cloudthinker-ai Maven Build System Management Skill
Manage and analyze Maven projects, dependencies, plugins, and build lifecycles.
MANDATORY: Discovery-First Pattern
Always check current POM configuration and project structure before modifying builds.
Phase 1: Discovery
#!/bin/bash
echo "=== Maven Version ==="
mvn --version 2>/dev/null | head -3
echo ""
echo "=== Project Info ==="
mvn help:evaluate -Dexpression=project.groupId -q -DforceStdout 2>/dev/null
mvn help:evaluate -Dexpression=project.artifactId -q -DforceStdout 2>/dev/null
mvn help:evaluate -Dexpression=project.version -q -DforceStdout 2>/dev/null
echo ""
echo "=== Module Structure ==="
grep -E '<module>' pom.xml 2>/dev/null | head -15
echo ""
echo "=== Active Profiles ==="
mvn help:active-profiles 2>/dev/null | grep -v '^\[' | head -10
Phase 2: Analysis
#!/bin/bash
echo "=== Dependency Tree ==="
mvn dependency:tree -DoutputType=text 2>/dev/null | head -30
echo ""
echo "=== Dependency Conflicts ==="
mvn dependency:tree -Dverbose 2>/dev/null | grep 'omitted for conflict' | head -10
echo ""
echo "=== Plugin List ==="
mvn help:effective-pom 2>/dev/null | grep '<artifactId>' | sort -u | head -15
Output Rules
- TOKEN EFFICIENCY: Target <=50 lines per output
- Summarize dependency trees to direct dependencies
- Highlight version conflicts and overrides
- Report effective POM settings concisely
Common Operations
Dependency Analysis
#!/bin/bash
echo "=== Unused Dependencies ==="
mvn dependency:analyze 2>/dev/null | grep -E 'Used undeclared|Unused declared' | head -10
Build Lifecycle
#!/bin/bash
echo "=== Effective POM Settings ==="
mvn help:effective-settings 2>/dev/null | grep -A5 '<server>\|<mirror>' | head -20
echo ""
echo "=== Repository Configuration ==="
mvn help:effective-pom 2>/dev/null | grep -A3 '<repository>' | head -15
Safety Rules
- Never deploy snapshots to release repositories -- verify version before
mvn deploy - Review dependency:analyze output before removing dependencies
- Repository credentials must be in settings.xml, never in pom.xml
- Lock dependency versions in dependencyManagement to avoid transitive surprises
Output Format
Present results as a structured report:
Managing Maven Report
═════════════════════
Resources discovered: [count]
Resource Status Key Metric Issues
──────────────────────────────────────────────
[name] [ok/warn] [value] [findings]
Summary: [total] resources | [ok] healthy | [warn] warnings | [crit] critical
Action Items: [list of prioritized findings]
Target ≤50 lines of output. Use tables for multi-resource comparisons.
Anti-Hallucination Rules
- NEVER assume resource names — always discover via CLI/API in Phase 1 before referencing in Phase 2.
- NEVER fabricate metric names or dimensions — verify against the service documentation or
--helpoutput. - NEVER mix CLI commands between service versions — confirm which version/API you are targeting.
- ALWAYS use the discovery → verify → analyze chain — every resource referenced must have been discovered first.
- ALWAYS handle empty results gracefully — an empty response is valid data, not an error to retry.
Counter-Rationalizations
| Shortcut | Counter | Why |
|---|---|---|
| "I'll skip discovery and check known resources" | Always run Phase 1 discovery first | Resource names change, new resources appear — assumed names cause errors |
| "The user only asked for a quick check" | Follow the full discovery → analysis flow | Quick checks miss critical issues; structured analysis catches silent failures |
| "Default configuration is probably fine" | Audit configuration explicitly | Defaults often leave logging, security, and optimization features disabled |
| "Metrics aren't needed for this" | Always check relevant metrics when available | API/CLI responses show current state; metrics reveal trends and intermittent issues |
| "I don't have access to that" | Try the command and report the actual error | Assumed permission failures prevent useful investigation; actual errors are informative |