PluginRepositories

PluginRepositories is a Maven configuration concept that specifies the remote repositories used to fetch build plugins. It is separate from the repositories element, which governs dependencies. The pluginRepositories section is typically defined in a project's pom.xml under build, though it can also be configured in settings or inherited from a parent POM.

Structure and key elements

A pluginRepository entry includes an id and a url, and may contain optional settings for releases and snapshots. For example, a repository can enable or disable access to release artifacts and snapshot artifacts, and may specify an updatePolicy such as always or daily to control how often Maven checks for updates. In some cases, a checksumPolicy may also be configured to dictate how checksums are validated.

Example

<build>

<pluginRepositories>

<pluginRepository>

<id>custom-plugins</id>

<url>https://my.company/plugins</url>

<releases><enabled>true</enabled><updatePolicy>daily</updatePolicy></releases>

<snapshots><enabled>false</enabled></snapshots>

</pluginRepository>

</pluginRepositories>

</build>

Scope and usage

Maven resolves plugins by consulting the defined pluginRepositories, in addition to the central repository and any other configured sources. Plugin repositories can be overridden or augmented by settings.xml or profiles, and credentials for accessing protected repositories are managed via server definitions in settings.xml.

Rationale

PluginRepositories enables teams to host and control plugin sources, ensure availability of specific plugin versions, and isolate plugin provenance from standard artifact repositories. It is commonly used to supplement central plugins or to provide organization-specific plugins not published to the default repositories.