How to configure Maven for Java 8/11/17

If you want your Java Maven Project to work with a specific version of Java - 8/11/17, you can do that by adding the below to your pom.xml file.

Configure Java 8 with pom.xml

<properties>
        <maven.compiler.target>1.8</maven.compiler.target>
        <maven.compiler.source>1.8</maven.compiler.source>
    </properties>

Configure Java 11 with pom.xml

<properties>
        <maven.compiler.target>11</maven.compiler.target>
        <maven.compiler.source>11</maven.compiler.source>
    </properties>

Configure Java 17 with pom.xml

<properties>
        <maven.compiler.target>17</maven.compiler.target>
        <maven.compiler.source>17</maven.compiler.source>
    </properties>

Example using Maven Compiler Plugin Configuration

<build>
    <plugins>
        <plugin>
            <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
            <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
            <version>3.8.1</version>
            <configuration>
                <source>11</source>
                <target>11</target>
            </configuration>
        </plugin>
    </plugins>
</build>

By adding the build tag, we tell the Maven Compiler Plugin to use specific Java versions as both the source and target compatibility.