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+# Configuring Build Plugins
+
+Devpack for Spring CLI supports declarative build plugin management for both Gradle and Maven projects. Plugins are defined in a YAML configuration file and can be run interactively or from the command line.
+
+## CLI Commands
+
+### `plugin`
+
+Runs a build plugin task in the current project:
+
+```shell
+# Interactive (prompts for plugin and task selection)
+plugin
+
+# Fully specified
+plugin rockcraft build-rock
+
+# With custom project path
+plugin format
+```
+
+The CLI auto-detects the build system (Gradle or Maven) by looking for `build.gradle`, `build.gradle.kts`, or `pom.xml` in the working directory.
+
+### `list-plugins`
+
+Lists all available plugins:
+
+```shell
+list-plugins
+```
+
+## Configuration File
+
+Plugin definitions are stored in `plugin-configuration.yaml`. The file is loaded from the first location found, in order:
+
+1. **System property or environment variable** — `SPRING_CLI_BUILD_COMMANDS_PLUGIN_CONFIGURATION=/path/to/file.yaml`
+2. **Project-local** — `.devpack-for-spring/plugin-configuration.yaml` (relative to current directory)
+3. **User-global** — `~/.config/devpack-for-spring/plugin-configuration.yaml`
+4. **Built-in default** — embedded resource shipped with devpack-for-spring-cli
+
+### YAML Schema
+
+Each top-level key is the **plugin name** (used in `--plugin <name>`). Under it, separate `gradle` and/or `maven` sections define the build-system-specific plugin, along with optional shared `resources`.
+
+```yaml
+<plugin-name>:
+  resources:                       # Optional, shared across build systems
+    - path: <relative-path>
+      content: |
+        <file-content>
+  gradle:
+    id: <gradle-plugin-id>
+    version: <version>
+    repository: <repository>       # e.g. gradlePluginPortal()
+    default-task: <task-alias>
+    description: <text>
+    tasks:
+      <alias>: <gradle-task>                 # Single command alias
+      <alias>:                               # Multi-command alias
+        - <gradle-task-1>
+        - <gradle-task-2>
+    configuration:                 # Optional plugin configuration snippets
+      gradleKotlin: |
+        <Kotlin DSL configuration>
+      gradleGroovy: |
+        <Groovy DSL configuration>
+      maven:
+        configuration: |
+          <Maven plugin configuration XML>
+        dependencies: |
+          <Maven plugin dependencies XML>
+        executions: |
+          <Maven plugin executions XML>
+  maven:
+    id: <group-id>:<artifact-id>
+    version: <version>
+    default-task: <task-alias>
+    description: <text>
+    tasks:
+      <alias>: <maven-goal>                  # Single goal alias
+      <alias>:                               # Multi-goal alias (executed in order)
+        - <goal-1>
+        - <goal-2>
+```
+
+### Field Reference
+
+| Field | Required | Description |
+|-------|----------|-------------|
+| `id` | Yes | Gradle plugin ID or Maven `groupId:artifactId` |
+| `version` | Yes | Plugin version |
+| `repository` | No | Gradle plugin repository (e.g. `gradlePluginPortal()`) |
+| `default-task` | Yes | Task alias used when no `--command` is specified |
+| `description` | Yes | Human-readable description shown by `list-plugins` |
+| `tasks` | Yes | Map of task aliases to actual build commands |
+| `configuration` | No | Build-system-specific configuration snippets |
+| `resources` | No | Files to provision in the project before running the plugin |
+
+### Task Aliases
+
+Tasks are a map of **alias → command(s)**. An alias can map to either a single command (string) or an ordered list of commands:
+
+```yaml
+tasks:
+  build-rock: build-rock           # Alias maps to a single Gradle task
+  create-rock:                     # Alias maps to multiple Maven goals
+    - install
+    - :create-rock
+```
+
+Maven goals prefixed with `:` are passed as plugin-scoped goals (e.g., `rockcraft:create-rock`). Goals without the prefix are standard Maven lifecycle phases.
