diff --git a/build-tools/pom.xml b/build-tools/pom.xml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b8c52f1a3b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/build-tools/pom.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,86 @@
+
+
+ 4.0.0
+
+ org.eclipse.rdf4j
+ rdf4j
+ 5.2.1-SNAPSHOT
+
+ rdf4j-build-tools
+ maven-plugin
+ RDF4J: Build Tools
+
+ 3.13.1
+ false
+
+
+
+ org.apache.maven
+ maven-plugin-api
+ 3.9.6
+ provided
+
+
+ org.apache.maven
+ maven-model
+ 3.9.6
+ provided
+
+
+ org.apache.maven
+ maven-artifact
+ 3.9.6
+ provided
+
+
+ org.apache.maven.plugin-tools
+ maven-plugin-annotations
+ ${maven.plugin.annotations.version}
+ provided
+
+
+ org.junit.jupiter
+ junit-jupiter-api
+ test
+
+
+ org.junit.jupiter
+ junit-jupiter-engine
+ test
+
+
+
+
+
+ org.apache.maven.plugins
+ maven-plugin-plugin
+ 3.13.1
+
+ rdf4j-build
+
+
+
+
+ descriptor
+
+
+
+
+
+ org.apache.maven.plugins
+ maven-compiler-plugin
+
+ 11
+ 11
+
+
+
+ org.apache.maven.plugins
+ maven-surefire-plugin
+
+ false
+
+
+
+
+
diff --git a/build-tools/src/main/java/org/eclipse/rdf4j/buildtools/license/CheckNewFilesCopyrightMojo.java b/build-tools/src/main/java/org/eclipse/rdf4j/buildtools/license/CheckNewFilesCopyrightMojo.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b778e9f562
--- /dev/null
+++ b/build-tools/src/main/java/org/eclipse/rdf4j/buildtools/license/CheckNewFilesCopyrightMojo.java
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+/*******************************************************************************
+ * Copyright (c) 2025 Eclipse RDF4J contributors.
+ *
+ * All rights reserved. This program and the accompanying materials
+ * are made available under the terms of the Eclipse Distribution License v1.0
+ * which accompanies this distribution, and is available at
+ * http://www.eclipse.org/org/documents/edl-v10.php.
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
+ ******************************************************************************/
+
+package org.eclipse.rdf4j.buildtools.license;
+
+import java.io.File;
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.List;
+
+import org.apache.maven.plugin.AbstractMojo;
+import org.apache.maven.plugin.MojoExecutionException;
+import org.apache.maven.plugins.annotations.LifecyclePhase;
+import org.apache.maven.plugins.annotations.Mojo;
+import org.apache.maven.plugins.annotations.Parameter;
+
+@Mojo(name = "check-new-files", defaultPhase = LifecyclePhase.VERIFY, threadSafe = true)
+public class CheckNewFilesCopyrightMojo extends AbstractMojo {
+
+ private static final List DEFAULT_INCLUDES = List.of("**/*.java", "**/*.kt", "**/*.kts", "**/*.scala",
+ "**/*.groovy", "**/*.xml", "**/*.xsd", "**/*.xsl", "**/*.properties", "**/*.sh");
+
+ @Parameter(defaultValue = "${project.basedir}", readonly = true, required = true)
+ private File baseDirectory;
+
+ @Parameter
+ private List includes;
+
+ @Parameter
+ private List excludes;
+
+ @Parameter(property = "copyrightCheck.baseRef")
+ private String baseReference;
+
+ @Override
+ public void execute() throws MojoExecutionException {
+ Path root = baseDirectory.toPath();
+ GitService gitService = new GitCommandService(root, baseReference);
+ List effectiveIncludes = includes == null || includes.isEmpty() ? DEFAULT_INCLUDES
+ : new ArrayList<>(includes);
+ List effectiveExcludes = excludes == null ? List.of() : new ArrayList<>(excludes);
+
+ NewFileCopyrightChecker checker = new NewFileCopyrightChecker(root, gitService, effectiveIncludes,
+ effectiveExcludes);
+ try {
+ checker.check();
+ } catch (CopyrightCheckException e) {
+ throw new MojoExecutionException(e.getMessage(), e);
+ } catch (IOException e) {
+ throw new MojoExecutionException("Failed to execute git copyright validation", e);
+ }
+ }
+}
diff --git a/build-tools/src/main/java/org/eclipse/rdf4j/buildtools/license/CopyrightCheckException.java b/build-tools/src/main/java/org/eclipse/rdf4j/buildtools/license/CopyrightCheckException.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..0948101196
--- /dev/null
+++ b/build-tools/src/main/java/org/eclipse/rdf4j/buildtools/license/CopyrightCheckException.java
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+/*******************************************************************************
+ * Copyright (c) 2025 Eclipse RDF4J contributors.
