Maven release plugin: specify java compiler version

Question

I have this project made of multiple jars and war to make an ear. I build everything in snapshot and it works great. Then I made a release for every single project and saw t

Answer 1

Could it be that the release plugin is compiling in 1.6 or other, explaining the classes size difference ?

Can't be IMO. The Maven Release Plugin doesn't compile anything, it just triggers a phase that will itself trigger the compile phase and the Maven Compiler Plugin. In other words, the Maven Compiler Plugin and its settings will be used.

You can use the following commands to control what is happening exactly:

mvn help:active-profiles -Prelease

to check profiles. And

mvn help:effective-pom -Prelease

to check the effective pom.