Maven Release Plugin vs Maven Git Flow Plugin for Artifact Releases

Automating Maven releases reduces manual versioning, tagging, and deployment errors. This guide helps Java build and release engineers compare the Maven Release Plugin and Maven Git Flow Plugin, then choose a workflow that fits their branching model.

Originally published on 2014-09-25; fully revised and updated.

Two Maven release plugins in scope

The original post names two commonly used approaches:

• Maven Release Plugin for the classic Maven release lifecycle (prepare then perform).
• Maven Git Flow Plugin (JGit-Flow) for Git-flow-style branching and release automation from Maven goals.

How the release workflows differ

flowchart LR
    A[Code ready on main branch] --> B{Release approach}
    B --> C[Maven Release prepare]
    C --> D[Commit version updates and create tag]
    D --> E[Maven Release perform]
    E --> F[Deploy release artifacts]
    B --> G[JGit Flow release start]
    G --> H[Create release branch]
    H --> I[JGit Flow release finish]
    I --> J[Merge branches and create tag]
    J --> F

Maven Release Plugin: prepare and perform

The Maven Release Plugin automates repetitive release actions: checking for a clean workspace, updating versions, committing release metadata, creating a tag, and running the release build from the tag.

mvn -B release:clean release:prepare
mvn -B release:performCode language: CSS (css)

Example plugin configuration in pom.xml:

<build>
  <plugins>
    <plugin>
      <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
      <artifactId>maven-release-plugin</artifactId>
      <version>YOUR_VERSION</version>
      <configuration>
        <tagNameFormat>@{project.artifactId}-@{project.version}</tagNameFormat>
      </configuration>
    </plugin>
  </plugins>
</build>Code language: HTML, XML (xml)

Maven Git Flow Plugin: Git-flow-oriented release automation

The JGit-Flow Maven plugin family targets teams using Git-flow branches (for example, develop, release/*, and main). It exposes Maven goals that map to Git-flow release steps.

mvn -B jgitflow:release-start
mvn -B jgitflow:release-finishCode language: CSS (css)

Example pom.xml snippet (verify coordinates and goals for your chosen plugin distribution):

<build>
  <plugins>
    <plugin>
      <groupId>external.atlassian.jgitflow</groupId>
      <artifactId>jgitflow-maven-plugin</artifactId>
      <version>YOUR_VERSION</version>
    </plugin>
  </plugins>
</build>Code language: HTML, XML (xml)

Side-by-side comparison

Choosing between them

• Choose Maven Release Plugin if your team wants a straightforward Maven-native release flow.
• Choose Maven Git Flow Plugin if your team already enforces Git-flow and wants release goals that mirror branch operations.
• In both cases, run releases from CI with a clean checkout and explicit credentials for SCM and artifact repositories.

Original references

The original post links the following resources:

• Painless Maven project releases with maven-gitflow-plugin
• Maven Release Plugin: prepare release example
• Customizing Maven Release Plugin tag format
• Atlassian JGit-Flow wiki home
• Overriding default tag name format
• Maven Release Plugin tips and tricks
• JGit-Flow plugin setup
• Atlassian blog: Maven Git Flow plugin
• YouTube video referenced by the original page

Best practices

• Pin plugin versions explicitly and document upgrade policy.
• Protect release branches and tags with repository permissions.
• Run release goals in CI/CD pipelines, not from personal workstations.
• Store repository credentials securely (CI secrets and encrypted Maven settings).
• Dry-run on a non-production repository before first adoption.

Rajesh Kumar

I’m Rajesh Kumar, a DevOps, SRE, DevSecOps, Cloud, and Platform Engineering expert passionate about sharing practical knowledge, real-world experiences, and industry best practices. I have worked at Cotocus and regularly write about technology, travel, investing, health, product reviews, and digital marketing through my various platforms.

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