Build Pipeline

Relevant source files

• CHANGELOG.md
• README.md
• bom/pom.xml
• build-config/pom.xml
• code-parent/pom.xml
• components/pom.xml
• core/pom.xml
• extensions/codeeditor/pom.xml
• extensions/finder/pom.xml
• gwt/pom.xml
• icons/pom.xml
• j2cl/pom.xml
• layouts/pom.xml
• pom.xml
• showcase/pom.xml

This page describes the Maven build pipeline for PatternFly Java, including the plugins used throughout the build, Maven profiles that control build behavior, and the lifecycle phases where different build activities occur. For information about the Maven project structure itself, see Maven Project Structure. For CI/CD automation that uses this build pipeline, see CI/CD Workflows and Release Process.

Overview

The PatternFly Java build pipeline is implemented using Maven and orchestrates multiple build tools:

• Maven plugins for Java compilation, validation, and packaging
• Frontend Maven Plugin for Node.js/NPM integration
• JBang Plugin for executing Java-based code generation scripts
• GWT Maven Plugin for creating GWT library modules
• J2CL Maven Plugin for Java-to-JavaScript transpilation

Build behavior is controlled through Maven profiles that enable or disable specific activities like quality checks, release packaging, and showcase compilation.

Build Plugins

Quality and Formatting Plugins

The root POM configures several plugins that enforce code quality and consistent formatting across all modules:

Sources: pom.xml342-427

editorconfig-maven-plugin

Enforces formatting rules defined in .editorconfig files. Configured to exclude generated directories like node_modules/ and .parcel-cache/.

Executions:

• editorconfig-format in process-sources phase - formats files
• editorconfig-check in verify phase - validates formatting

Sources: pom.xml342-360

impsort-maven-plugin

Organizes Java imports according to defined group ordering: java., javax., jakarta., org., io., com.. Static imports are placed after regular imports.

Executions:

• impsort-sort in process-sources phase - sorts imports
• impsort-check in verify phase - validates import ordering

Configuration: pom.xml164-171
Sources: pom.xml362-380

license-maven-plugin

Manages Apache License 2.0 headers on source files. Excludes generated files like Version.java, IconSets.java, and Token.java.

Executions:

• license-format in process-sources phase - adds/updates headers
• license-check in verify phase - validates headers are present

Configuration: pom.xml192-234
Sources: pom.xml382-400

maven-checkstyle-plugin

Validates code against WildFly checkstyle rules. Uses wildfly-checkstyle-config dependency for rule definitions.

Execution:

• checkstyle-check in verify phase - validates code style

Configuration: pom.xml236-253
Sources: pom.xml402-413

maven-enforcer-plugin

Enforces build prerequisites:

• Maven version: Minimum 3.9.9
• Java version: Minimum Java 21
• Repository security: Blocks HTTP repositories, requires HTTPS

Execution:

• enforcer-enforce in initialize phase - validates environment

Configuration: pom.xml254-285
Sources: pom.xml415-427

Code Generation Plugins

Several modules use plugins to generate Java source code during the build:

Sources: core/pom.xml81-101 icons/pom.xml59-94 showcase/pom.xml126-157 showcase/pom.xml166-199

frontend-maven-plugin

Executes Node.js and NPM commands within the Maven build. Used for:

• Installing Node.js locally (version 24.10.0)
• Running NPM scripts for code generation
• Building frontend assets with Parcel

Configuration: pom.xml152-156

Icons Module Usage:

generate-sources phase:
  1. install-node-and-npm
  2. yarn-install (npm install)
  3. generate-icon-specs (npm run generate)

Sources: icons/pom.xml59-94

Showcase Module Usage:

prepare-package phase:
  1. install-node-and-npm
  2. npm-install
  
Optional (prod profile):
  3. npm-parcel (npm run prod)

Sources: showcase/pom.xml166-199 showcase/pom.xml232-247

jbang-maven-plugin

Executes JBang scripts written in Java for code generation. Scripts can use Java dependencies and are compiled on-the-fly.

Configuration: pom.xml173-177

Core Module - Version Generation: Runs version.java script to generate org.patternfly.core.Version class with project version and PatternFly CSS version.

Execution: generate-version in generate-sources phase
Script: core/version.java
Output: core/src/main/java/org/patternfly/core/Version.java

Sources: core/pom.xml81-101

Showcase Module - Code/Documentation Generation: Runs two scripts:

• code.java - generates Code.java with code snippets for showcase
• doc.java - generates Documentation.java with documentation content

Executions: generate-code and generate-doc in generate-sources phase
Sources: showcase/pom.xml126-157

Compilation Plugins

Different modules use different compilation strategies based on their target platform:

Plugin	Modules	Purpose	Packaging Type
gwt-maven-plugin	core, icons, tokens, layouts, components, extensions, gwt	Creates GWT library modules	gwt-lib
j2cl-maven-plugin	showcase	Transpiles Java to JavaScript	jar
maven-compiler-plugin	showcase	Standard Java compilation with annotation processing	jar

gwt-maven-plugin

Creates GWT library modules (.gwt-lib files) containing source and compiled bytecode. Each module defines a GWT module name used in inherits declarations.

