Maven multi module and plugin calls

Question

my multi module project has the following structure:

parent
module 1 <-- inherits from parent via <relativePath>../parent/pom.xml</relativePath>
module 2 <-- inherits from parent via <relativePath>../parent/pom.xml</relativePath>
aggregator <-- aggregates modules with <modules><module>

The aggregator calls the following plugin:

<build>
<plugins>
    <plugin>
        <groupId>org.jacoco</groupId>
        <artifactId>jacoco-maven-plugin</artifactId>
        <executions>
            <execution>
                <id>jacoco-initialize</id>
                <goals>
                    <goal>prepare-agent</goal>
                </goals>
                <configuration>
                    <destFile>some path</destFile>
                </configuration>
            </execution>
        </executions>
        <configuration>
            <append>true</append>
        </configuration>
    </plugin>
</plugins>
</build>

The plugin is called for the aggregator, but i want to call it for all modules (1 and 2).

I know that i can change the parent pom, but i want to keep it clean (that change is part of a bigger implementation).

Is it possible to configure the plugin in such a way, that its called for all modules (just like being placed in parent pom)?

Answer 1

In short: No.

The only way for a module to get a plugin in a lifecycle not defined in its own POM is by inheriting the configuration from its parent.

You should really consider merging parent and aggregator into a single project, i.e. making the aggegrator also the parent. It is much cleaner that way.