Maven: include dependent jars into artifact jar

In maven to create the final artifact that includes all the classes/resources of the dependent jars, use the maven assembly plugin.

Sample basic configuration to include in pom.xml

<project>
  [...]
  <build>
    [...]
    <plugins>
      <plugin>
        <!-- NOTE: We don't need a groupId specification because the group is
             org.apache.maven.plugins ...which is assumed by default.
         -->
        <artifactId>maven-assembly-plugin</artifactId>
        <configuration>
          <descriptorRefs>
            <descriptorRef>jar-with-dependencies</descriptorRef>
          </descriptorRefs>
        </configuration>
        [...]
</project>

To build the final complete artifact with all the jars included, run the command:

mvn assembly:assembly

To build the final jars as part part of normal packaging process, use the following configuration in pom.xml:

<project>
  [...]
  <build>
    [...]
    <plugins>
      <plugin>
        <artifactId>maven-assembly-plugin</artifactId>
        <configuration>
          <descriptorRefs>
            <descriptorRef>jar-with-dependencies</descriptorRef>
          </descriptorRefs>
        </configuration>
        <executions>
          <execution>
            <id>make-assembly</id> <!-- this is used for inheritance merges -->
            <phase>package</phase> <!-- append to the packaging phase. -->
            <goals>
              <goal>single</goal> <!-- goals == mojos -->
            </goals>
          </execution>
        </executions>
      </plugin>
      [...]
</project>

"make package" will build the final jar( dependencies included )