How to Convert a Maven Project into Library to use it as Dependency?

Converting a Maven project into a library allows us to reuse its functionality across multiple projects by including it as a dependency. This process involves correctly setting up your project, packaging it, and installing or deploying it to a Maven repository.

In this article, we will learn how to convert a maven project into a library to use it as a dependency.

Tools and Technologies:

• Apache Maven: To manage the project and dependencies.
• Java Development Kit: To compile the Java code.
• Integrated Development Environment: IntelliJ IDEA, Eclipse, or VS Code for easier project management and coding.
• Git (optional): For version control.

Prerequisites:

• Maven Installation: Ensure Maven is installed on your system.
• Java Installation: Ensure JDK is installed and configured properly.
• Existing Maven Project: A project that you wish to convert into a library.

Step-by-Step Implementation to Convert a Maven project into Library

Below are the implementation steps to convert a maven project into a library to use it as a dependency.

Step 1: Setting Up Maven and the Project.

Check Maven Installation.

Check Java Installation.

Step 2: Library Configuration

Modify POM.xml for Library Configuration. Ensure your POM file is correctly configured for library packaging. List all the required dependencies for the project.

<project xmlns="https://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="https://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
    xsi:schemaLocation="https://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 https://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
    <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>

    <groupId>com.example</groupId>
    <artifactId>my-library</artifactId>
    <version>1.0.0</version>
    <packaging>jar</packaging>

    <name>My Library</name>
    <description>A simple library project</description>

    <dependencies>
        <!-- Add your project dependencies here -->
    </dependencies>

    <build>
        <plugins>
            <plugin>
                <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
                <version>3.8.1</version>
                <configuration>
                    <source>1.8</source>
                    <target>1.8</target>
                </configuration>
            </plugin>
        </plugins>
    </build>
</project>

Step 3: Build the Maven Project

By using Maven command Ensure the build process completes without any errors. The generated JAR file will be located in the target directory.

mvn clean install

Maven Build Successfully.

Step 4: Deploy the JAR

If you want to use the JAR locally, simply add the JAR to your local Maven repository.

mvn install:install-file 
-Dfile=path/to/your-library.jar 
-DgroupId=com.example 
-DartifactId=my-library 
-Dversion=1.0.0 
-Dpackaging=jar

Step 5: Use the Library in Another Maven Project

To use the newly created library as a dependency in another Maven project, add the following dependency to the pom.xml of the consuming project:

<dependency>
    <groupId>com.example</groupId>
    <artifactId>my-library</artifactId>
    <version>1.0.0</version>
</dependency>

If the library is deployed to a remote repository, also add the repository to the repositories section in the pom.xml of the consuming project:

<repositories>
    <repository>
        <id>my-repo</id>
        <url>http://repository.mycompany.com/maven2</url>
    </repository>
</repositories>

Update the Project by using Below command.

mvn clean install