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Posted to issues@maven.apache.org by "gnodet (via GitHub)" <gi...@apache.org> on 2026/09/24 21:52:10 UTC
[PR] Print usage when no goals and no POM are specified [maven]
gnodet opened a new pull request, #13269:
URL: https://github.com/apache/maven/pull/13269
## Problem
When a user types `mvn` without any arguments and there is no `pom.xml` in the current directory, Maven currently fails with:
```
[ERROR] No goals have been specified for this build. You must specify a valid lifecycle phase or a goal...
[ERROR] BUILD FAILURE
```
This is surprising and unhelpful — especially for new users. Tools like `java` and `javac` print usage in this situation.
The discussion on the dev list (["Print usage when no arguments are given"](https://lists.apache.org/thread/...) Sep 2026) confirmed broad agreement that the current behavior should be improved, with the key constraint that default goals must still work.
## Solution
Override `postCommands()` in `MavenInvoker` to detect the following narrow condition:
1. **No goals or lifecycle phases were given** on the command line.
2. **No POM file is present** in the current directory (or via `-f`).
When both are true, print the same help output as `mvn -h` and exit with code 0.
If a POM is found, Maven proceeds as before: the default goal (if any) is executed, or `NoGoalSpecifiedException` is reported as today. **Existing behavior for all normal project builds is unchanged.**
## Why this approach
- **No shell script changes needed** — shell-script patching would break default goals and require identical changes to `mvn.cmd`, `mvnDebug`, etc.
- **No full model resolution** — we reuse `determinePom()` which is a cheap file-existence check via `ModelProcessor.locateExistingPom()`. No parent POM downloads, no DI warmup.
- **Right hook point** — `postCommands()` fires after `lookup()` (DI is ready, `context.lookup` is available), so `determinePom()` can be called safely.
- **Consistent exit code** — exits 0, matching the `mvn -h` convention.
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Re: [PR] Print usage when no goals and no POM are specified [maven]
Posted by "gnodet (via GitHub)" <gi...@apache.org>.
gnodet commented on PR #13269:
URL: https://github.com/apache/maven/pull/13269#issuecomment-6147610985
Thanks for the suggestion, @raupach-e2n! I'd actually prefer to keep the current phrasing for a couple of reasons:
1. **Actionable path**: The message includes the actual path the user typed (e.g. `-f myproject/custom.xml`), not a hardcoded `pom.xml`. Without it the user has to guess which file was not found.
2. **Context**: The `-f/--file` reference tells them exactly which argument to fix.
3. **Consistency**: The `[ERROR] Error executing Maven.` header is standard Maven error framing used across the board — dropping it here would be inconsistent.
The current output:
```
[ERROR] Error executing Maven.
[ERROR] POM file X specified with the -f/--file command line argument does not exist
```
…is already a significant improvement over the previous double-printing. I think it strikes the right balance between brevity and actionability.
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Re: [PR] Print usage when no goals and no POM are specified [maven]
Posted by "ascheman (via GitHub)" <gi...@apache.org>.
ascheman commented on PR #13269:
URL: https://github.com/apache/maven/pull/13269#issuecomment-5828911460
Heads-up: CI is red on this PR — `initial-build` fails at the `test-mvn-path-conversion` exec (project `apache-maven`), and it's caused by this change.
All the path-*conversion* assertions pass (`ok - POSIX/CYGWIN/MINGW/MSYS …`); the script then aborts (it runs under `set -e`) at the first `-f` scenario:
```sh
output=`run_mvn_with_args CYGWIN_NT-10.0 "$stub_dir" -f /cygdrive/c/temp/pom.xml validate`
```
Root cause: this PR makes a non-existent `-f`/`--file` a **fatal early exit** in the launcher — `find_file_argument_basedir`'s `exit 1` is now propagated up (the correct fix for the double-error). Previously that "POM file … does not exist" message was printed but **non-fatal**, so the launcher continued. `test-mvn-path-conversion.sh` passes **simulated, non-existent** `-f` paths — it only checks path *conversion*, with `java` stubbed, so the file never had to exist — and under `set -e` the now-fatal exit aborts the test before it can assert the conversion.
The behavior change is right; the test just needs to catch up — e.g. `touch` a real file at each `-f` path the test passes (or point them at an existing stub) so the existence check passes and the conversion assertions still run. (`-s` scenarios are unaffected — settings files aren't existence-checked in the launcher.)
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Re: [PR] Print usage when no goals and no POM are specified [maven]
Posted by "gnodet (via GitHub)" <gi...@apache.org>.
gnodet merged PR #13269:
URL: https://github.com/apache/maven/pull/13269
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Re: [PR] Print usage when no goals and no POM are specified [maven]
Posted by "raupach-e2n (via GitHub)" <gi...@apache.org>.
raupach-e2n commented on PR #13269:
URL: https://github.com/apache/maven/pull/13269#issuecomment-5828425864
I would like to suggest a better phrasing. Instead of
```
POM file X does not exist
[ERROR] Error executing Maven.
[ERROR] Error determining top directory
[ERROR] Caused by: POM file X ... does not exist
```
Maybe this is sufficient:
```
[ERROR] Caused by: pom.xml does not exist
```
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Re: [PR] Print usage when no goals and no POM are specified [maven]
Posted by "Bukama (via GitHub)" <gi...@apache.org>.