+ *
+ * All rights reserved. This program and the accompanying materials
+ * are made available under the terms of the Eclipse Distribution License v1.0
+ * which accompanies this distribution, and is available at
+ * http://www.eclipse.org/org/documents/edl-v10.php.
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
+ ******************************************************************************/
+
+package org.eclipse.rdf4j.buildtools.license;
+
+public class CopyrightCheckException extends Exception {
+
+ public CopyrightCheckException(String message) {
+ super(message);
+ }
+
+}
diff --git a/build-tools/src/main/java/org/eclipse/rdf4j/buildtools/license/GitCommandService.java b/build-tools/src/main/java/org/eclipse/rdf4j/buildtools/license/GitCommandService.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..0aac48b2a3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/build-tools/src/main/java/org/eclipse/rdf4j/buildtools/license/GitCommandService.java
@@ -0,0 +1,172 @@
+/*******************************************************************************
+ * Copyright (c) 2025 Eclipse RDF4J contributors.
+ *
+ * All rights reserved. This program and the accompanying materials
+ * are made available under the terms of the Eclipse Distribution License v1.0
+ * which accompanies this distribution, and is available at
+ * http://www.eclipse.org/org/documents/edl-v10.php.
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
+ ******************************************************************************/
+
+package org.eclipse.rdf4j.buildtools.license;
+
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.io.InputStream;
+import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.time.Year;
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.LinkedHashMap;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.Optional;
+import java.util.stream.Collectors;
+
+public class GitCommandService implements GitService {
+
+ private final Path repositoryRoot;
+ private final String baseReference;
+
+ public GitCommandService(Path repositoryRoot, String baseReference) {
+ this.repositoryRoot = repositoryRoot.toAbsolutePath().normalize();
+ this.baseReference = baseReference;
+ }
+
+ @Override
+ public Map findNewFilesWithCreationYear() throws IOException {
+ Optional mergeBase = determineMergeBase();
+ List newFiles = listNewFiles(mergeBase);
+ Map result = new LinkedHashMap<>();
+
+ for (String file : newFiles) {
+ if (file.isBlank()) {
+ continue;
+ }
+ Path relative = Path.of(file.trim());
+ int year = findCreationYear(relative);
+ result.put(relative, year);
+ }
+
+ return result;
+ }
+
+ private Optional determineMergeBase() throws IOException {
+ Optional reference = resolveBaseReference();
+ if (reference.isPresent()) {
+ GitResult mergeBase = runGit(false, "merge-base", "HEAD", reference.get());
+ if (mergeBase.isSuccess() && !mergeBase.lines().isEmpty()) {
+ return Optional.of(mergeBase.lines().get(0));
+ }
+ }
+
+ GitResult parent = runGit(false, "rev-parse", "HEAD^");
+ if (parent.isSuccess() && !parent.lines().isEmpty()) {
+ return Optional.of(parent.lines().get(0));
+ }
+
+ return Optional.empty();
+ }
+
+ private Optional resolveBaseReference() throws IOException {
+ if (baseReference != null && !baseReference.isBlank()) {
+ return Optional.of(baseReference);
+ }
+
+ GitResult upstream = runGit(false, "rev-parse", "--abbrev-ref", "--symbolic-full-name", "@{u}");
+ if (upstream.isSuccess() && !upstream.lines().isEmpty()) {
+ return Optional.of(upstream.lines().get(0));
+ }
+
+ for (String candidate : List.of("origin/main", "origin/master", "main", "master")) {
+ GitResult verify = runGit(false, "rev-parse", "--verify", candidate);
+ if (verify.isSuccess()) {
+ return Optional.of(candidate);
+ }
+ }
+
+ return Optional.empty();
+ }
+
+ private List listNewFiles(Optional mergeBase) throws IOException {
+ GitResult diff;
+ if (mergeBase.isPresent()) {
