The Local Repository is the local cache where all artifacts needed for the build are stored. By default, it is located within the user's home directory (~/.m2/repository) but the location can be configured in ~/.m2/settings.xml using the <localRepository> element.
The install plugin is used during the install phase to add artifact(s) to the local repository. The install plugin uses the information in the POM (groupId, artifactId, version) to determine the proper location for the artifact within the local repository.
The install plugin has 2 goals:
Some basic instructions for configuring and using the mojos of the maven-install-plugin can be found in the Usage.
To provide you with better understanding on some usages of the Maven Install Plugin, you can take a look into the following examples: