Using a Maven Plugin to Incrementally Compile and Skip Tests for Faster Builds

If you start a new Java project, Gradle is usually the first choice, but Maven still has advantages in certain scenarios, and you often need plugins to provide additional build functionality.

The Maven Java compiler plugin supports incremental compilation, yet it cannot handle extreme cases such as triggering compilation when source files change or skipping unit tests when no code changes are made.

Trigger compilation when source files are modified.

Skip unit tests when the code has not changed.

In most cases, to handle deleted files you must run mvn clean install , which compiles the entire codebase and runs all unit tests.

Fortunately, a plugin exists that solves both problems:

After code changes, it compiles the affected files and triggers a full build.

When there is no code change, it skips the execution of unit tests.

These two features can greatly reduce compilation time because usually only a few modules change and previous build outputs can be reused. Enabling this plugin allows for rapid builds.

How to Use the Plugin

The plugin is added in the pre‑clean phase by inserting the following entry into pom.xml and running mvn pre-clean install :

<plugin>
    <groupId>mavenplugin</groupId>
    <artifactId>compilerplugin</artifactId>
    <version>1.0-SNAPSHOT</version>
    <executions>
        <execution>
            <id>pre-clean</id>
            <phase>pre-clean</phase>
            <goals>
                <goal>inc</goal>
            </goals>
        </execution>
    </executions>
</plugin>

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