+ diff = runGit(false, "diff", "--name-only", "--diff-filter=A", mergeBase.get() + "..HEAD");
+ } else {
+ diff = runGit(false, "show", "--name-only", "--diff-filter=A", "--pretty=format:", "HEAD");
+ }
+
+ if (!diff.isSuccess()) {
+ return List.of();
+ }
+
+ return diff.lines();
+ }
+
+ private int findCreationYear(Path relativePath) throws IOException {
+ String gitPath = relativePath.toString().replace('\\', '/');
+ GitResult log = runGit(false, "log", "--date=format:%Y", "--diff-filter=A", "--follow", "--format=%ad", "--",
+ gitPath);
+ if (log.isSuccess() && !log.lines().isEmpty()) {
+ return parseYear(log.lines().get(0));
+ }
+ return Year.now().getValue();
+ }
+
+ private GitResult runGit(boolean failOnError, String... arguments) throws IOException {
+ List command = new ArrayList<>(arguments.length + 1);
+ command.add("git");
+ command.addAll(List.of(arguments));
+
+ ProcessBuilder builder = new ProcessBuilder(command);
+ builder.directory(repositoryRoot.toFile());
+ builder.redirectErrorStream(true);
+ Process process = builder.start();
+
+ String output;
+ try (InputStream inputStream = process.getInputStream()) {
+ output = new String(inputStream.readAllBytes(), StandardCharsets.UTF_8);
+ } catch (IOException e) {
+ process.destroyForcibly();
+ throw e;
+ }
+
+ try {
+ int exitCode = process.waitFor();
+ if (exitCode != 0 && failOnError) {
+ throw new IOException(
+ "Git command failed: " + String.join(" ", command) + System.lineSeparator() + output);
+ }
+ return new GitResult(exitCode, output);
+ } catch (InterruptedException e) {
+ Thread.currentThread().interrupt();
+ throw new IOException("Interrupted while executing git command", e);
+ }
+ }
+
+ private int parseYear(String value) {
+ try {
+ return Integer.parseInt(value.trim());
+ } catch (NumberFormatException e) {
+ return Year.now().getValue();
+ }
+ }
+
+ private static final class GitResult {
+ private final int exitCode;
+ private final String output;
+
+ private GitResult(int exitCode, String output) {
+ this.exitCode = exitCode;
+ this.output = output;
+ }
+
+ boolean isSuccess() {
+ return exitCode == 0;
+ }
+
+ List lines() {
+ return output.lines().map(String::trim).filter(line -> !line.isEmpty()).collect(Collectors.toList());
+ }
+ }
+}
diff --git a/build-tools/src/main/java/org/eclipse/rdf4j/buildtools/license/GitService.java b/build-tools/src/main/java/org/eclipse/rdf4j/buildtools/license/GitService.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9264cf1f1c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/build-tools/src/main/java/org/eclipse/rdf4j/buildtools/license/GitService.java
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+/*******************************************************************************
+ * Copyright (c) 2025 Eclipse RDF4J contributors.
+ *
+ * All rights reserved. This program and the accompanying materials
+ * are made available under the terms of the Eclipse Distribution License v1.0
+ * which accompanies this distribution, and is available at
+ * http://www.eclipse.org/org/documents/edl-v10.php.
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
+ ******************************************************************************/
+
+package org.eclipse.rdf4j.buildtools.license;
+
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.util.Map;
+
+public interface GitService {
+
+ Map findNewFilesWithCreationYear() throws IOException;
+}
diff --git a/build-tools/src/main/java/org/eclipse/rdf4j/buildtools/license/NewFileCopyrightChecker.java b/build-tools/src/main/java/org/eclipse/rdf4j/buildtools/license/NewFileCopyrightChecker.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6bd712a64c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/build-tools/src/main/java/org/eclipse/rdf4j/buildtools/license/NewFileCopyrightChecker.java
@@ -0,0 +1,142 @@
+/*******************************************************************************
+ * Copyright (c) 2025 Eclipse RDF4J contributors.
