[FIXED] Conditionally run a mvn plugin if a specific directory doesn't exist

Issue

Is it possible to conditionally run a maven plugin only if a specific directory doesn't exist?

I'm essentially trying to prevent npm ci from running unnecessarily as package.json rarely changes. So ideally it would only run when node_modules doesn't exists.

<plugin>
    <groupId>org.codehaus.mojo</groupId>
    <artifactId>exec-maven-plugin</artifactId>
    <version>1.2.1</version>
    <executions>
        <execution>
            <id>npm-install</id>
            <phase>prepare-package</phase>
            <goals>
                <goal>exec</goal>
            </goals>
            <configuration>
                <executable>npm</executable>
                <arguments>
                    <argument>ci</argument>
                </arguments>
            </configuration>
        </execution>
    </executions>
</plugin>

Solution

You can wrap it into a profile and activate that profile only if a given file does not exist.

Answered By - J Fabian Meier
Answer Checked By - David Goodson (JavaFixing Volunteer)