Bukama commented on PR #13269:
URL: https://github.com/apache/maven/pull/13269#issuecomment-5832180590
Approve for the intended change, but build needs to be checked ofc ;)
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Re: [PR] Print usage when no goals and no POM are specified [maven]
Posted by "gnodet-bot (via GitHub)" <gi...@apache.org>.
gnodet-bot commented on code in PR #13269:
URL: https://github.com/apache/maven/pull/13269#discussion_r4267831735
##########
impl/maven-core/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/project/ProjectModelResolver.java:
##########
@@ -263,6 +266,9 @@ public ModelSource resolveModel(final Dependency dependency) throws Unresolvable
} catch (VersionRangeResolutionException e) {
throw new UnresolvableModelException(
e.getMessage(), dependency.getGroupId(), dependency.getArtifactId(), dependency.getVersion(), e);
+ } catch (IllegalArgumentException e) {
+ throw new UnresolvableModelException(
+ e.getMessage(), dependency.getGroupId(), dependency.getArtifactId(), dependency.getVersion(), e);
}
Review Comment:
💡 **Style:** Same multi-catch opportunity in the `Dependency` overload.
```suggestion
} catch (VersionRangeResolutionException | IllegalArgumentException e) {
throw new UnresolvableModelException(
e.getMessage(), dependency.getGroupId(), dependency.getArtifactId(), dependency.getVersion(), e);
}
```
##########
impl/maven-core/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/project/ProjectModelResolver.java:
##########
@@ -220,6 +220,9 @@ public ModelSource resolveModel(final Parent parent) throws UnresolvableModelExc
} catch (final VersionRangeResolutionException e) {
throw new UnresolvableModelException(
e.getMessage(), parent.getGroupId(), parent.getArtifactId(), parent.getVersion(), e);
+ } catch (final IllegalArgumentException e) {
+ throw new UnresolvableModelException(
+ e.getMessage(), parent.getGroupId(), parent.getArtifactId(), parent.getVersion(), e);
}
Review Comment:
💡 **Style:** Both catch blocks have identical bodies — collapse into a multi-catch to avoid duplication (this pattern is used extensively in the codebase, e.g. `DefaultMavenPluginManager`, `DefaultGraphBuilder`).
```suggestion
} catch (final VersionRangeResolutionException | IllegalArgumentException e) {
throw new UnresolvableModelException(
e.getMessage(), parent.getGroupId(), parent.getArtifactId(), parent.getVersion(), e);
}
```
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Re: [PR] Print usage when no goals and no POM are specified [maven]
Posted by "ascheman (via GitHub)" <gi...@apache.org>.
ascheman commented on PR #13269:
URL: https://github.com/apache/maven/pull/13269#issuecomment-5828683788
Looks good, and it lines up with the dev@ consensus on the "Print usage when no arguments are given" thread — POM present → the default goal (if any) still runs, otherwise print usage. Keying the Java check on POM presence rather than trying to detect a default goal also neatly side-steps the "detecting a default goal needs the built model, very early in startup" concern raised there. 👍
One cross-platform gap: the `[ERROR]` reformatting of the `-f`/`--file` messages landed in the Unix `mvn` script but not in the Windows launcher `mvn.cmd`, which carries the same two messages (`:process_file_arg`):
```bat
echo POM file "%FILE_ARG%" specified the -f/--file command-line argument does not exist >&2
echo Directory "%POM_DIR%" extracted from the -f/--file command-line argument "%FILE_ARG%" does not exist >&2
```
So Windows users still get the un-prefixed form. Those should become:
```bat
echo [ERROR] POM file "%FILE_ARG%" specified with the -f/--file command-line argument does not exist >&2
echo [ERROR] Directory "%POM_DIR%" extracted from the -f/--file command-line argument "%FILE_ARG%" does not exist >&2
```
(also fixes a stray `specified the` → `specified with the`, matching the Unix wording). I'd have made these one-click `suggestion`s, but `mvn.cmd` isn't part of this PR's diff, so GitHub won't let me anchor a suggestion there — if you add the file they can be applied directly.
The harder half of your Unix change needs no Windows counterpart, though: the subshell-exit propagation (so a bad `-f` aborts instead of continuing and printing the error twice) has nothing to fix in `mvn.cmd` — it already aborts on a bad `-f` via `goto error`, so it never had the double-error behavior. Only the `[ERROR]` prefix is missing there.
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Re: [PR] Print usage when no goals and no POM are specified [maven]
Posted by "gnodet (via GitHub)" <gi...@apache.org>.
gnodet commented on PR #13269:
URL: https://github.com/apache/maven/pull/13269#issuecomment-6214321349
<!-- maven-backport-bot -->
**Conflicts — manual resolution needed:**
- ❌ `maven-3.10.x`: Cherry-pick conflict in: apache-maven/src/assembly/maven/bin/mvn, apache-maven/src/assembly/maven/bin/mvn.cmd, impl/maven-cli/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/cling/invoker/BaseParser.java, impl/maven-cli/src/main/java/org/apache/maven/cling/invoker/mvn/MavenInvoker.java, impl/maven-core/src/test/java/org/apache/maven/project/ProjectModelResolverTest.java
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