Running a 'Main' class before starting integration tests - maven

Question

I have a few integration tests that I want to run against a custom server that is started in the main method.
I have the below in the pom.xml:
<project>
<build>
<plugins>
<plugin>
<groupId>org.codehaus.mojo</groupId>
<artifactId>exec-maven-plugin</artifactId>
<version>1.6.0</version>
<execution>
<id>start the server for integration tests</id>
<phase>pre-integration-test</phase>
<goals>
<goal>exec</goal>
</goals>
<configuration>
<async>false</async>
<executable>java</executable>
<arguments>
<argument>-classpath</argument>
<classpath/>
<argument>com.abc.def.integration.Main</argument>
</arguments>
</configuration>
</execution>
<execution>
<phase>post-integration-test</phase>
<goals/>
</execution>
</plugin>
</plugins>
</build>
</project>
The tests will be later executed using the failsafe plugin.
But currently I am getting a ClassNotFoundException for the Main class:
INFO] --- exec-maven-plugin:1.6.0:exec (start the server for integration tests) # rest ---
Error: Could not find or load main class com.abc.def.integration.Main
Caused by: java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: com.abc.def.integration.Main
[ERROR] Command execution failed.
org.apache.commons.exec.ExecuteException: Process exited with an error: 1 (Exit value: 1)
at org.apache.commons.exec.DefaultExecutor.executeInternal(DefaultExecutor.java:404)
at org.apache.commons.exec.DefaultExecutor.execute(DefaultExecutor.java:166)
at org.codehaus.mojo.exec.ExecMojo.executeCommandLine(ExecMojo.java:804)
at org.codehaus.mojo.exec.ExecMojo.executeCommandLine(ExecMojo.java:751)
at org.codehaus.mojo.exec.ExecMojo.execute(ExecMojo.java:313)
at org.apache.maven.plugin.DefaultBuildPluginManager.executeMojo(DefaultBuildPluginManager.java:134)
at org.apache.maven.lifecycle.internal.MojoExecutor.execute(MojoExecutor.java:208)
at org.apache.maven.lifecycle.internal.MojoExecutor.execute(MojoExecutor.java:154)
at org.apache.maven.lifecycle.internal.MojoExecutor.execute(MojoExecutor.java:146)
at org.apache.maven.lifecycle.internal.LifecycleModuleBuilder.buildProject(LifecycleModuleBuilder.java:117)
at org.apache.maven.lifecycle.internal.LifecycleModuleBuilder.buildProject(LifecycleModuleBuilder.java:81)
at org.apache.maven.lifecycle.internal.builder.singlethreaded.SingleThreadedBuilder.build(SingleThreadedBuilder.java:51)
at org.apache.maven.lifecycle.internal.LifecycleStarter.execute(LifecycleStarter.java:128)
at org.apache.maven.DefaultMaven.doExecute(DefaultMaven.java:309)
at org.apache.maven.DefaultMaven.doExecute(DefaultMaven.java:194)
at org.apache.maven.DefaultMaven.execute(DefaultMaven.java:107)
at org.apache.maven.cli.MavenCli.execute(MavenCli.java:993)
at org.apache.maven.cli.MavenCli.doMain(MavenCli.java:345)
at org.apache.maven.cli.MavenCli.main(MavenCli.java:191)
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:57)
at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43)
at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:606)
at org.codehaus.plexus.classworlds.launcher.Launcher.launchEnhanced(Launcher.java:289)
at org.codehaus.plexus.classworlds.launcher.Launcher.launch(Launcher.java:229)
at org.codehaus.plexus.classworlds.launcher.Launcher.mainWithExitCode(Launcher.java:415)
at org.codehaus.plexus.classworlds.launcher.Launcher.main(Launcher.java:356)
[INFO] ------------------------------------------------------------------------
[INFO] BUILD FAILURE
[INFO] ------------------------------------------------------------------------
[INFO] Total time: 11.161 s
[INFO] Finished at: 2019-08-29T14:10:46+05:30
[INFO] Final Memory: 47M/506M
[INFO] ------------------------------------------------------------------------
It looks like a classpath issue, But the Main class is part of the project being complied by the maven.
Is there a way to execute the Main method without manually specifying the classpath during the build? (like without : -Dexec.args="%classpath")
Should I be using another maven plugin to execute this class?

Answer 1

I solved the issue by the method described in: http://www.vineetmanohar.com/2009/11/3-ways-to-run-java-main-from-maven/
With below change to the execution section:
<execution>
<id>start the server for integration tests</id>
<phase>pre-integration-test</phase>
<goals>
<goal>java</goal>
</goals>
<configuration>
<classpathScope>test</classpathScope>
<mainClass>com.abc.def.integration.Main</mainClass>
</configuration>
</execution>