# Share a Maven Site Report — target/site at a URL

Canonical: https://commareports.com/share-maven-site-report
Published: 2026-08-31

> mvn site builds a whole project report — tests, coverage, static analysis, javadoc, dependencies — into target/site, then leaves it there. Publish the folder as one cross-linked link.

# Share a Maven site report

`mvn site` is the most underused command in the Maven toolchain. Point the
report plugins at a project and it builds a single cross-linked site:
Surefire test results, JaCoCo coverage, Checkstyle and SpotBugs findings,
Javadoc, dependency analysis — all of it navigable from one index.

Then it writes the whole thing to `target/site/` and the story ends. The
official next step, `mvn site-deploy`, wants a configured
`distributionManagement` site repository and credentials, which is a real
amount of setup for an artifact most teams want per-branch and read once.

## Build it

```xml
<reporting>
  <plugins>
    <plugin>
      <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
      <artifactId>maven-surefire-report-plugin</artifactId>
    </plugin>
    <plugin>
      <groupId>org.jacoco</groupId>
      <artifactId>jacoco-maven-plugin</artifactId>
    </plugin>
  </plugins>
</reporting>
```

```bash
mvn -Dmaven.test.failure.ignore=true site
# → target/site/index.html
```

`-Dmaven.test.failure.ignore=true` is the Maven equivalent of `|| true`:
without it a failing test ends the build before `site` runs, and the run
you most want a report for produces none.

## Drop the folder in

Drag `target/site/` (or a zip) into [Comma](https://commareports.com/):

- `index.html` becomes the **report body** — the page carrying the comment
  layer.
- `surefire-report.html`, `jacoco/`, `checkstyle.html`, the dependency
  pages and the stylesheets upload alongside it, with relative references
  rewritten to the uploaded copies.
- The **cross-links between reports keep working**, which is the specific
  thing that makes the Maven site worth publishing as a unit rather than
  as four separate files.

Scripts run inside a sandboxed iframe (`allow-scripts`, no
`allow-same-origin`), so the sortable tables and collapsible sections
behave.

## From CI

```bash
mvn -Dmaven.test.failure.ignore=true site

curl -fsS -X PATCH "https://commareports.com/api/v1/reports/$REPORT_ID" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $COMMA_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "$(jq -n --rawfile html target/site/index.html \
        --arg title "Project report — $(git rev-parse --short HEAD)" \
        '{title: $title, html: $html}')"
```

The API is JSON-only, so the sub-report pages go up through
`POST /api/v1/reports/$REPORT_ID/assets` as base64 — one call per file,
worth scripting once. See the [API reference](/docs/api) and
[publishing from CI](/ci).

`PATCH`ing one saved id gives the project a permanent URL with a revision
per build, so the link in the README resolves to the current state and any
two builds are diffable.

## Watch the asset count

This is the constraint that bites. A report holds **500 assets**, and
`mvn site` with the Javadoc report attached generates one page per class —
past the limit on any non-trivial project.

Split it:

- **One report id for the build report** — Surefire, JaCoCo, static
  analysis. That's the one people read per build.
- **A separate report id for Javadoc**, published on release rather than
  per commit. See [share Javadoc](/share-javadoc).

Or drop the Javadoc report from `<reporting>` and generate it separately,
which most teams end up doing anyway.

## Multi-module builds

`mvn site` on a reactor produces a site per module, cross-linked from the
parent. Publishing the parent's `target/site/` gives you the aggregate
entry point; the module sites are separate directories, so either publish
the modules under active review or use `site:stage` to assemble a single
staged tree first:

```bash
mvn site site:stage -DstagingDirectory=$PWD/target/staging
```

Then publish `target/staging/`.

## What the URL changes

- **One link covers the build.** Tests, coverage and findings in one
  place, rather than four artifact paths in a wiki page.
- **Findings get argued with in place.** Select the Checkstyle violation
  or the uncovered branch, leave a thread, and it stays anchored across
  builds. See [commenting on HTML](/comment-on-html).
- **Revision diffs show the trend** honestly — which tests and which
  violations actually changed.

## Who can see it

Per report: private, your team, any signed-in user with the link, or
public. The site quotes source and names internal packages, so team is the
usual default. Domain-gating, password gates and expiring links are
Enterprise. See [sharing & access control](/docs/sharing).

## Limits

- **Entry HTML: 5 MB.** Assets: 25 MB per file, **250 MB and 500 files
  total** — the binding constraint here; split Javadoc out.
- **Scripts run, sandboxed** — no same-origin access.
- **60 requests/minute per token.**

## Try it

Comma is free — unlimited reports, unlimited commenters, unlimited
revision history.

**[Publish a Maven site →](https://commareports.com/)**

### Related

- [Share a Checkstyle, PMD or SpotBugs report](/share-checkstyle-report)
- [Share a JaCoCo report](/share-jacoco-report) · [Share a JUnit report](/share-junit-report)
- [Share a Gradle test report](/share-gradle-test-report) · [Share Javadoc](/share-javadoc)
- [Publish from CI](/ci) · [Jenkins HTML reports](/ci/jenkins-html-report)