A simple Maven Archetype for Java

Generates a minimal Maven project for Java with

• JDK 25 (or any version you specify, read below)
• JUnit 5.11.x

How to use

Selecting Java version

Change the jdkVersion property to change the JDK version. Default value is currently 25.

Activate/deactivate Java preview features

Change the javaPreviewFeatures property to no or n if you want to disable preview features. Default value is yes, which means this archetype will generate a pom.xml file that allows you to use the newest preview features of Java.

Generating a new Java project from CLI

Change the values of DgroupId, -DartifactId and -Dversion to match your own project details. These properties are required. archetypeGroupId, archetypeArtifactId and archetypeVersion must remain as is.

mvn archetype:generate -DarchetypeGroupId=no.dervis \
                    -DarchetypeArtifactId=java-starter \
                    -DarchetypeVersion=1.0.14 \
                    -DgroupId=org.mygroup \
                    -DartifactId=demoapp \
                    -Dversion=1.0.0 \
                    -DjdkVersion=25 \
                    -DjavaPreviewFeatures=yes \
                    -DinteractiveMode=false

Maven Central

https://central.sonatype.com/artifact/no.dervis/java-starter/1.0.14

Useful Maven commands for beginners

Clean and compile

• mvn clean compile

Clean, compile and install

• mvn clean install

Check if there is newer versions of your dependencies

• mvn versions:display-dependency-updates

Upgrade snapshot versions to the closest release

• mvn versions:use-releases

Updating dependencies to the next version

• mvn versions:use-next-releases

Updating dependencies to the latest version

• mvn versions:use-latest-releases

Rolling back a failed release

If a release started with the Maven Release Plugin fails or needs to be reverted, you can run the provided rollback script:

• ./rollback.sh — rolls back the Maven release state (restores pom.xml from backups, removes temporary release files)
• ./rollback.sh --delete-tag — additionally deletes the created Git tag locally
• ./rollback.sh --delete-remote-tag — deletes the created Git tag both locally and on the configured Git remote (origin by default)

Notes:

• The script reads the tag name from release.properties (key: scm.tag).
• It is safe to run multiple times; if there is nothing to roll back or the tag does not exist, it will continue with a warning.

Releasing (with dry run option)

You can run the release using the Maven Release Plugin via the provided script:

• Actual release: ./release.sh
• Dry run (no tags/commits/push; validates that everything is ready): ./release.sh --dry-run or ./release.sh -n

Dry run runs mvn release:prepare -DdryRun=true so you can verify versions, SCM configuration, and checks without modifying your repository. When it completes successfully, run the script again without --dry-run to perform the actual release.

Release guide

https://dev.to/selmaguedidi/publishing-your-java-library-to-maven-central-15in