The SpringSource Tool Suite team is pleased to announce the new release 2.8.1 of the SpringSource Tool Suite (STS).

STS 2.8.1 is now compatible with the new Maven Integration as well as the old one. So updating your existing STS 2.7 or 2.8 version to STS 2.8.1 doesn't force you to also update the Maven Integration. Instead you can switch to the new Maven integration whenever you want - and even switch back to the old integration, if the new one doesn't work out for you. We automate this up- and downgrading of the Maven Integration as much as possible with two new items on the Dashboard. Please find more details in the New & Noteworthy and the updated m2e FAQ forum post.

The ready-to-use packages contain the new m2e 1.0 version, but you can easily switch them back to m2eclipse 0.12 using the Dashboard items, if you like.

Detailed installation instructions are also available. As always downloads are available from the STS download page.