Version: 1.2.0
Configuration: pom.xml157-162

Module Configurations:

Module	GWT Module Name
core	org.patternfly.Core
icons	org.patternfly.Icons
layouts	org.patternfly.Layouts
components	org.patternfly.Components
codeeditor	org.patternfly.extension.CodeEditor
finder	org.patternfly.extension.Finder
gwt	org.patternfly.PatternFly

Sources: core/pom.xml102-108 icons/pom.xml95-101 layouts/pom.xml43-51 components/pom.xml60-68 extensions/codeeditor/pom.xml43-51 extensions/finder/pom.xml43-51 gwt/pom.xml73-81

j2cl-maven-plugin

Transpiles Java code to JavaScript for the showcase application. Supports incremental compilation and source maps for debugging.

Version: 0.23.6
Configuration: pom.xml178-186 showcase/pom.xml202-218

Showcase Configuration:

compilationLevel: BUNDLE_JAR (default) or ADVANCED_OPTIMIZATIONS (prod profile)
enableSourcemaps: true
incrementalEnabled: true (default) or false (prod profile)
initialScriptFilename: showcase.js
webappDirectory: target/showcase
workerThreadCount: 4

Sources: showcase/pom.xml34-43 showcase/pom.xml202-218 showcase/pom.xml224-229

Publishing Plugins

The release profile activates plugins for publishing artifacts to Maven Central:

Sources: pom.xml483-556 bom/pom.xml216-253

maven-source-plugin

Generates source JAR files for all modules.

Execution: attach-sources during release profile
Sources: pom.xml498-509

maven-javadoc-plugin

Generates Javadoc JAR files. Configured with links to external API documentation (Elemento, GWT, Elemental2) and snippet path for demo code.

Configuration: pom.xml429-453
Execution: attach-javadocs during release profile
Sources: pom.xml510-521

maven-gpg-plugin

Signs artifacts with GPG for Maven Central publication. Uses loopback pinentry mode for CI/CD compatibility.

Execution: sign-artifacts in verify phase during release profile
Sources: pom.xml522-541

central-publishing-maven-plugin

Publishes to Maven Central via Sonatype's Central Portal. Configured with auto-publish and wait-until-published settings.

Configuration:

publishingServerId: central
autoPublish: true
waitMaxTime: 86400 (24 hours)
waitUntil: published

Sources: pom.xml542-553 bom/pom.xml240-250

Build Profiles

Maven profiles control which build activities are executed:

quick-build Profile

Skips all quality checks and tests for faster development builds.

Activation: -Dquickly property or mvn -Pquick-build

Disabled activities:

• Checkstyle validation (checkstyle.skip=true)
• EditorConfig checks (editorconfig.skip=true)
• Enforcer rules (enforcer.skip=true)
• Import sorting (impsort.skip=true)
• License checks (license.skip=true)
• Javadoc generation (maven.javadoc.skip=true)
• Tests and integration tests (skipTests=true, skipITs=true)

Sources: pom.xml464-481

release Profile

Activates artifact signing and publishing to Maven Central.

Enabled activities:

1. Enforcer: Requires release (non-SNAPSHOT) dependencies
2. Source plugin: Attaches source JARs
3. Javadoc plugin: Attaches Javadoc JARs
4. GPG plugin: Signs all artifacts
5. Central Publishing plugin: Publishes to Maven Central

Defined in: Root POM and BOM
Sources: pom.xml482-556 bom/pom.xml215-253

apidoc Profile

Includes the apidoc module in the reactor build for generating aggregated API documentation.

Activation: Explicit -Papidoc

Module included: apidoc

Sources: pom.xml458-463

showcase Profile

Includes the showcase module in the reactor build for building the demonstration application.

Activation: Explicit -Pshowcase

Module included: showcase

Sources: pom.xml557-562

prod Profile (Showcase-Specific)

Optimizes J2CL compilation and bundles frontend assets for production deployment.

