Minimize an Uber Jar correctly, Using Shade-Plugin

Question

I am using the Maven-Shade-Plugin to create a runnable Uber-jar. According to the last frame on this page, the size of the jar can be minimized by using:

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Answer 1

This functionality has been added to version 1.6 of the maven-shade-plugin (just released). minimizeJar will now not remove classes that have been specifically included with filters. Note that including some of an artifact's classes in a filter will exclude non-specified classes for that artifact, so be sure to include all the classes that you need.

Here's an example plugin config:

    org.apache.maven.plugins
    maven-shade-plugin
    1.6    
    
        
            package
            
                shade
                                    
            
                true    
                 
                    
                       log4j:log4j
                       
                           **
                       
                     
                    
                       commons-logging:commons-logging
                       
                           **
                       
                                          
                
            
        
    

To only include specific classes, add them as includes using path slashes in the class name in a filter (again, non-included classes will be automatically excluded).

  org.yourorg:your-artifact
  
    org/yourorg/yourartifact/api/*
    org/yourorg/yourartifact/util/*