Java artifact
Written by
Updated at March 5, 2026
A Java artifact is a file containing compiled Java code and relevant information. Artifacts are used to distribute libraries, frameworks, and other components you can add to Java projects.
Maven
Maven is a project build automation tool and a project management system. To manage project artifacts, it relies on the dependency concept. Dependencies are described in the main project configuration file named pom.xml.
In Maven, artifacts are ZIP files with specific content which are used as dependencies in other projects. Examples of artifacts:
For more information about Maven, see this documentation.