[FIXED] How to display dependency updates only for release versions

Issue

When I'm running versions:display-dependency-updates, it will show all the newest beta / milestone versions of my dependencies. I prefer using "release" packages.

versions:use-latest-releases talks about "replacing" with the latest release version. However, I prefer updating the versions manually.

Can I run the versions plugin to give me a report on the latest "release" versions of my dependencies and plugins?

I am referring to the "type" of the package as listed on mvnrepository.org

Solution

Two steps

Add rulesUri to the plugin configuration

<plugin>
    <groupId>org.codehaus.mojo</groupId>
    <artifactId>versions-maven-plugin</artifactId>
    <version>2.3</version>
    <configuration>
        <rulesUri>file:///${project.basedir}/rules.xml</rulesUri>
    </configuration>
    <executions>
        <execution>
        <phase>compile</phase>
        <goals>
            <goal>display-dependency-updates</goal>
            <goal>display-plugin-updates</goal>
        </goals>
        </execution>
    </executions>
</plugin>

Add the rules.xml file to your project root directory.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<ruleset xmlns="http://mojo.codehaus.org/versions-maven-plugin/rule/2.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" comparisonMethod="maven" xsi:schemaLocation="http://mojo.codehaus.org/versions-maven-plugin/rule/2.0.0 http://mojo.codehaus.org/versions-maven-plugin/xsd/rule-2.0.0.xsd">
    <ignoreVersions>
        <!-- Ignore Alpha's, Beta's, release candidates and milestones -->
        <ignoreVersion type="regex">(?i).*Alpha(?:-?\d+)?</ignoreVersion>
        <ignoreVersion type="regex">(?i).*a(?:-?\d+)?</ignoreVersion>
        <ignoreVersion type="regex">(?i).*Beta(?:-?\d+)?</ignoreVersion>
        <ignoreVersion type="regex">(?i).*-B(?:-?\d+)?</ignoreVersion>
        <ignoreVersion type="regex">(?i).*RC(?:-?\d+)?</ignoreVersion>
        <ignoreVersion type="regex">(?i).*CR(?:-?\d+)?</ignoreVersion>
        <ignoreVersion type="regex">(?i).*M(?:-?\d+)?</ignoreVersion>
    </ignoreVersions>
    <rules>
    </rules>
</ruleset>

The regex filters out the unstable releases. You can also target rules for specific dependencies, see:

http://blog.xebia.com/keeping-dependencies-up-to-date-in-maven/

https://gist.github.com/seahrh/b13f4f3d618ad7c817038e0bc124ef29

Version rules will also stay for future releases of the plugin.

Answered By - ruhong
Answer Checked By - Senaida (JavaFixing Volunteer)