SYSTEM

Maven Surefire Plugin

Maven Surefire is Apache Maven's default test runner. It attaches to the test phase of Maven's default lifecycle and executes test classes by naming convention:

• **/Test*.java
• **/*Test.java
• **/*Tests.java
• **/*TestCase.java

Designed for unit tests — it fails the build immediately on test failure (no post-test hooks), which is the desired semantics for fast-feedback unit suites. Supports JUnit 3/4/5, TestNG, and custom providers via pluggable API.

Relevance to Testcontainers ingest

In the Zalando ZMS stack, Surefire runs the fast, hermetic unit tests in the test phase — the only tests mvn test executes. Slower integration tests get pushed to Failsafe in the integration-test phase, gated by a profile. See patterns/failsafe-integration-test-separation.

The naming-convention split — FooTest for Surefire, FooIntegrationTest for Failsafe — is the mechanical enforcement of which suite a test belongs to.

Seen in

• — Zalando ZMS's Maven configuration uses Surefire for unit tests in the default test phase, Failsafe for ITs behind the with-integration-tests profile.

Related

• systems/maven-failsafe-plugin — complement for the integration-test phase.
• systems/junit5 — canonical test framework Surefire invokes.
• patterns/failsafe-integration-test-separation — the two-phase split pattern.