[SUREFIRE-846] Maven surefire plugin creates two surefire* directories in the ${project.build.directory}

• Type: Improvement
• Status: Closed
• Priority: Major
• Resolution: Fixed
• Affects Version/s: 2.12
• Fix Version/s: 2.12.2
• Component/s: Maven Surefire Plugin
• Environment: Maven 3.0.4 ; Java 1.6.0_19 ; Linux 2.6.36.2
• Assignee: Kristian Rosenvold
• Reporter: Martin Todorov
• Created: 28/Feb/12 08:18
• Updated: 06/Aug/12 13:48
• Resolved: 06/Aug/12 13:48

Description

Hi,

This is somewhere between a bug and a feature. I am filing it as per krosenv's suggestion.

The Maven surefire plugin is creating two surefire* directories in the ${project.build.directory}:

• surefire (empty after test executions)
• surefire-reports (containing the output of the tests)

I find this rather annoying. As far as I understand, the surefire directory is used during the testing and it contains some temporary stuff which is removed after the execution of the tests.

I have tried looking up the option to remove the surefire directory, but I can seem to find it. The thing is – I have other projects that don't have this empty directory, just the surefire-reports.

This empty directory breaks tab autocomplete in the console which sort of bugs me, mainly since the directory is empty.

In addition, this is just the test plugin, not the reporting one. There is no section in the project (not any parent).

This is my surefire plugin setup:

            <plugin>
                <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
                <artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
                <version>2.12</version>
                <configuration>

                    <excludes>
                        <exclude>**/*Abstr*Test*</exclude>
                    </excludes>
                </configuration>
            </plugin>

If this directory is really necessary, I would like to propose the following options:
1) Make surefire use one directory:

- surefire
| |- reports
| |- tmp

This way things will be tidy.

2) Have an option for the plugin which allows you to turn on the preserving of this directory (I think it should be removed by default).

Regards,

Martin