diff --git a/java/pom.xml b/java/pom.xml
index 2b6d8391..ac10381c 100644
--- a/java/pom.xml
+++ b/java/pom.xml
@@ -73,6 +73,7 @@
 				<groupId>net.revelc.code.formatter</groupId>
 				<artifactId>formatter-maven-plugin</artifactId>
 				<version>2.24.1</version>
+				<optional>true</optional>
 				<configuration>
 					<javaExclusionPattern>(\W+\.?[^\W]+\(.*\);?\n)+</javaExclusionPattern>
 					<lineSeparator>\n</lineSeparator>