{"id":343,"date":"2026-10-13T17:31:40","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T17:31:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scmgalaxy.com\/tutorials\/2013\/09\/12\/maven-cli-options-reference-command-line\/"},"modified":"2026-10-13T17:31:40","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T17:31:40","slug":"maven-cli-options-reference-command-line","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.devopsschool.com\/blog\/maven-cli-options-reference-command-line\/","title":{"rendered":"Maven CLI Options Reference: Practical Flags, Comparisons, and Command Examples"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Maven CLI flags control what gets built<\/strong>, how failures are handled<\/strong>, and how dependencies are resolved<\/strong>. This reference is for developers, build engineers, and CI maintainers who want faster, more predictable Maven runs and a quick way to pick the right options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Originally published on 2013-09-12; fully revised and updated.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Original article: Maven commands Web References & Cheatsheet<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maven CLI options reference image from the original post<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Maven CLI decision flow for day-to-day builds<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\nflowchart TD\n    A[Start with mvn goal] --> B{Need partial reactor build}\n    B -- Yes --> C[Use -pl with -am or -amd]\n    B -- No --> D[Build full reactor]\n    C --> E{Previous run failed}\n    D --> E\n    E -- Yes --> F[Resume with -rf]\n    E -- No --> G[Choose failure policy]\n    F --> G\n    G --> H{Fast feedback needed}\n    H -- Yes --> I[Use -ff and maybe -T]\n    H -- No --> J[Use -fae]\n    I --> K[Run in CI with -B and -V]\n    J --> K\n    K --> L{Need fresh dependencies}\n    L -- Yes --> M[Use -U]\n    L -- No --> N[Use -o or -nsu]\n<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
High-value Maven options by category<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Category<\/th>Options<\/th>What they control<\/th>Typical use<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Reactor scope<\/td>-pl<\/code>, -am<\/code>, -amd<\/code>, -rf<\/code>, -N<\/code><\/td>Which modules are built and where a build resumes<\/td>Monorepos and multi-module builds<\/td><\/tr>
Failure behavior<\/td>-ff<\/code>, -fae<\/code>, -fn<\/code><\/td>When Maven stops or continues after errors<\/td>Fast local feedback or full CI failure reporting<\/td><\/tr>
Dependency freshness<\/td>-U<\/code>, -nsu<\/code>, -o<\/code><\/td>Whether Maven checks remotes or stays offline<\/td>Snapshot troubleshooting, reproducible offline runs<\/td><\/tr>
Output and diagnostics<\/td>-q<\/code>, -e<\/code>, -X<\/code>, -l<\/code>, -V<\/code><\/td>How much logging is produced and where it goes<\/td>CI logs, debugging flaky builds<\/td><\/tr>
Environment files<\/td>-s<\/code>, -gs<\/code>, -t<\/code>, -f<\/code><\/td>Alternate settings, toolchains, and POM path<\/td>Per-environment and per-pipeline customization<\/td><\/tr>
Automation and performance<\/td>-B<\/code>, -T<\/code>, -D<\/code><\/td>Batch mode, threading, and system properties<\/td>Non-interactive CI with controlled tuning<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Option comparisons that change build outcomes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Goal<\/th>Prefer<\/th>Alternative<\/th>Trade-off<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Stop immediately on first failure<\/td>-ff<\/code> \/ --fail-fast<\/code><\/td>-fae<\/code> \/ --fail-at-end<\/code><\/td>Fast signal, but fewer downstream failures discovered in one run<\/td><\/tr>
Run all modules and report failures at the end<\/td>-fae<\/code> \/ --fail-at-end<\/code><\/td>-ff<\/code> \/ --fail-fast<\/code><\/td>More complete failure picture, potentially longer runtime<\/td><\/tr>
Never fail process exit<\/td>-fn<\/code> \/ --fail-never<\/code><\/td>-fae<\/code> or -ff<\/code><\/td>Useful for diagnostics only; risky for release gates<\/td><\/tr>
Enforce artifact integrity strictly<\/td>-C<\/code> \/ --strict-checksums<\/code><\/td>-c<\/code> \/ --lax-checksums<\/code><\/td>Strict mode is safer; lax mode may hide repository issues<\/td><\/tr>
Run with no network dependency checks<\/td>-o<\/code> \/ --offline<\/code><\/td>-nsu<\/code> \/ --no-snapshot-updates<\/code><\/td>Offline is most reproducible; no-snapshot-updates still allows non-snapshot remote interactions<\/td><\/tr>
Force fresh remote metadata\/artifacts<\/td>-U<\/code> \/ --update-snapshots<\/code><\/td>Default update behavior<\/td>Can fix stale cache issues but may increase build time<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Practical command examples<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Use these as starting points and adapt goals\/phases to your pipeline.<\/p>\n\n\n
