Maven 2 Javadoc Plugin

The Javadoc Plugin uses the Javadoc tool to generate javadocs for the specified project. For more information about the standard Javadoc tool, please refer to Reference Guide .

The Javadoc Plugin gets the parameter values that will be used from the plugin configuration specified in the pom. To hold all javadoc arguments, packages or files, the Javadoc Plugin generates argument files and calls the Javadoc tool as follow:

#${project.reporting.outputDirectory}/apidocs/javadoc.exe(or .sh) \
    @options @packages | @argfile

When no configuration values are set, the plugin sets default values instead and then executes the Javadoc tool.

You can also use the plugin to package the generated javadocs into a jar file for distribution.

Goals Overview

The Javadoc Plugin has six goals:

  • javadoc:javadoc generates the Javadoc files for the project. It executes the standard Javadoc tool and supports the parameters used by the tool.
  • javadoc:test-javadoc generates the test Javadoc files for the project. It executes the standard Javadoc tool and supports the parameters used by the tool.
  • javadoc:aggregate generates the Javadoc files for an aggregator project. It executes the standard Javadoc tool and supports the parameters used by the tool.
  • javadoc:test-aggregate generates the test Javadoc files for an aggregator project. It executes the standard Javadoc tool and supports the parameters used by the tool.
  • javadoc:jar creates an archive file of the generated Javadocs. It is used during the release process to create the Javadoc artifact for the project's release. This artifact is uploaded to the remote repository along with the project's compiled binary and source archive.
  • javadoc:test-jar creates an archive file of the generated Test Javadocs.

Usage

Instructions on how to use the Javadoc Plugin can be found here .