How to add local jar files to a Maven project?

You can add local dependencies directly (as mentioned in build maven project with propriatery libraries included) like this:

<dependency>
    <groupId>com.sample</groupId>
    <artifactId>sample</artifactId>
    <version>1.0</version>
    <scope>system</scope>
    <systemPath>${project.basedir}/src/main/resources/Name_Your_JAR.jar</systemPath>
</dependency>

Update

In new releases this feature is marked as deprecated but still working and not removed yet ( You just see warning in the log during maven start). An issue is raised at maven group about this https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/MNG-6523 ( You can participate and describe why this feature is helpful in some cases). I hope this feature remains there!

If you are asking me, as long as the feature is not removed, I use this to make dependency to only one naughty jar file in my project which is not fit in repository. If this feature is removed, well, there are lots of good answers here which I can chose from later!

---

Install the JAR into your local Maven repository (typically .m2 in your home folder) as follows:

mvn install:install-file \
   -Dfile=<path-to-file> \
   -DgroupId=<group-id> \
   -DartifactId=<artifact-id> \
   -Dversion=<version> \
   -Dpackaging=<packaging> \
   -DgeneratePom=true

Where each refers to:

<path-to-file>: the path to the file to load e.g → c:\kaptcha-2.3.jar

<group-id>: the group that the file should be registered under e.g → com.google.code

<artifact-id>: the artifact name for the file e.g → kaptcha

<version>: the version of the file e.g → 2.3

<packaging>: the packaging of the file e.g. → jar

Reference

Maven FAQ: I have a jar that I want to put into my local repository. How can I copy it in?

Maven Install Plugin Usage: The install:install-file goal

---

Firstly, I would like to give credit for this answer to an anonymous Stack Overflow user - I am pretty sure I've seen a similar answer here before - but now I cannot find it.

The best option for having local JAR files as a dependency is to create a local Maven repository. Such a repository is nothing more than a proper directory structure with pom files in it.

For my example: I have my master project on ${master_project} location and subproject1 is on ${master_project}/${subproject1}.

Then I create a Maven repository in: ${master_project}/local-maven-repo.

In the pom file in subproject1 located at ${master_project}/${subproject1}/pom.xml, the repository needs to be specified which would take file path as a URL parameter:

<repositories>
    <repository>
        <id>local-maven-repo</id>
        <url>file:///${project.parent.basedir}/local-maven-repo</url>
    </repository>
</repositories>

The dependency can be specified as for any other repository. This makes your pom repository independent. For instance, once the desired JAR is available in Maven central, you just need to delete it from your local repo and it will be pulled from the default repo.

    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.apache.felix</groupId>
        <artifactId>org.apache.felix.servicebinder</artifactId>
        <version>0.9.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
    </dependency>

The last but not least thing to do is to add the JAR file to local repository using -DlocalRepositoryPath switch like so:

mvn org.apache.maven.plugins:maven-install-plugin:2.5.2:install-file  \
    -Dfile=/some/path/on/my/local/filesystem/felix/servicebinder/target/org.apache.felix.servicebinder-0.9.0-SNAPSHOT.jar \
    -DgroupId=org.apache.felix -DartifactId=org.apache.felix.servicebinder \
    -Dversion=0.9.0-SNAPSHOT -Dpackaging=jar \
    -DlocalRepositoryPath=${master_project}/local-maven-repo

Once the JAR file is installed, your Maven repo can be committed to a code repository, and the whole set-up is system independent. (Working example in GitHub).

I agree that having JARs committed to source code repo is not a good practice, but in real life, quick and dirty solutions are sometimes better than a full blown Nexus repo to host one JAR that you cannot publish.

---

Create a new folder, let's say local-maven-repo at the root of your Maven project.

