Using System Properties

To add a system property, use the following configuration:

<project>
  [...]
  <build>
    <plugins>
      <plugin>
        <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
        <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
        <version>2.4.2</version>
        <configuration>
          <systemProperties>
            <property>
              <name>propertyName</name>
              <value>propertyValue</value>
            </property>
          </systemProperties>
        </configuration>
      </plugin>
    </plugins>
  </build>
  [...]
</project>

Take note that String valued properties can only be passed as system properties. Any attempt to pass any other Maven variable type (i.e. List or a URL variable) will cause the variable expression to be passed literally (unevaluated). So having an example below:

<project>
  [...]
  <build>
    <plugins>
      <plugin>
        <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
        <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
        <version>2.4.2</version>
        <configuration>
          <systemProperties>
            <property>
              <name>buildDir</name>
              <value>${project.build.outputDirectory}</value>
            </property>
          </systemProperties>
        </configuration>
      </plugin>
    </plugins>
  </build>
  [...]
</project>

will literally pass ${project.build.outputDirectory} because the value of that expression is a File, not a String.