How to use the mvn -D to set (multiple) properties in Maven via command line?

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The proper way to set a property via command-line using -D is:

mvn -DpropertyName=propertyValue clean package
  • If propertyName doesn’t exist in the pom.xml, it will be set.
  • If propertyName already exists in the pom.xml, its value will be overwritten by the one passed as argument via -D.

To send multiple variables, use multiple space delimited -Ds:

mvn -DpropA=valueA -DpropB=valueB -DpropC=valueC clean package

You can check more details about properties in Maven: The Complete Reference. More specifically, in section: 6.1. Maven Command Line Options/6.1.1. Defining Properties.

Example:

If you have in your pom.xml:

<properties>
    <theme>myDefaultTheme</theme>
</properties>

Then mvn -Dtheme=halloween clean package would overwrite themes value during this execution, having the effect as if you had:

<properties>
    <theme>halloween</theme>
</properties>

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