diff --git a/build.gradle b/build.gradle
index d2024f1e6..94f2e477e 100644
--- a/build.gradle
+++ b/build.gradle
@@ -346,6 +346,9 @@ testing {
 	suites {
 		test {
 			useJUnitJupiter()
+			dependencies {
+				implementation "org.assertj:assertj-core:3.24.2"
+			}
 		}
 
 		integrationTest(JvmTestSuite) {
diff --git a/src/main/java/dev/jbang/dependencies/ArtifactResolver.java b/src/main/java/dev/jbang/dependencies/ArtifactResolver.java
index 640a184df..4db3ba1cc 100644
--- a/src/main/java/dev/jbang/dependencies/ArtifactResolver.java
+++ b/src/main/java/dev/jbang/dependencies/ArtifactResolver.java
@@ -406,8 +406,9 @@ private Artifact toArtifact(MavenCoordinate coord) {
 	}
 
 	private static ArtifactInfo toArtifactInfo(Artifact artifact) {
+		// TODO: get attributes from artifact descriptor??
 		MavenCoordinate coord = new MavenCoordinate(artifact.getGroupId(), artifact.getArtifactId(),
-				artifact.getVersion(), artifact.getClassifier(), artifact.getExtension());
+				artifact.getVersion(), artifact.getClassifier(), artifact.getExtension(), DependencyAttributes.DEFAULT);
 		return new ArtifactInfo(coord, artifact.getFile().toPath());
 	}
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/dev/jbang/dependencies/DependencyAttributes.java b/src/main/java/dev/jbang/dependencies/DependencyAttributes.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4dd1a769f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/java/dev/jbang/dependencies/DependencyAttributes.java
@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+package dev.jbang.dependencies;
+
+import java.util.*;
+
+import dev.jbang.util.AttributeParser;
+
+public class DependencyAttributes {
+
+	/** default attributes */
+	public static final DependencyAttributes DEFAULT = new DependencyAttributes(
+			AttributeParser.parseAttributeList("scope=build,run", "scope"));
+
+	private final Map<String, List<String>> attributes;
+
+	// Java 8 Set.of() is sad :)
+	static Set<String> defaultScopes = Collections.unmodifiableSet(new HashSet<>(Arrays.asList("build", "run")));
+	Set<String> scopes;
+
+	public DependencyAttributes(Map<String, List<String>> attributes) {
+		this.attributes = attributes;
+	}
+
+	// lazy computed; dont store hashset unless truly needed
+	public boolean includeInScope(String scope) {
+		if (scopes == null) {
+			if (attributes.containsKey("scope")) {
+				scopes = new HashSet<>(attributes.get("scope"));
+			} else {
+				scopes = defaultScopes;
+			}
+		}
+		return scopes.contains(scope);
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * is there something configured? even if default ?
+	 * 
+	 * @return
+	 */
+	public boolean isDefault() {
+		return !attributes.isEmpty();
+	}
+
+	public String toStringFormat() {
+		return AttributeParser.toStringRep(attributes, "scope");
+	}
+
+	@Override
+	public String toString() {
+		return toStringFormat();
+	}
+
+	@Override
+	public boolean equals(Object o) {
+		// TODO: this wont make g:a:v and g:a:v{build,run} equal ...even if they are...
+		if (o == null || getClass() != o.getClass())
+			return false;
+		DependencyAttributes that = (DependencyAttributes) o;
+		return Objects.equals(attributes, that.attributes);
+	}
+
+	@Override
+	public int hashCode() {
+		return Objects.hashCode(attributes);
+	}
+}
diff --git a/src/main/java/dev/jbang/dependencies/MavenCoordinate.java b/src/main/java/dev/jbang/dependencies/MavenCoordinate.java
index 4184bf901..dfd0e0853 100644
--- a/src/main/java/dev/jbang/dependencies/MavenCoordinate.java
+++ b/src/main/java/dev/jbang/dependencies/MavenCoordinate.java
@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@
 import javax.annotation.Nonnull;
 import javax.annotation.Nullable;
 
