What is the purpose of “clean install” in Maven?

In Maven, “clean install” is a commonly used command that serves two main purposes.

1. Clean: Remove all compiled results and artifacts in the project directory. This will delete the target directory (default build output directory), including compiled class files and packaged JAR files. This operation ensures that each build starts from scratch, avoiding interference from old build results on new builds.
2. Install: This command copies the build result of a project to the local repository. In Maven, the local repository is a place where project build artifacts are stored for other projects to use as dependencies. After running the install command, Maven will copy the build result of the current project (such as a JAR file) to the corresponding location in the local repository, allowing other projects to reference it through Maven dependency mechanisms.

In summary, the clean install command can clean the project build directory and install the build result to the local repository for use in other projects.