REST Connect converts a supported REST API specification published in Anypoint Exchange into a Mule 4 connector. MuleSoft states that REST Connect-generated Mule 4 connectors are produced as connector artifacts and can be used in Studio like other Mule connectors.

A Mule connector is consumed by an application through the project's Maven dependencies, not through the Maven build-plugin section. MuleSoft's standard connector Maven model requires the connector's Exchange groupId, artifactId, and version under < dependency > , together with:

< classifier > mule-plugin < /classifier >

The classifier is essential because it identifies the artifact as a Mule extension/plugin that the Mule runtime must load. MuleSoft's connector Maven documentation provides this exact dependency structure and directs developers to Exchange's Dependency Snippets for the current coordinates.

A < plugin > declaration is for Maven build plugins rather than runtime Mule connectors. < repository > merely defines where Maven can resolve artifacts and does not itself add the connector to the application. < rest-connect > is not the POM dependency element used to consume a generated connector.

Reference topics: REST Connect; Anypoint Exchange generated connectors; Maven dependencies; mule-plugin classifier.

Official documentation: https://docs.mulesoft.com/exchange/to-deploy-using-rest-connect

Official documentation: https://docs.mulesoft.com/connectors/introduction/intro-config-xml-maven

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