--------------------- Project Configuration --------------------- the maven tomcat plugin uses the tomcat-manager application the tomcat-manager requires authentication edit %M2_HOME%/conf/settings.xml and add a entry at the corresponding location in the xml: tomcat-manager your-tomcat-usr your-tomcat-pwd ----------- Maven Goals ----------- mvn clean - for cleaning the project mvn compile - for compiling mvn tomcat:deploy - deploying to tomcat mvn tomcat:undeploy - undeploying from tomcat ----------------- Eclipse IDE Setup ----------------- to add the classpath variable M2_HOME to eclipse, run mvn -Declipse.workspace= eclipse:add-maven-repo pointing it to the location of your eclipse workspace folder in order to generate eclipse configuration files (.classpath, .settings) run mvn eclipse:eclipse then open eclipse and run File -> Import ... select "Existing Project into Workspace" browse to the root directory of the maven project in the lower window you should see all project modules listed select all and click "Finish"