+ *
+ * All rights reserved. This program and the accompanying materials
+ * are made available under the terms of the Eclipse Distribution License v1.0
+ * which accompanies this distribution, and is available at
+ * http://www.eclipse.org/org/documents/edl-v10.php.
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
+ ******************************************************************************/
+
+package org.eclipse.rdf4j.buildtools.license;
+
+import java.io.BufferedReader;
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.nio.file.FileSystems;
+import java.nio.file.Files;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.nio.file.PathMatcher;
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.regex.Matcher;
+import java.util.regex.Pattern;
+import java.util.stream.Collectors;
+
+public class NewFileCopyrightChecker {
+
+ private static final Pattern COPYRIGHT_PATTERN = Pattern.compile("Copyright \\(c\\) (\\d{4})");
+ private static final int HEADER_SCAN_LIMIT = 80;
+
+ private final Path repositoryRoot;
+ private final GitService gitService;
+ private final List includeMatchers;
+ private final List excludeMatchers;
+
+ public NewFileCopyrightChecker(Path repositoryRoot, GitService gitService, List includes,
+ List excludes) {
+ this.repositoryRoot = repositoryRoot.toAbsolutePath().normalize();
+ this.gitService = gitService;
+ this.includeMatchers = compileMatchers(includes);
+ this.excludeMatchers = compileMatchers(excludes);
+ }
+
+ public void check() throws IOException, CopyrightCheckException {
+ Map newFiles = gitService.findNewFilesWithCreationYear();
+ List violations = new ArrayList<>();
+
+ for (Map.Entry entry : newFiles.entrySet()) {
+ Path relativePath = toRelative(entry.getKey());
+ if (!shouldCheck(relativePath)) {
+ continue;
+ }
+
+ Path file = resolve(relativePath);
+ if (!Files.exists(file) || !Files.isRegularFile(file)) {
+ continue;
+ }
+
+ Integer detectedYear = findCopyrightYear(file);
+ if (detectedYear == null) {
+ violations.add(String.format("Missing copyright header in %s (expected %d)",
+ relativePath, entry.getValue()));
+ continue;
+ }
+
+ if (!detectedYear.equals(entry.getValue())) {
+ violations.add(String.format("File %s has copyright year %d but expected %d",
+ relativePath, detectedYear, entry.getValue()));
+ }
+ }
+
+ if (!violations.isEmpty()) {
+ String message = violations.stream().collect(Collectors.joining(System.lineSeparator()));
+ throw new CopyrightCheckException(message);
+ }
+ }
+
+ private Path resolve(Path path) {
+ if (path.isAbsolute()) {
+ return path.normalize();
+ }
+ return repositoryRoot.resolve(path).normalize();
+ }
+
+ private Path toRelative(Path path) {
+ Path normalized = path.normalize();
+ if (normalized.isAbsolute()) {
+ if (normalized.startsWith(repositoryRoot)) {
+ return repositoryRoot.relativize(normalized);
+ }
+ return normalized;
+ }
+ return normalized;
+ }
+
+ private boolean shouldCheck(Path path) {
+ if (!excludeMatchers.isEmpty()) {
+ for (PathMatcher matcher : excludeMatchers) {
+ if (matcher.matches(path)) {
+ return false;
+ }
+ }
+ }
+
+ if (includeMatchers.isEmpty()) {
+ return true;
+ }
+
+ for (PathMatcher matcher : includeMatchers) {
+ if (matcher.matches(path)) {
+ return true;
+ }
+ }
+
+ return false;
+ }
+
+ private static List compileMatchers(List patterns) {
+ if (patterns == null || patterns.isEmpty()) {
+ return List.of();
+ }
+ return patterns.stream()
+ .filter(pattern -> pattern != null && !pattern.isEmpty())
+ .map(pattern -> FileSystems.getDefault().getPathMatcher("glob:" + pattern))
+ .collect(Collectors.toList());
+ }
+
+ private Integer findCopyrightYear(Path file) throws IOException {
+ try (BufferedReader reader = Files.newBufferedReader(file)) {
+ String line;
+ int lines = 0;
+ while ((line = reader.readLine()) != null && lines++ < HEADER_SCAN_LIMIT) {
+ Matcher matcher = COPYRIGHT_PATTERN.matcher(line);
+ if (matcher.find()) {
+ return Integer.parseInt(matcher.group(1));
+ }
+ }
+ }
+ return null;
+ }
+}
diff --git a/build-tools/src/test/java/org/eclipse/rdf4j/buildtools/license/NewFileCopyrightCheckerTest.java b/build-tools/src/test/java/org/eclipse/rdf4j/buildtools/license/NewFileCopyrightCheckerTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6d6eb611f0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/build-tools/src/test/java/org/eclipse/rdf4j/buildtools/license/NewFileCopyrightCheckerTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+/*******************************************************************************
+ * Copyright (c) 2025 Eclipse RDF4J contributors.
