content/apt/guides/getting-started/windows-prerequisites.apt

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 Maven on Windows
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 Benson Margulies
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 2012-07-01
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Maven on Windows

  Maven is a command-line tool for building Java (and other) programs. The Maven project provides a simple ZIP 
  file containing a precompiled version of Maven for your convenience. There is no installer. It's up to you
  to set up your prerequisites and environment to run Maven on Windows.

* Spaces in Pathnames

  Maven, like many cross-platform tools, can encounter problems when there are space characters in important pathnames.
  The instructions below will remind you of this for several particular items.

* Prerequisites

  Maven is written in Java (and primarily used to build Java programs). Thus, the major prerequisite is the Java SDK.
  You need to install the Java SDK (e.g. from {{{http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/downloads/index.html}Oracle's download site}}), and you should install it to a pathname without spaces, such as <<<c:\j2se1.6>>>.

  Once Java is installed, you must ensure that the commands from the Java SDK are in your PATH environment variable.
  Running, for example,

+-------+
java -version
+-------+

  must show the right version number.

* Maven Unpacked

  You need to unpack the Maven distribution. Don't unpack it in the middle of your source code; pick some location
  (with no spaces in the path!) and unpack it there. Let's assume that the path is <<<$\{maven.home\}>>>.

* Maven in PATH

  You run Maven by invoking a command-line tool: <<<mvn.cmd>>> from the <<<bin>>> directory of the Maven. To do this conveniently,
  <<<$\{maven.home\}\bin>>> must be in your PATH, just like the Java SDK commands. You can add directories to your <<<PATH>>>
  in the control panel; the details vary by Windows version.

* Firewalls and Anti-virus

  Firewall and Anti-virus sometimes prevent Java from running properly, or Windows Firewall (and various other Firewalls) actively
  prevent Java.exe from reaching out to the Internet to "download stuff" which is a key part of Maven
  You may need to configure the Firewall or Anti-virus to add exceptions to allow such actions.