Just add a local repo inside your <project> of your pom.xml:

<repositories>
    <repository>
        <id>local-maven-repo</id>
        <url>file:///${project.basedir}/local-maven-repo</url>
    </repository>
</repositories>

Then for each external jar you want to install, go at the root of your project and execute:

mvn deploy:deploy-file -DgroupId=[GROUP] -DartifactId=[ARTIFACT] -Dversion=[VERS] -Durl=file:./local-maven-repo/ -DrepositoryId=local-maven-repo -DupdateReleaseInfo=true -Dfile=[FILE_PATH]

---

I'd like such solution - use maven-install-plugin in pom file:

<plugin>
    <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
    <artifactId>maven-install-plugin</artifactId>
    <version>2.5.2</version>
    <executions>
        <execution>
            <phase>initialize</phase>
            <goals>
                <goal>install-file</goal>
            </goals>
            <configuration>
                <file>lib/yourJar.jar</file>
                <groupId>com.somegroup.id</groupId>
                <artifactId>artefact-id</artifactId>
                <version>x.y.z</version>
                <packaging>jar</packaging>
            </configuration>
        </execution>
    </executions>
</plugin>

In this case you can perform mvn initialize and jar will be installed in local maven repo. Now this jar is available during any maven step on this machine (do not forget to include this dependency as any other maven dependency in pom with <dependency></dependency> tag). It is also possible to bind jar install not to initialize step, but any other step you like.

---

The really quick and dirty way is to point to a local file, please note "system" is deprecated by now:

<dependency>
    <groupId>com.sample</groupId>  
    <artifactId>samplifact</artifactId>  
    <version>1.0</version> 
    <scope>system</scope>
    <systemPath>C:\DEV\myfunnylib\yourJar.jar</systemPath>
</dependency>

However this will only live on your machine (obviously), for sharing it usually makes sense to use a proper m2 archive (nexus/artifactory) or if you do not have any of these or don't want to set one up a local maven structured archive and configure a "repository" in your pom:

local:

<repositories>
    <repository>
        <id>my-local-repo</id>
        <url>file://C:/DEV//mymvnrepo</url>
    </repository>
</repositories>

remote:

<repositories>
    <repository>
        <id>my-remote-repo</id>
        <url>http://192.168.0.1/whatever/mavenserver/youwant/repo</url>
    </repository>
</repositories>

for this solution, a relative path is also possible using the basedir variable:

<url>file:${basedir}</url>

---

<dependency>
    <groupId>group id name</groupId>
    <artifactId>artifact name</artifactId>
    <version>version number</version>
    <scope>system</scope>
    <systemPath>jar location</systemPath>
</dependency>

---

Important part in dependency is: ${pom.basedir} (instead of just ${basedir})

<dependency>
    <groupId>org.example</groupId>
    <artifactId>example</artifactId>
    <version>1.0</version>
    <scope>system</scope>
    <systemPath>${pom.basedir}/src/lib/example.jar</systemPath>
</dependency>

---

Add your own local JAR in POM file and use that in maven build.

mvn install:install-file -Dfile=path-to-jar -DgroupId=owngroupid -DartifactId=ownartifactid -Dversion=ownversion -Dpackaging=jar

For example:

mvn install:install-file -Dfile=path-to-jar -DgroupId=com.decompiler -DartifactId=jd-core-java -Dversion=1.2 -Dpackaging=jar

Then add it to the POM like this:

https://i.stack.imgur.com/ywD6y.png

---

Step 1: Configure the maven-install-plugin with the goal install-file in your pom.xml

<plugin>
    <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
    <artifactId>maven-install-plugin</artifactId>
    <executions>
        <execution>
            <id>install-external-non-maven-jar-MWS-Client-into-local-maven-repo</id>
            <phase>clean</phase>
            <configuration>
                <repositoryLayout>default</repositoryLayout>
                <groupId>com.amazonservices.mws</groupId>
                <artifactId>mws-client</artifactId>
                <version>1.0</version>
                <file>${project.basedir}/lib/MWSClientJavaRuntime-1.0.jar</file>
                <packaging>jar</packaging>
                <generatePom>true</generatePom>
            </configuration>
            <goals>
                <goal>install-file</goal>
            </goals>
        </execution>
    </executions>
</plugin>

Make sure to edit the file path based on your actual file path (recommended is to place these external non-maven jars inside some folder, let's say lib, and place this lib folder inside your project so as to use project-specific relative path and avoid adding system specific absolute path.