+ *
+ * All rights reserved. This program and the accompanying materials
+ * are made available under the terms of the Eclipse Distribution License v1.0
+ * which accompanies this distribution, and is available at
+ * http://www.eclipse.org/org/documents/edl-v10.php.
+ *
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
+ ******************************************************************************/
+
+package org.eclipse.rdf4j.buildtools.license;
+
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertDoesNotThrow;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertThrows;
+
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.nio.file.Files;
+import java.nio.file.Path;
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
+
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.io.TempDir;
+
+class NewFileCopyrightCheckerTest {
+
+ @TempDir
+ Path tempDir;
+
+ @Test
+ void passesWhenAllHeadersMatch() throws Exception {
+ String contents = String.join("\n",
+ "/*******************************************************************************",
+ " * Copyright (c) 2024 Eclipse RDF4J contributors, Aduna, and others.",
+ " *",
+ " * SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause",
+ " ******************************************************************************/",
+ "package example;",
+ "");
+ Path file = createFile("src/main/java/Test.java", contents);
+
+ GitService git = () -> Map.of(tempDir.relativize(file), 2024);
+ NewFileCopyrightChecker checker = new NewFileCopyrightChecker(tempDir, git, List.of("**/*.java"), List.of());
+
+ assertDoesNotThrow(checker::check);
+ }
+
+ @Test
+ void failsWhenHeaderMissing() throws Exception {
+ Path file = createFile("src/main/java/TestMissing.java", "package example;\n");
+
+ GitService git = () -> Map.of(tempDir.relativize(file), 2024);
+ NewFileCopyrightChecker checker = new NewFileCopyrightChecker(tempDir, git, List.of("**/*.java"), List.of());
+
+ assertThrows(CopyrightCheckException.class, checker::check);
+ }
+
+ @Test
+ void failsWhenYearDoesNotMatch() throws Exception {
+ String contents = String.join("\n",
+ "/*******************************************************************************",
+ " * Copyright (c) 2022 Eclipse RDF4J contributors, Aduna, and others.",
+ " ******************************************************************************/",
+ "package example;",
+ "");
+ Path file = createFile("src/main/java/TestWrongYear.java", contents);
+
+ GitService git = () -> Map.of(tempDir.relativize(file), 2024);
+ NewFileCopyrightChecker checker = new NewFileCopyrightChecker(tempDir, git, List.of("**/*.java"), List.of());
+
+ assertThrows(CopyrightCheckException.class, checker::check);
+ }
+
+ private Path createFile(String relative, String contents) throws IOException {
+ Path file = tempDir.resolve(relative);
+ Files.createDirectories(file.getParent());
+ Files.writeString(file, contents);
+ return file;
+ }
+}
diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index 44e2322d41..a677d7a7b2 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@
assembly-descriptors
+ build-tools
core
tools
spring-components
@@ -875,6 +876,21 @@
+
+ org.eclipse.rdf4j
+ rdf4j-build-tools
+ ${project.version}
+ false
+
+
+ verify-new-files
+ verify
+
+ check-new-files
+
+
+
+
org.apache.maven.plugins
maven-war-plugin