+import dev.jbang.util.AttributeParser;
+
 /**
  * 
  * MavenCoordinate should not implement euqals as it is not meaningfull to use
@@ -25,15 +27,18 @@ public class MavenCoordinate {
 	private final String version;
 	private final String classifier;
 	private final String type;
+	private final DependencyAttributes attributes;
 
 	public static final String DUMMY_GROUP = "group";
 	public static final String DEFAULT_VERSION = "999-SNAPSHOT";
+	public static final String SCOPE_ATTR = "scope";
 
 	private static final Pattern gavPattern = Pattern.compile(
-			"^(?<groupid>[^:]*):(?<artifactid>[^:]*)(:(?<version>[^:@]*))?(:(?<classifier>[^@]*))?(@(?<type>.*))?$");
+			"^(?<groupid>[^:]*):(?<artifactid>[^:]*)(:(?<version>[^:@{]*))?(:(?<classifier>[^@{]*))?(@(?<type>.[^{]*))?(\\{(?<properties>.*)})?$");
 
 	private static final Pattern canonicalPattern = Pattern.compile(
 			"^(?<groupid>[^:]*):(?<artifactid>[^:]*)((:(?<type>.*)(:(?<classifier>[^@]*))?)?:(?<version>[^:@]*))?$");
+
 	private String managementKey;
 
 	public String getGroupId() {
@@ -73,17 +78,21 @@ public String getManagementKey() {
 		return managementKey;
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * Converts a canonical string to a MavenCoordinate.
+	 */
+	@Deprecated
 	public static MavenCoordinate fromCanonicalString(String depId) {
 		return parse(depId, canonicalPattern);
 	}
 
 	private static MavenCoordinate parse(String depId, Pattern pattern) {
 		Matcher gav = pattern.matcher(depId);
-		gav.find();
+		// gav.find();
 
 		if (!gav.matches()) {
 			throw new IllegalStateException(String.format(
-					"[ERROR] Invalid dependency locator: '%s'.  Expected format is groupId:artifactId:version[:classifier][@type]",
+					"[ERROR] Invalid dependency locator: '%s'.  Expected format is groupId:artifactId:version[:classifier][@type][{attrlist}]",
 					depId));
 		}
 
@@ -92,26 +101,30 @@ private static MavenCoordinate parse(String depId, Pattern pattern) {
 		String version = DependencyUtil.formatVersion(gav.group("version"));
 		String classifier = gav.group("classifier");
 		String type = Optional.ofNullable(gav.group("type")).orElse("jar");
+		String propString = gav.group("properties");
 
-		return new MavenCoordinate(groupId, artifactId, version, classifier, type);
+		DependencyAttributes da = new DependencyAttributes(
+				AttributeParser.parseAttributeList(propString, "scope"));
+		return new MavenCoordinate(groupId, artifactId, version, classifier, type, da);
 	}
 
 	public MavenCoordinate(@Nonnull String groupId, @Nonnull String artifactId, @Nonnull String version) {
-		this(groupId, artifactId, version, null, null);
+		this(groupId, artifactId, version, null, null, DependencyAttributes.DEFAULT);
 	}
 
 	public MavenCoordinate(@Nonnull String groupId, @Nonnull String artifactId, @Nonnull String version,
-			@Nullable String classifier, @Nullable String type) {
+			@Nullable String classifier, @Nullable String type, DependencyAttributes attributes) {
 		this.groupId = groupId;
 		this.artifactId = artifactId;
 		this.version = version;
 		this.classifier = classifier != null && classifier.isEmpty() ? null : classifier;
 		this.type = type;
+		this.attributes = attributes;
 	}
 
 	public MavenCoordinate withVersion() {
 		return version != null ? this
-				: new MavenCoordinate(groupId, artifactId, DEFAULT_VERSION, classifier, type);
+				: new MavenCoordinate(groupId, artifactId, DEFAULT_VERSION, classifier, type, attributes);
 	}
 