If you have multiple external jars, just repeat the <execution> for other jars within the same maven-install-plugin.

Step 2: Once you have configured the maven-install-plugin as shown above in your pom.xml file, you have to use these jars in your pom.xml as usual:

    <dependency>
        <groupId>com.amazonservices.mws</groupId>
        <artifactId>mws-client</artifactId>
        <version>1.0</version>
    </dependency>

Note that the maven-install-plugin only copies your external jars to your local .m2 maven repository. That's it. It doesn't automatically include these jars as maven dependencies to your project.

It's a minor point, but sometimes easy to miss.

---

One way is to upload it to your own Maven repository manager (such as Nexus). It's good practice to have an own repository manager anyway.

Another nice way I've recently seen is to include the Maven Install Plugin in your build lifecycle: You declare in the POM to install the files to the local repository. It's a little but small overhead and no manual step involved.

http://maven.apache.org/plugins/maven-install-plugin/install-file-mojo.html

---

Of course you can add jars to that folder. But maybe it does not what you want to achieve...

If you need these jars for compilation, check this related question: Can I add jars to maven 2 build classpath without installing them?

Also, before anyone suggests it, do NOT use the system scope.

---

Another interesting case is when you want to have in your project private maven jars. You may want to keep the capabilities of Maven to resolve transitive dependencies. The solution is fairly easy.

Create a folder libs in your project Add the following lines in your pom.xml file ${pom.basedir}/libs/ local-maven-repository file://${local.repository.folder} true true Open the .m2/repository folder and copy the directory structure of the project you want to import into the libs folder.

E.g. suppose you want to import the dependency

<dependency>
    <groupId>com.mycompany.myproject</groupId>
    <artifactId>myproject</artifactId>
    <version>1.2.3</version>
</dependency>

Just go on .m2/repository and you will see the following folder

com/mycompany/myproject/1.2.3

Copy everything in your libs folder (again, including the folders under .m2/repository) and you are done.

---

command line :

mvn install:install-file -Dfile=c:\kaptcha-{version}.jar -DgroupId=com.google.code
-DartifactId=kaptcha -Dversion={version} -Dpackaging=jar

---

Add local jar libraries, their sources and javadoc to a Maven project

If you have pre-compiled jar files with libraries, their sources and javadoc, then you can install them to your local Maven repository like this:

mvn install:install-file
    -Dfile=awesomeapp-1.0.1.jar \
    -DpomFile=awesomeapp-1.0.1.pom \
    -Dsources=awesomeapp-1.0.1-sources.jar \
    -Djavadoc=awesomeapp-1.0.1-javadoc.jar \
    -DgroupId=com.example \
    -DartifactId=awesomeapp \
    -Dversion=1.0.1 \
    -Dpackaging=jar

Then in your project you can use this libraries:

<!-- com.example -->
<dependency>
    <groupId>com.example</groupId>
    <artifactId>awesomeapp</artifactId>
    <version>1.0.1</version>
</dependency>

See: maven-install-plugin usage.

Or you can build these libraries yourself with their sources and javadoc using maven-source-plugin and maven-javadoc-plugin, and then install them.

Example project: library

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0"
         xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
         xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0
         http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
    <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>

    <url>https://example.com/awesomeapp</url>

    <groupId>com.example</groupId>
    <artifactId>awesomeapp</artifactId>
    <name>awesomeapp</name>
    <version>1.0.1</version>
    <packaging>jar</packaging>

    <properties>
        <java.version>12</java.version>
    </properties>

    <build>
        <finalName>awesomeapp</finalName>
        <defaultGoal>install</defaultGoal>