Activation: Explicit -Pprod (typically used with -Pshowcase)

Configuration changes:

• j2cl.compilationLevel: ADVANCED_OPTIMIZATIONS (from BUNDLE_JAR)
• j2cl.incremental: false (from true)
• j2cl.sourcemaps: true (unchanged)

Additional execution:

• Runs npm run prod to build optimized frontend assets with Parcel

Sources: showcase/pom.xml222-250

Build Lifecycle Execution Flow

The following diagram shows the Maven lifecycle phases and which plugins execute in each phase:

Sources: pom.xml293-454

Key Phase Activities

Phase	Activities	Relevant Plugins
initialize	Validate Maven and Java versions, check repository security	maven-enforcer-plugin
generate-sources	Generate Version.java, IconSets.java, Token.java, showcase code; Install Node.js	jbang-maven-plugin, frontend-maven-plugin
generate-test-sources	Add demo sources as test sources	build-helper-maven-plugin
process-sources	Format files, sort imports, add license headers	editorconfig-maven-plugin, impsort-maven-plugin, license-maven-plugin
compile	Compile Java sources, process GWT modules	maven-compiler-plugin, gwt-maven-plugin
prepare-package	Install NPM dependencies for showcase	frontend-maven-plugin
package	Transpile J2CL (showcase), create JAR files	j2cl-maven-plugin, maven-jar-plugin
verify	Check formatting, imports, licenses, code style; Sign artifacts (release profile)	editorconfig-maven-plugin, impsort-maven-plugin, license-maven-plugin, maven-checkstyle-plugin, maven-gpg-plugin
deploy	Publish to Maven Central (release profile)	central-publishing-maven-plugin

Module-Specific Build Configurations

Core Module Build

The core module generates version information during the build:

Process:

1. jbang-maven-plugin executes version.java script in generate-sources phase
2. Script receives project version and PatternFly version as arguments
3. Script generates org/patternfly/core/Version.java with version constants
4. Generated class is compiled with other sources

Script arguments:

• ${project.basedir} - module base directory
• ${project.version} - Maven project version (e.g., "0.5.1-SNAPSHOT")
• ${version.patternfly} - PatternFly CSS version from property

Sources: core/pom.xml65-111

Icons and Tokens Module Builds

Both icons and tokens modules use the frontend-maven-plugin to generate Java code from frontend assets:

Icons Module Process:

1. Install Node.js v24.10.0
2. Run npm install to download PatternFly assets
3. Run npm run generate to parse SVG files
4. Generate IconSets.java with factory methods for each icon set (fab, far, fas, patternfly)
5. Generate IconSpecs.java with icon metadata (viewBox, paths)

Generated files excluded from:

• License checks: pom.xml223-224
• Checkstyle: pom.xml243

Sources: icons/pom.xml42-103

Showcase Module Build

The showcase has the most complex build pipeline, combining Java compilation, J2CL transpilation, and frontend asset bundling:

Development Build (mvn package -Pshowcase):

1. Generate sources: Run JBang scripts to create Code.java and Documentation.java
2. Compile Java: Standard Maven compilation with annotation processing
3. Transpile J2CL: Convert Java to JavaScript with incremental mode and source maps
4. Install Node.js: Download and install Node.js v24.10.0 locally
5. NPM install: Install frontend dependencies

Manual development workflow:

• Run mvn j2cl:watch -Pshowcase for incremental J2CL compilation
• Run npm run dev for Parcel dev server and Express integration
• Access at http://localhost:1234

Production Build (mvn package -Pshowcase,prod):

1. All development build steps
2. J2CL optimization: Use ADVANCED_OPTIMIZATIONS compilation level
3. Parcel production: Run npm run prod to create optimized bundles
4. HTTP server: Serve with npm run http-server on port 8080

Compiler configuration differences:

Property	Development (default)	Production (prod profile)
j2cl.compilationLevel	BUNDLE_JAR	ADVANCED_OPTIMIZATIONS
j2cl.incremental	true	false
j2cl.sourcemaps	true	true

Sources: showcase/pom.xml1-252

Build Output Artifacts

Different modules produce different artifact types:

Module	Packaging	Primary Artifact	Additional Artifacts (release profile)
core, icons, tokens, layouts, components, extensions	gwt-lib	.gwt-lib file	-sources.jar, -javadoc.jar
gwt	gwt-lib	.gwt-lib file	-sources.jar, -javadoc.jar
j2cl	jar	.jar file	-sources.jar, -javadoc.jar
showcase	jar	.jar file + target/showcase/ directory	Not published
bom	pom	.pom file	None

GWT library artifacts contain:

• Compiled Java bytecode
• Java source files (for GWT compilation)
• GWT module descriptor (.gwt.xml)
• Resource files

J2CL JAR artifacts contain:

• Compiled Java bytecode
• Java source files (for J2CL transpilation)
• JavaScript externs files (META-INF/externs/)

Showcase directory structure:

target/showcase/
├── showcase.js          # J2CL transpiled application
├── bundle.js           # J2CL runtime and dependencies
├── index.html          # Parcel-processed HTML
├── main.*.js           # Parcel-bundled frontend assets
└── main.*.css          # PatternFly CSS

Sources: pom.xml1-599 showcase/pom.xml1-252 j2cl/pom.xml46-61