mvn -B -V -e -T 1C clean verify<\/code><\/span><\/pre>\n\n\n
Build one module plus required upstream modules:<\/p>\n\n\n
mvn<\/span> -pl<\/span> :api-service<\/span> -am<\/span> test<\/span><\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> CSS<\/span> (<\/span>css<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Resume a failed multi-module run from a specific module:<\/p>\n\n\n
mvn<\/span> -rf<\/span> :payments-service<\/span> verify<\/span><\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> CSS<\/span> (<\/span>css<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Force remote snapshot\/release checks when debugging stale artifacts:<\/p>\n\n\n
mvn -U clean package<\/code><\/span><\/pre>\n\n\n
Use alternate settings and toolchains in CI:<\/p>\n\n\n
mvn -s ~\/.m2\/<\/span>settings-ci.xml -t ~\/.m2\/<\/span>toolchains.xml deploy<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> JavaScript<\/span> (<\/span>javascript<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Capture all output to a log file for post-run analysis:<\/p>\n\n\n
mvn<\/span> -l<\/span> build<\/span>.log<\/span> clean<\/span> install<\/span><\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> CSS<\/span> (<\/span>css<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Complete CLI options reference from the original post<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Option<\/th>Description<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
-am, --also-make<\/code><\/td>If a project list is specified, also build projects required by that list.<\/td><\/tr>
-amd, --also-make-dependents<\/code><\/td>If a project list is specified, also build projects that depend on projects in that list.<\/td><\/tr>
-B, --batch-mode<\/code><\/td>Run in non-interactive batch mode.<\/td><\/tr>
-C, --strict-checksums<\/code><\/td>Fail the build if checksums do not match.<\/td><\/tr>
-c, --lax-checksums<\/code><\/td>Warn if checksums do not match.<\/td><\/tr>
-cpu, --check-plugin-updates<\/code><\/td>Ineffective; kept for backward compatibility.<\/td><\/tr>
-D, --define <arg><\/code><\/td>Define a system property.<\/td><\/tr>
-e, --errors<\/code><\/td>Produce execution error messages.<\/td><\/tr>
-emp, --encrypt-master-password <arg><\/code><\/td>Encrypt master security password.<\/td><\/tr>
-ep, --encrypt-password <arg><\/code><\/td>Encrypt server password.<\/td><\/tr>
-f, --file <arg><\/code><\/td>Force use of an alternate POM file (or a directory with pom.xml).<\/td><\/tr>
-fae, --fail-at-end<\/code><\/td>Only fail at the end; allow all non-impacted builds to continue.<\/td><\/tr>
-ff, --fail-fast<\/code><\/td>Stop at first failure in reactor builds.<\/td><\/tr>
-fn, --fail-never<\/code><\/td>Never fail the build, regardless of project result.<\/td><\/tr>
-gs, --global-settings <arg><\/code><\/td>Alternate path for the global settings file.<\/td><\/tr>
-h, --help<\/code><\/td>Display help information.<\/td><\/tr>
-l, --log-file <arg><\/code><\/td>Write all build output to a log file.<\/td><\/tr>
-llr, --legacy-local-repository<\/code><\/td>Use Maven 2 legacy local repository behavior (no _maven.repositories). Can also be activated with -Dmaven.legacyLocalRepo=true<\/code>.<\/td><\/tr>
-N, --non-recursive<\/code><\/td>Do not recurse into sub-projects.<\/td><\/tr>
-npr, --no-plugin-registry<\/code><\/td>Ineffective; kept for backward compatibility.<\/td><\/tr>
-npu, --no-plugin-updates<\/code><\/td>Ineffective; kept for backward compatibility.<\/td><\/tr>
-nsu, --no-snapshot-updates<\/code><\/td>Suppress SNAPSHOT updates.<\/td><\/tr>
-o, --offline<\/code><\/td>Work offline.<\/td><\/tr>
-P, --activate-profiles <arg><\/code><\/td>Comma-delimited list of profiles to activate.<\/td><\/tr>
-pl, --projects <arg><\/code><\/td>Comma-delimited list of reactor projects to build instead of all projects. A project can be specified by [groupId]:artifactId or by relative path.<\/td><\/tr>
-q, --quiet<\/code><\/td>Quiet output; show errors only.<\/td><\/tr>
-rf, --resume-from <arg><\/code><\/td>Resume reactor from a specified project.<\/td><\/tr>
-s, --settings <arg><\/code><\/td>Alternate path for the user settings file.<\/td><\/tr>
-T, --threads <arg><\/code><\/td>Thread count, for example 2.0C where C multiplies available cores.<\/td><\/tr>
-t, --toolchains <arg><\/code><\/td>Alternate path for the user toolchains file.<\/td><\/tr>
-U, --update-snapshots<\/code><\/td>Force a check for updated releases and snapshots on remote repositories.<\/td><\/tr>
-up, --update-plugins<\/code><\/td>Ineffective; kept for backward compatibility.<\/td><\/tr>
-V, --show-version<\/code><\/td>Display version information without stopping the build.<\/td><\/tr>
-v, --version<\/code><\/td>Display version information.<\/td><\/tr>
-X, --debug<\/code><\/td>Produce execution debug output.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Best practices<\/h2>\n\n\n\n