+
+### Resources
+
+The optional `resources` section provisions files in the project directory before the plugin runs:
+
+```yaml
+resources:
+  - path: .config/config.xml
+    content: |
+      <resource/>
+```
+
+### Configuration Snippets
+
+The `configuration` section defines code that is injected into the project's build file when the plugin is added using OpenRewrite. The tooling supports three variants:
+
+- **`gradleKotlin`** — Kotlin DSL snippet appended to `build.gradle.kts`
+- **`gradleGroovy`** — Groovy DSL snippet appended to `build.gradle`
+- **`maven`** — XML fragments injected into `pom.xml` (`configuration`, `dependencies`, `executions`)
+
+```yaml
+configuration:
+  gradleKotlin: |
+    configure<com.canonical.rockcraft.builder.RockcraftOptions> {
+        setTargetRelease(21)
+    }
+  gradleGroovy: |
+    rockcraft {
+        targetRelease = 21
+    }
+  maven:
+    configuration: |
+      <targetRelease>21</targetRelease>
+    dependencies: |
+      <dependency>
+        <groupId>com.example</groupId>
+        <artifactId>my-dep</artifactId>
+      </dependency>
+    executions: |
+      <execution>
+        <id>default</id>
+        <goals><goal>build</goal></goals>
+      </execution>
+```
+
+## Complete Example
+
+Below is the built-in `plugin-configuration.yaml` that ships with devpack-for-spring-cli:
+
+```yaml
+format:
+  gradle:
+    id: io.spring.javaformat
+    version: 0.0.43
+    default-task: format
+    description: Formats source code
+    tasks:
+      format: format
+    repository: gradlePluginPortal()
+  maven:
+    id: io.spring.javaformat:spring-javaformat-maven-plugin
+    version: 0.0.43
+    default-task: apply
+    description: Formats source code
+    tasks:
+      apply: :apply
+rockcraft:
+  resources:
+    - path: .config/config.xml
+      content: |
+        <resource/>
+  gradle:
+    id: io.github.rockcrafters.rockcraft
+    version: 1.2.3
+    repository: gradlePluginPortal()
+    default-task: build-rock
+    description: |
+      Plugin for rock image generation
+    tasks:
+      create-rock:
+        - create-rock
+      build-rock: build-rock
+      create-build-rock: create-build-rock
+      build-build-rock: build-build-rock
+      push-rock: push-rock
+      push-build-rock: push-build-rock
+    configuration:
+      maven:
+        configuration: |
+          <maven-element-config/>
+        dependencies: |
+          <dependencies/>
+        executions: |
+          <executions/>
+      gradleKotlin: |
+        configure<com.canonical.rockcraft.builder.RockcraftOptions> {
+            setTargetRelease(21)
+        }
+      gradleGroovy: |
+        groovyDslObject {
+        }
+  maven:
+    id: io.github.rockcrafters:rockcraft-maven-plugin
+    version: 1.2.3
+    default-task: build-rock
+    description: |
+      Plugin for rock image generation
+    tasks:
+      create-rock:
+        - install
+        - :create-rock
+      build-rock:
+        - install
+        - :create-rock
+        - :build-rock
+      create-build-rock:
+        - install
+        - :create-build-rock
+      push-rock:
+        - install
+        - :create-rock
+        - :build-rock
+        - :push-rock
+```
+
+## How It Works
+
+When `plugin` command is executed:
+
+1. The build system is detected from the project files
+2. The plugin is looked up in the configuration for the detected build system
+3. For Gradle projects, a **shadow project** is created and the build file is modified using OpenRewrite:
+   - `AddGradlePluginRecipe` adds the plugin declaration to the `plugins { }` block
+   - `AddConfigurationRecipe` merges configuration snippets into the build file (replacing existing blocks or appending new ones; `dependencies { }` blocks are merged rather than replaced)
+4. For Maven projects, the plugin XML is injected into `pom.xml`
+5. The requested task alias is resolved to actual build commands and executed