using maven dependency (:copy) plug in not working - maven

Question

I can't seem to figure this out.
I have the following in my pom.xml
<plugin>
<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
<artifactId>maven-dependency-plugin</artifactId>
<version>3.1.0</version>
<executions>
<execution>
<id>copy-dependencies</id>
<phase>compile</phase>
<goals>
<goal>compile</goal>
</goals>
<configuration>
<outputDirectory>${project.build.directory}/lib</outputDirectory>
<overWriteReleases>true</overWriteReleases>
<overWriteSnapshots>true</overWriteSnapshots>
<overWriteIfNewer>true</overWriteIfNewer>
</configuration>
</execution>
</executions>
</plugin>
I plan to have all the dependencies copied to target/lib directory.
Why is not doing it?
My project is evolving, so I do not want specify each individual artifact to copy. I want it to take them all, and place it into a proper place during the "package" (or compile) phase.
I get only my mainProject.jar file in the lib folder.
Please, help. What am I missing?

Answer 1

The correct goal for copying dependencies is copy-dependencies, not compile. Also, if you want to invoke the plugin from the command line with mvn dependency:copy, the configuration section should not be inside the executions. Here is a configuration that should work in all cases:
<plugin>
<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
<artifactId>maven-dependency-plugin</artifactId>
<version>3.1.0</version>
<executions>
<execution>
<id>copy-dependencies</id>
<phase>package</phase>
<goals>
<goal>copy-dependencies</goal>
</goals>
</execution>
</executions>
<configuration>
<outputDirectory>${project.build.directory}/lib</outputDirectory>
<overWriteReleases>true</overWriteReleases>
<overWriteSnapshots>true</overWriteSnapshots>
<overWriteIfNewer>true</overWriteIfNewer>
</configuration>
</plugin>
As you can see, I'm running the plugin in the 'package' phase, but it also works in the 'compile' phase, unless you want to include the artifact just built by your own project.