSHOT
package: de.cloudobjects
 Y: : Y
[INFO] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
[INFO] Using following parameters for creating project from Old (1.x) Archetype: maven-archetype-quickstart:1.0
[INFO] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
[INFO] Parameter: groupId, Value: cloudobjects
[INFO] Parameter: packageName, Value: de.cloudobjects
[INFO] Parameter: package, Value: de.cloudobjects
[INFO] Parameter: artifactId, Value: demoProject
[INFO] Parameter: basedir, Value: /Users/helmut
[INFO] Parameter: version, Value: 1.0-SNAPSHOT
[INFO] ********************* End of debug info from resources from generated POM ***********************
[INFO] project created from Old (1.x) Archetype in dir: /Users/helmut/demoProject
[INFO] ------------------------------------------------------------------------
[INFO] BUILD SUCCESS
[INFO] ------------------------------------------------------------------------
[INFO] Total time: 24.293s
[INFO] Finished at: Mon Dec 27 15:08:58 CET 2010
[INFO] Final Memory: 9M/81M
[INFO] ------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now you have a simple maven-managed java project.

If you are using eclipse you have (at least) two options:

• Create the eclipse project files using maven
• Import the project using the M2Eclipse-Plugin (Thanks to Karl Heinz Marbaise for this hint)

To create an eclipse project from your maven project cd into the project-directory and type:

$ mvn eclipse:eclipse

If you are using the M2Eclipse-Plugin, you can import the maven project directly into eclipse.

To import a maven project into eclipse choose "File -> Import" and select "Maven -> Existing Maven Projects":

In the next step select the newly created project folder and the projects pom.xml:

Now you have an eclipse-project with full maven dependency management.

More information about the M2Eclipse-Plugin can be found in the sonatype M2Eclipse manual.