How to analyze a Maven pom.xml for mistakes (a pom linter for redundant or ignored properties?)

Question

My pom.xml is messy, having collected cruft over time. Is there any automated way to "clean up" a pom? Like a linter but for maven.

In IntelliJ I can run Analyze > Inspect Code and get a list of unused functions, silly iterators, and probable bugs. I think I'm looking for the same thing for my pom

1. Unused repositories, pluginRepositories
2. Unused properties
3. properties that collide with settings specified within the plugin
4. Dependencies with more recent versions ( mvn versions:display-dependency-updates works, but doesn't restrict to non-breaking version updates)

Answer 1

For a simple static analysis of your pom.xml , you can use the lint-maven-plugin .

1. Add the following to your pom.xml :

<build>
  <plugins>
    <plugin>
      <groupId>com.lewisd</groupId>
      <artifactId>lint-maven-plugin</artifactId>
      <version>0.0.11</version>
    </plugin>
  </plugins>
</build>

2. Run the lint:check goal to check your pom.xml for violations.

$ mvn lint:check

The plugin will report any violations in your pom.xml as demonstrated below.

[INFO] --- lint-maven-plugin:0.0.11:check (default-cli) @ maven-sample ---
[INFO] Writing summary report
[INFO] [LINT] Completed with 3 violations
[INFO] [LINT] OSSDevelopersSectionRule: missing <developers/> section : 0:0 : /Users/jdoe/workspace/maven-sample/pom.xml
[INFO] [LINT] OSSInceptionYearRule: missing <inceptionYear/> information : 0:0 : /Users/jdoe/workspace/maven-sample/pom.xml
[INFO] [LINT] GAVOrder: Found 'name' but was expecting 'packaging' : 19:8 : /Users/jdoe/workspace/maven-sample/pom.xml

You can see a list of available rules by running the lint:list goal.

Answer 2

Sounds like there isn't a pom.xml linter like jshint.com that I can paste my pom into and get advice out.