        <plugins>
            <plugin>
                <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
                <version>3.8.1</version>
                <configuration>
                    <source>${java.version}</source>
                    <target>${java.version}</target>
                    <encoding>UTF-8</encoding>
                </configuration>
            </plugin>
            <plugin>
                <inherited>true</inherited>
                <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                <artifactId>maven-source-plugin</artifactId>
                <version>3.2.1</version>
                <executions>
                    <execution>
                        <id>attach-sources</id>
                        <goals><goal>jar</goal></goals>
                    </execution>
                </executions>
            </plugin>
            <plugin>
                <inherited>true</inherited>
                <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                <artifactId>maven-javadoc-plugin</artifactId>
                <version>3.2.0</version>
                <executions>
                    <execution>
                        <id>attach-javadocs</id>
                        <goals><goal>jar</goal></goals>
                    </execution>
                </executions>
            </plugin>
        </plugins>
    </build>
</project>

Execute maven install goal:

mvn install

Check your local Maven repository:

~/.m2/repository/com/example/awesomeapp/1.0.1/
 ├─ _remote.repositories
 ├─ awesomeapp-1.0.1.jar
 ├─ awesomeapp-1.0.1.pom
 ├─ awesomeapp-1.0.1-javadoc.jar
 └─ awesomeapp-1.0.1-sources.jar

Then you can use this library:

<!-- com.example -->
<dependency>
    <groupId>com.example</groupId>
    <artifactId>awesomeapp</artifactId>
    <version>1.0.1</version>
</dependency>

---

I think a better solution for this problem is to use maven-install-plugin to automatically install the files at install time. This is how I set it up for my project.

First, add the path (where you store the local .jars) as a property.

<properties>
    <local.sdk>/path/to/jar</local.sdk>
</properties>

Then, under plugins add a plugin to install the jars when compiling.

<plugin>
    <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
    <artifactId>maven-install-plugin</artifactId>
    <version>2.5.2</version>
    <executions>
        <execution>
            <id>1</id>
            <phase>initialize</phase>
            <goals>
                <goal>install-file</goal>
            </goals>
            <configuration>
                <groupId>com.local.jar</groupId> 
                <artifactId>appengine-api</artifactId>
                <version>1.0</version>
                <packaging>jar</packaging>
                <file>${local.sdk}/lib/impl/appengine-api.jar</file>
            </configuration>
        </execution>
        <execution>
            <id>appengine-api-stubs</id>
            <phase>initialize</phase>
            <goals>
                <goal>install-file</goal>
            </goals>
            <configuration>
                <groupId>com.local.jar</groupId>
                <artifactId>appengine-api-stubs</artifactId>
                <version>1.0</version>
                <packaging>jar</packaging>
                <file>${local.sdk}/lib/impl/appengine-api-stubs.jar</file>
            </configuration>
        </execution>
    </executions>
</plugin>

Finally, in dependencies, you can add the jars

<dependency>
    <groupId>com.local.jar</groupId>
    <artifactId>appengine-api</artifactId>
    <version>1.0</version>
</dependency>

<dependency>
    <groupId>com.local.jar</groupId>
    <artifactId>appengine-api-stubs</artifactId>
    <version>1.0</version>
    <scope>test</scope>
</dependency>

By Setting up your project like this, the project will continue to build even when you take it to another computer (given that it has all the jar files in the path specified by the property local.sdk).

For groupId use a unique name just to make sure that there are no conflicts.

Now when you mvn install or mvn test local jars will be added automatically.

---

This is a short syntax for newer versions:

mvn install:install-file -Dfile=<path-to-file>

It works when the JAR was built by Apache Maven - the most common case. Then it'll contain a pom.xml in a subfolder of the META-INF directory, which will be read by default.

Source: http://maven.apache.org/guides/mini/guide-3rd-party-jars-local.html

---

The preferred way would be to create your own remote repository.

See here for details on how to do it. Have a look at the 'Uploading to a Remote Repository' section.

