Using spotless to ensure cleanly formatted code

[hylkevds]

I've started using the spotless maven plugin to ensure all code is formatted correctly and has the right license header. If anything is not spotless, it'll cause a build failure.
If spotless notices something is amiss, it can also fix it with a single mvn spotless:apply.
So far I'm loving it, since regardless of what editor I use, I get consistent formatting.

The maven plugin is configured in the pom:

            <plugin>
                <groupId>com.diffplug.spotless</groupId>
                <artifactId>spotless-maven-plugin</artifactId>
                <version>${version.maven.plugin.spotless}</version>
                <configuration>
                    <formats>
                        <format>
                            <includes>
                                <include>scripts/codestyle/*.xml</include>
                            </includes>
                            <eclipseWtp>
                                <type>XML</type>
                                <files>
                                    <file>${root.basedir}/scripts/codestyle/xml.prefs</file>
                                </files>
                            </eclipseWtp>
                        </format>
                        <format>
                            <includes>
                                <include>.gitignore</include>
                            </includes>
                            <trimTrailingWhitespace/>
                            <endWithNewline/>
                        </format>
                    </formats>
                    <pom>
                        <includes>
                            <include>**/pom.xml</include>
                        </includes>
                        <sortPom>
                            <keepBlankLines>true</keepBlankLines>
                            <nrOfIndentSpace>4</nrOfIndentSpace>
                            <sortDependencies>groupId,artifactId</sortDependencies>
                            <sortProperties>true</sortProperties>
                            <predefinedSortOrder>recommended_2008_06</predefinedSortOrder>
                            <expandEmptyElements>false</expandEmptyElements>
                        </sortPom>
                    </pom>
                    <java>
                        <eclipse>
                            <version>4.21</version>
                            <file>${root.basedir}/scripts/codestyle/formatter.xml</file>
                        </eclipse>
                        <importOrder/>
                        <removeUnusedImports/>
                        <licenseHeader>
                            <file>${root.basedir}/scripts/license-header</file>
                        </licenseHeader>
                    </java>
                </configuration>
                <executions>
                    <execution>
                        <goals>
                            <goal>check</goal>
                        </goals>
                        <phase>compile</phase>
                    </execution>
                </executions>
            </plugin>

The paths to the codestyle files and license header is configurable. To ensure consistent paths in multi-module maven projects, I set the root.basedir property in each sub-project:

        <root.basedir>${project.basedir}</root.basedir>

        <root.basedir>${project.parent.basedir}</root.basedir>

But it is also possible to make a separate maven project for those files.

Example code-style: FROST-Client-Dynamic

What do you think?