Apache Maven Tips: How to add/include or remove/exclude files as Resources and Test Resources

Apache Maven’s Standard Directory Layout contains specific folders for application wide Resources and TestResources, they are:

src/main/resources
src/test/resources

What if you want to add or include more files as Resources or TestResources? a typical example is the use of standard README, LICENSE and NOTICE files, which by convention should reside at the very root of the project, like this:

./README
./LICENSE
./NOTICE
./src/...

In such situations, you can add or include files by adding a configuration similar to the following, under the <build/> section of your POM:

<build>
    <resources>
        <resource>
            <directory>${project.basedir}</directory>
            <includes>
                <include>README*</include>
                <include>LICENSE*</include>
                <include>NOTICE*</include>
            </includes>
        </resource>
    </resources>
    <testResources>
        <testResource>
            <directory>${project.basedir}</directory>
            <includes>
                <include>README*</include>
                <include>LICENSE*</include>
                <include>NOTICE*</include>
            </includes>
        </testResource>
    </testResources>

Similarly, you can remove or exclude files by adding a configuration similar to the following, under the <build/> section of your POM:

<build>
    <resources>
        <resource>
            <directory>${project.basedir}/src/main/resources</directory>
            <excludes>
                <exclude>SomeFile.toExclude</exclude>
            </excludes>
        </resource>
    </resources>
    <testResources>
        <testResource>
            <directory>${project.basedir}/src/test/resources</directory>
            <excludes>
                <exclude>SomeFile.toExclude</exclude>
            </excludes>
        </testResource>
    </testResources>