How to reuse Maven configuration XML fragments in other configurations

I have dozens of similar but not identical plugin execution configurations. I’d like to re-use parts of them.

The part that I’d like to re-use might look like this:

<reuseMe>
  <lotsOfXML/>
</reuseMe>

Now, some plugin configurations might not contain the above:

<configuration>
  <simpleStuff/>
</configuration>

But other plugin configurations might:

<configuration>
  <simpleStuff/>
  <complexStuff>
    <reuseMe>
      <lotsOfXML/>
    </reuseMe>
  </complexStuff>
</configuration>

Instead of copy pasting that fragment, which is always the same, I’d like some mechanism where I can declare reusable XML fragments, and then just “import” them:

<configuration>
  <simpleStuff/>
  <complexStuff>
    <reuseMe import="whatever"/>
  </complexStuff>
</configuration>

Short of XSL transforming my pom.xml files in a preprocessing step, is there any out-of-the-box way this can be done with vanilla Maven? Using <pluginManagement/> doesn’t seem to work because that would define the <reuseMe/> content for all plugin executions as a default, not just for those that need this.

Answer

There is a JIRA for what you’re requesting: https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/MNG-5102

Opened almost 10 years ago, still not solved.

As far as I know, the only out-of-the-box Maven approach involves plugin executions.

Otherwise, it’s roll your own.

P.S. Not a Maven committer; maybe one of them will see this and we’ll both learn something today.