---

I want to share a code where you can upload a folder full of jars. It's useful when a provider doesn't have a public repository and you need to add lots of libraries manually. I've decided to build a .bat instead of call directly to maven because It could be Out of Memory errors. It was prepared for a windows environment but is easy to adapt it to linux OS:

import java.io.File;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.PrintWriter;
import java.util.Date;
import java.util.jar.Attributes;
import java.util.jar.JarFile;
import java.util.jar.Manifest;

public class CreateMavenRepoApp {

    private static final String OCB_PLUGIN_FOLDER = "C://your_folder_with_jars";

    public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {

    File directory = new File();
    //get all the files from a directory
    PrintWriter writer = new PrintWriter("update_repo_maven.bat", "UTF-8");
    writer.println("rem "+ new Date());  
    File[] fList = directory.listFiles();
    for (File file : fList){
        if (file.isFile()){               
        String absolutePath = file.getAbsolutePath() ;
        Manifest  m = new JarFile(absolutePath).getManifest();
        Attributes attributes = m.getMainAttributes();
        String symbolicName = attributes.getValue("Bundle-SymbolicName");

        if(symbolicName!=null &&symbolicName.contains("com.yourCompany.yourProject")) {
            String[] parts =symbolicName.split("\\.");
            String artifactId = parts[parts.length-1];
            String groupId = symbolicName.substring(0,symbolicName.length()-artifactId.length()-1);
            String version = attributes.getValue("Bundle-Version");
            String mavenLine= "call mvn org.apache.maven.plugins:maven-install-plugin:2.5.1:install-file -Dfile="+ absolutePath+" -DgroupId="+ groupId+" -DartifactId="+ artifactId+" -Dversion="+ version+" -Dpackaging=jar ";
            writer.println(mavenLine);          
        }

        }
    }
    writer.close();
    }

}

After run this main from any IDE, run the update_repo_maven.bat.

---

Create a local Maven repository directory, Your project root should look something like this to start with:

yourproject
+- pom.xml
+- src

Add a standard Maven repository directory called repo for the group com.example and version 1.0:

yourproject
+- pom.xml
+- src
+- repo

Deploy the Artifact Into the Repo, Maven can deploy the artifact for you using the mvn deploy:deploy-file goal:

mvn deploy:deploy-file -Durl=file:///pathtoyour/repo -Dfile=your.jar -DgroupId=your.group.id -DartifactId=yourid -Dpackaging=jar -Dversion=1.0

install pom file corresponding to your jar so that your project can find jar during maven build from local repo:

mvn install:install-file -Dfile=/path-to-your-jar-1.0.jar -DpomFile=/path-to-your-pom-1.0.pom

add repo in your pom file:

<repositories>
    <!--other repositories if any-->
    <repository>
        <id>project.local</id>
        <name>project</name>
        <url>file:${project.basedir}/repo</url>
    </repository>
</repositories>

add the dependency in your pom:

<dependency>
    <groupId>com.groupid</groupId>
    <artifactId>myid</artifactId>
    <version>1.0</version>
</dependency>

---

Also take a look at...

<scope>compile</scope>

Maven Dependencies. This is the default but I've found in some cases explicitly setting that scope also Maven to find local libraries in the local repository.

---

To install third party jar, Please call the command like below

mvn install:install-file -DgroupId= -DartifactId= -Dversion= -Dpackaging=jar -Dfile=path

---

For some reason, in the web application I'm giving maintenance to, neither Alireza Fattahi's solution nor JJ Roman's solution worked correctly. In both cases, the compilation goes okay (it sees the jar), but the packaging fails to include the jar inside the war.

The only way I managed to make it work was by putting the jar on /src/main/webapp/WEB-INF/lib/ and then combining it with either Fattahis's or Roman's solution.

---

Not an answer to the original question, however it might be useful for someone

There is no proper way to add multiple jar libraries from the folder using Maven. If there are only few dependencies, it is probably easier to configure maven-install-plugin as mentioned in the answers above.

