The SETTINGS.xml PROFILE element is a trimmed VERSION of the pom.xml profile element. It is made up of the elements: activation, repositories, pluginRepositories, and PROPERTIES. These four components are the only ones included in the profile elements since they deal with the build system as a whole (which is what the settings.xml file is for), not individual project object MODEL settings.

If a profile is activated from settings, its values will override any POM or profiles.xml profiles with the same ID.

• Activation: The strength of a profile, like that of the POM's profiles, comes from its capacity to modify specific values only under certain conditions, which are stated via an activation element.
• Repositories: Repositories are remote collections of projects that Maven utilizes to populate the build system's local repository.
• pluginRepositories: Maven plugins are a unique form of artifact in themselves. Plugin repositories may be segregated from other repositories as a result of this. Each of the pluginRepository components specifies a remote source where Maven can look for new plugins.
• Properties: Maven properties, like Ant properties, value placeholders. The notation ${X}, where X is the property, can be used to obtain their values anywhere within a POM.