How can I disable the Maven Javadoc plugin from the command line?

An overview of skipping the Javadoc generation

Skipping Javadoc generation can be handy in several situations:

• Speeding up your iterative development process
• Avoiding breaks in builds due to Javadoc errors
• Fast-tracking an emergency production release

Notably, skipping Javadocs can provide crucial assistance when:

• Coding on non-production branches, where you don't need full-blown documentation
• Wrestling with legacy codebases, where Javadocs can be outdated or not kept up-to-date.

More insights into disabling the Javadoc plugin

The Release Plugin scenario

When using Maven's Release Plugin, there might also be situations where you might want to skip the Javadoc generation. Here's how you can do it:

mvn release:prepare release:perform -Darguments='-Dmaven.javadoc.skip=true'


The skip argument is propagated correctly and Javadoc generation gets skipped throughout the release.

Setting in the Project vs Command Line

You can always use your pom.xml to set the skip property:

<properties>
  <maven.javadoc.skip>true</maven.javadoc.skip> <!--No Javadocs. No problems! 😎 -->
</properties>
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But, the command line switch brings better flexibility, all without disturbing your project configuration.

The 'jar' goal and Javadoc

And if you're working specifically with the jar goal of maven-javadoc-plugin:

mvn jar:jar -Dmaven.javadoc.skip=true <!--Skipping Javadoc during 'jar' like a boss! 💣 -->
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The skip parameter, in essence, gives you easy control for skipping the plugin's exertion regardless of the phase or goal.

No extra profiles needed

The best part about -Dmaven.javadoc.skip=true is that it is self-contained. This means, no fiddling with extra profiles in your pom.xml or unnecessary XML configurations. It's a one-stop show-offs, keeping your project setup lean and mean.

Challenges you might face

On this journey, you may encounter certain typical scenarios, such as:

• Inherited configurations from parent POM files enforcing Javadocs mandatorily
• Handling multi-module projects where not all modules necessitate skipping the documentation
• Ensuring your automated build systems like CI/CD pipelines acknowledge the command-line options correctly

To tackle these, explicitly present flags with every Maven command or modify the standard build configurations suitably.