8 essential Maven plugins beyond the core

Maven, a widely-used build management tool for Java developers, relies heavily on plugins to enhance its functionality, allowing developers to streamline their build processes and integrate various tasks seamlessly. While the tool comes with default core plugins, a range of additional plugins developed by the Apache Foundation and others can significantly optimize the build process. These plugins perform tasks such as integrating with third-party tools, executing SQL commands, and packaging applications for various operating systems like Windows, Apple, and Linux. Essential plugins include the build-helper-maven-plugin for extending capabilities, the maven-jetty-plugin for rapid webapp deployment, the maven-shade-plugin for creating uber-jars, and the spring-boot-maven-plugin for Spring Boot support. Other noteworthy plugins include the sql-maven-plugin for SQL command execution and platform-specific plugins like launch4j-maven-plugin, appbundle-maven-plugin, and debian-maven-plugin for packaging applications. By leveraging these plugins, developers can avoid heavy customization of core plugins and enhance their productivity and efficiency in managing Java application builds.