It looks like derby.jar does not end up in the correct location. Currently the outputDirectory is defined in pom.xml as follows: <outputDirectory>${project.build.directory}/shared/resources/derby</outputDirectory> When I try to use the sample application it bombs out with a derby-related CNFE. I changed the pom.xml to the following and it worked: <outputDirectory>${project.build.directory}/liberty/wlp/usr/shared/resources/derby/</outputDirectory>