Apache Maven Javadoc Plugin

Usage

The Javadoc Plugin generates javadocs using the Javadoc tool. The following examples describe the basic usage of the Plugin.

Generate Javadocs As Part Of Project Reports

To generate javadocs as part of the site generation, you should add the Javadoc Plugin in the <reporting> section of your pom:

<project>
  ...
  <reporting>
    <plugins>
      <plugin>
        <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
        <artifactId>maven-javadoc-plugin</artifactId>
        <version>3.11.2</version>
        <configuration>
          ...
        </configuration>
      </plugin>
    </plugins>
    ...
  </reporting>
  ...
</project>

When you execute mvn site, the javadocs will be generated and included in the generated site. A link to the javadocs will be added in the Project Reports menu.

Generate Standalone Javadocs

To generate standalone javadocs for the project, you could add the Javadoc Plugin in the <build> section of your pom (if no configuration defined, the plugin uses default values):

<project>
  ...
  <build>
    <plugins>
      <plugin>
        <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
        <artifactId>maven-javadoc-plugin</artifactId>
        <version>3.11.2</version>
        <configuration>
          ...
        </configuration>
      </plugin>
    </plugins>
    ...
  </build>
  ...
</project>

And execute any of the following commands:

mvn javadoc:javadoc
mvn javadoc:jar
mvn javadoc:aggregate
mvn javadoc:aggregate-jar
mvn javadoc:test-javadoc
mvn javadoc:test-jar
mvn javadoc:test-aggregate
mvn javadoc:test-aggregate-jar

For all jar goals, the javadocs are first generated and then packaged into a jar file.

Javadoc Configuration

The Javadoc Plugin supports a large number of configuration parameters. Each configuration parameter turns into a tag name.

Please refer to the Javadoc Plugin Documentation for a listing of these parameters. Most of these parameters are passed directly to the Javadoc tool itself.

IMPORTANT NOTE: configuring the Javadoc plugin in the <reporting/> or <build/> elements in the pom have NOT the same behavior as described in the Guide to Configuring Plug-ins.

For instance, if you have the following snippet:

<project>
  <build>
    <plugins>
      <plugin>
        <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
        <artifactId>maven-javadoc-plugin</artifactId>
        <version>3.11.2</version>
        <configuration>
          <show>private</show>
          <nohelp>true</nohelp>
        </configuration>
      </plugin>
    </plugins>
  </build>

  <reporting>
    <plugins>
      <plugin>
        <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
        <artifactId>maven-javadoc-plugin</artifactId>
        <version>3.11.2</version>
        <configuration>
          <stylesheetfile>${basedir}/src/main/javadoc/stylesheet.css</stylesheetfile>
          <show>public</show>
        </configuration>
      </plugin>
    </plugins>
  </reporting>
</project>

mvn site: It will generate the Javadoc for public members (defined in <reporting/>) using the given stylesheet (defined in <reporting/>), and with a help page (default value for nohelp is false).
mvn javadoc:javadoc: It will generate the Javadoc for private members (defined in <build/>) using the stylesheet (defined in <reporting/>), and with no help page (defined in <build/>).