Could not initialize class org.apache.maven.plugin.war.util.WebappStructureSerializer -Maven Configuration Problem Any solution?

Question

When I am creating a Maven project I am getting this error in pom.xml

Could not initialize class org.apache.maven.plugin.war.util.WebappStructureSerializer
-Maven Configuration Problem

web.xml is missing and <failOnMissingWebXml> is set to true.

Answer 1

It might because the version of maven-war-plugin is too old in your project.

Try to add below code in your pom.xml

<plugin>
    <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
    <artifactId>maven-war-plugin</artifactId>
    <version>3.3.1</version>
</plugin>

Answer 2

<build>
      <plugins>
        <plugin>
            <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
            <artifactId>maven-war-plugin</artifactId>
            <version>3.3.1</version>
        </plugin>
    </plugins>
  </build>
</project>

Note: you should have the build tag place everything inside build tag then, it will not throw error

Answer 3

If you are getting this error within Eclipse (my Eclipse version was Version: 2021-09 (4.21.0), Build id: 20210910-1417 at the time of writing) and you recently tried to move to JDK 17, it appears Eclipse is not compatible with JDK 17. It requires at least JDK 11. I reverted back to Java 11.0.12 and the error has gone away.

Answer 4

I'm using Windows 10 and Eclipse Version: 2022-03 (4.23.0) Build id: 20220310-1457

My project uses JDK8, but newer versions of Eclipse require at least JDK11. I configure this using Window->Preferences->Java->Installed JREs as shown in the screenshot:

Maven from windows cmd shell works fine: mvn clean package

But, Eclipse gives an error on my pom.xml: Could not initialize class org.apache.maven.plugins.war.util.WebappStructureSerializer

For reference, Eclipse gave some other error messages while I was attempting to fix the issue, such as this one: Unable to make field private final java.util.Comparator java.util.TreeMap.comparator accessible: module java.base does not "opens java.util" to unnamed module

This error seems to be some compatibility issue with maven-war-plugin and the JDK17 that eclipse runs under. It's probably due to the 'module' permissions.

Using these helpful answers, I was able to find a workaround:
@Capricorn1 https://stackoverflow.com/a/69544567/4505142
@SreedharGS https://stackoverflow.com/a/29383652/4505142

I downloaded OpenJDK11 from: https://adoptium.net/

Updated eclipse.ini to use JDK11 instead of JDK17:

--launcher.appendVmargs
-vm
C:\Users\User1\OpenJDK11\jdk-11.0.15+10\bin
-vmargs
-Dosgi.requiredJavaVersion=11
-Dosgi.instance.area.default=@user.home/eclipse-workspace
-Dsun.java.command=Eclipse
-XX:+UseG1GC
-XX:+UseStringDeduplication
--add-modules=ALL-SYSTEM
-Dosgi.requiredJavaVersion=11
-Dosgi.dataAreaRequiresExplicitInit=true
-Dorg.eclipse.swt.graphics.Resource.reportNonDisposed=true
-Xms512m
-Xmx1024m
--add-modules=ALL-SYSTEM

For reference, here's the original eclipse.ini JDK17 path:

-vm
plugins/org.eclipse.justj.openjdk.hotspot.jre.full.win32.x86_64_17.0.2.v20220201-1208/jre/bin

Using JDK11 to run Eclipse, eliminated the pom.xml error "Could not initialize class org.apache.maven.plugins.war.util.WebappStructureSerializer"

For reference, here are the relevant snippets of my pom.xml:

    <properties>
        <spring-boot.version>1.5.13.RELEASE</spring-boot.version>
        <maven.compiler.source>1.8</maven.compiler.source>
        <maven.compiler.target>1.8</maven.compiler.target>
        <maven-compiler-plugin.version>3.6.0</maven-compiler-plugin.version>
        <maven-surefire-plugin.version>2.18.1</maven-surefire-plugin.version>
        <maven-war-plugin.version>3.0.0</maven-war-plugin.version>     
    </properties>
    ...
    <build>
        <plugins>
            <plugin>
                <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
                <version>${maven-compiler-plugin.version}</version>
                <configuration>
                    <source>${maven.compiler.source}</source>
                    <target>${maven.compiler.target}</target>
                </configuration>
            </plugin>
            <plugin>
                <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                <artifactId>maven-war-plugin</artifactId>
                <version>${maven-war-plugin.version}</version>
                <configuration>
                    <packagingExcludes>**/application-*.properties</packagingExcludes>
                </configuration>
                <executions>
                    <execution>
                        <id>default-war</id>
                        <phase>prepare-package</phase>
                        <configuration>
                            <failOnMissingWebXml>false</failOnMissingWebXml>
                        </configuration>
                    </execution>
                </executions>
            </plugin>
            <plugin>
                <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
                <artifactId>spring-boot-maven-plugin</artifactId>
                <version>${spring-boot.version}</version>
                <executions>
                    <execution>
                        <id>build-info</id>
                        <goals>
                            <goal>build-info</goal>
                        </goals>
                    </execution>
                </executions>
            </plugin>
        </plugins>
    </build>

Answer 5

In Pom.xml, need to add the below snippet, and please find image attachment

<build>
    <plugins>
        <plugin>
            <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
            <artifactId>spring-boot-maven-plugin</artifactId>
        </plugin>
        <plugin>
            <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
            <artifactId>maven-war-plugin</artifactId>
            <version>3.3.1</version>
        </plugin>
    </plugins>


</build>

• After update Maven Project

enter image description here

Answer 6

Please use the below code snip:

 <pluginManagement>
  <plugins>
    <plugin>
      <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
      <artifactId>maven-war-plugin</artifactId>
      <version>3.3.2</version>
    </plugin>
  </plugins>
</pluginManagement>

Please refer this

Answer 7

Try to add the plugin to your maven project, by adding this in your pom.xml

<plugin>
    <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
    <artifactId>maven-war-plugin</artifactId>
    <version>3.3.1</version>
</plugin>

After that: Right click -> Maven -> Update Project

Answer 8

I have the same problem as this when I create a maven project. So I got a solution for this just adding this plug into your pom.xml:

<plugin> 
      <artifactId>maven-war-plugin</artifactId>
      <version>3.2.2</version>
</plugin>

If you already have it, then you should upgrade its version.