However for my particular case, I had a lib folder with more than 100 proprietary jar files which I had to add somehow. And for me it was much easier for me to convert my Maven project to Gradle.

plugins {
    id 'org.springframework.boot' version '2.2.2.RELEASE'
    id 'io.spring.dependency-management' version '1.0.8.RELEASE'
    id 'java'
}

group = 'com.example'
version = '0.0.1-SNAPSHOT'
sourceCompatibility = '1.8'

repositories {
    mavenCentral()
    flatDir {
       dirs 'libs' // local libs folder
   }
}

dependencies {
    implementation 'org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-web'
    testImplementation('org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-test') {
        exclude group: 'org.junit.vintage', module: 'junit-vintage-engine'
    }
    
    implementation 'io.grpc:grpc-netty-shaded:1.29.0'
    implementation 'io.grpc:grpc-protobuf:1.29.0'
    implementation 'io.grpc:grpc-stub:1.29.0' // dependecies from maven central

    implementation name: 'akka-actor_2.12-2.6.1' // dependecies from lib folder
    implementation name: 'akka-protobuf-v3_2.12-2.6.1'
    implementation name: 'akka-stream_2.12-2.6.1'

 }

---

Note that it is NOT necessarily a good idea to use a local repo. If this project is shared with others then everyone else will have problems and questions when it doesn't work, and the jar won't be available even in your source control system!

Although the shared repo is the best answer, if you cannot do this for some reason then embedding the jar is better than a local repo. Local-only repo contents can cause lots of problems, especially over time.

---

On your local repository you can install your jar by issuing the commands

 mvn install:install-file -Dfile=<path-to-file> -DgroupId=<group-id> \
-DartifactId=<artifact-id> -Dversion=<version> -Dpackaging=<packaging>

Follow this useful link to do the same from mkyoung's website. You can also check maven guide for the same

---

mvn install

You can write code below in command line or if you're using eclipse builtin maven right click on project -> Run As -> run configurations... -> in left panel right click on Maven Build -> new configuration -> write the code in Goals & in base directory :${project_loc:NameOfYourProject} -> Run

mvn install:install-file
   -Dfile=<path-to-file>
   -DgroupId=<group-id>
   -DartifactId=<artifact-id>
   -Dversion=<version>
   -Dpackaging=<packaging>
   -DgeneratePom=true

Where each refers to:

< path-to-file >: the path to the file to load e.g -> c:\kaptcha-2.3.jar

< group-id >: the group that the file should be registered under e.g -> com.google.code

< artifact-id >: the artifact name for the file e.g -> kaptcha

< version >: the version of the file e.g -> 2.3

< packaging >: the packaging of the file e.g. -> jar

2.After installed, just declares jar in pom.xml.

 <dependency>
      <groupId>com.google.code</groupId>
      <artifactId>kaptcha</artifactId>
      <version>2.3</version>
 </dependency>

---

Perhaps someone will be interested in: https://github.com/Limraj/maven-artifact-generator

Console program to generate maven artifacts in the local repository, and configure dependencies for pom.xml, based on the path to the jars. You can do this for one file, but it's most useful if you have multiple jar files.

path jars: java -jar maven-artifact-generator-X.X.X.jar -p path_to_jars -g com.test -V 1.2.3 -P jar

jar: java -jar maven-artifact-generator-X.X.X.jar -f file_jar -g com.test -V 1.2.3 -P jar

This will generate an artifact in the local maven repository, and generate dependecies for pom.xml in gen.log. ArtifactId is the name of the jar file.

Requires an installed maven. Testing on widnows 7 and macOS X (unix/linux).

---

I had the same error for a set of dependencies in my pom.xml turns out the versions of the dependencies was not specified in the pom.xml and was mentioned in the parent repository. For some reason the version details was not syncing with this repo. Hence i manually entered the versions using the tag and it worked like a charm. Little bit of time needed to look up the versions in the parent and specify here. But this can be done just for the jars that are showing the artifactid error and it works. Hope this helps someone.

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In Apache Maven 3.5.4, I had to add double quotation. Without double quotation it wasn't worked for me.

example: mvn install:install-file "-Dfile=location to the jar file" "-DgroupId=group id" "-DartifactId=artifact id" "-Dversion=version" "-Dpackaging=package type"

---