dependencyManagement

DependencyManagement is a feature of Maven's POM that centralizes the specification of dependency versions and related attributes for a project or a group of modules. It does not, by itself, add dependencies to the project; instead it provides a catalogue of versions that can be used by dependent artifacts. The main purpose is to enforce consistent versions across modules and to simplify upgrades by changing the version in one place.

In a POM hierarchy, a parent POM can declare a dependencyManagement section. Child modules inherit these entries. When a dependency is declared elsewhere in the project with a specific groupId and artifactId but without an explicit version, Maven will use the version defined in dependencyManagement. If a version is supplied in the dependency declaration, that value takes precedence over the managed version, and normal resolution rules apply for conflicts.

DependencyManagement also supports scope and can be used in conjunction with a BOM import via import scope to pull in a set of managed dependencies.

In multi-module builds, dependencyManagement helps maintain consistency and reduces the risk of transitive dependency conflicts. It is commonly used with a parent POM that defines the standard set of library versions for all modules in a project, while individual modules declare only the necessary dependencies by coordinates and optional scope.

Limitations: It does not guarantee that a dependency will be used; it only provides version defaults and can be overridden. It requires proper inheritance structure. Other build tools provide similar mechanisms under different names, such as dependency constraints or platforms in Gradle.