 	/**
@@ -163,6 +176,12 @@ public String toString() {
 				", version='" + version + '\'' +
 				", classifier='" + classifier + '\'' +
 				", type='" + type + '\'' +
+				", attributes='" + attributes + '\'' +
 				'}';
 	}
+
+	public DependencyAttributes getAttributes() {
+		return attributes;
+	}
+
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/dev/jbang/util/AttributeParser.java b/src/main/java/dev/jbang/util/AttributeParser.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1f86202c6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/java/dev/jbang/util/AttributeParser.java
@@ -0,0 +1,146 @@
+package dev.jbang.util;
+
+import java.util.*;
+
+//handle {} similar to how Asciidoc(tor) interpret attribute lists: https://docs.asciidoctor.org/asciidoc/latest/attributes/positional-and-named-attributes/
+//Derived from https://github.com/yupiik/tools-maven-plugin/blob/d1e8b97ebcae032684a0fafac426bcc25819089f/asciidoc-java/src/main/java/io/yupiik/asciidoc/parser/Parser.java#L1634
+
+public class AttributeParser {
+
+	public static Map<String, List<String>> parseAttributeList(String input, String defaultKey) {
+		Map<String, List<String>> result = new LinkedHashMap<>();
+		List<String> unnamed = new ArrayList<>();
+
+		for (String token : tokenize(input)) {
+			if (token.isEmpty())
+				continue;
+
+			if (token.contains("=")) {
+				String[] kv = token.split("=", 2);
+				String key = kv[0].trim();
+				String value = unquote(kv[1].trim());
+
+				if (key.equals(defaultKey)) {
+					unnamed.add(value);
+				} else {
+					result.put(key, Collections.singletonList(value));
+				}
+			} else if (token.contains("%")) {
+				String[] parts = token.split("%");
+				int startIdx = 0;
+
+				if (!parts[0].isEmpty()) {
+					unnamed.add(unquote(parts[0]));
+					startIdx = 1;
+				}
+
+				for (int i = startIdx; i < parts.length; i++) {
+					if (!parts[i].isEmpty()) {
+						result.put(parts[i], Collections.singletonList("true"));
+					}
+				}
+			} else {
+				unnamed.add(unquote(token));
+			}
+		}
+
+		if (!unnamed.isEmpty()) {
+			result.put(defaultKey, unnamed);
+		}
+
+		return result;
+	}
+
+	private static List<String> tokenize(String input) {
+		if (input == null)
+			return Collections.emptyList();
+		List<String> tokens = new ArrayList<>();
+		StringBuilder current = new StringBuilder();
+		boolean inSingleQuote = false, inDoubleQuote = false;
+
+		for (int i = 0; i < input.length(); i++) {
+			char c = input.charAt(i);
+
+			if (c == ',' && !inSingleQuote && !inDoubleQuote) {
+				tokens.add(current.toString().trim());
+				current.setLength(0);
+			} else {
+				if (c == '"' && !inSingleQuote) {
+					if (i == 0 || input.charAt(i - 1) != '\\') {
+						inDoubleQuote = !inDoubleQuote;
+					}
+				} else if (c == '\'' && !inDoubleQuote) {
+					if (i == 0 || input.charAt(i - 1) != '\\') {
+						inSingleQuote = !inSingleQuote;
+					}
+				}
+				current.append(c);
+			}
+		}
+
+		if (current.length() > 0) {
+			tokens.add(current.toString().trim());
+		}
+
+		return tokens;
+	}
+
+	private static String unquote(String s) {
+		if (s.length() < 2)
+			return s;
+
+		char first = s.charAt(0);
+		char last = s.charAt(s.length() - 1);
+
+		if ((first == '"' || first == '\'') && last != first) {
+			return s;
+		}
+
+		if ((first == '"' && last == '"') || (first == '\'' && last == '\'')) {
+			String inner = s.substring(1, s.length() - 1);
+			return first == '"' ? inner.replace("\\\"", "\"") : inner.replace("\\'", "'");
+		}
+
+		return s;
+	}
+
+	private static String quoteValue(String value) {
+		boolean needsQuote = value.contains(",") || value.contains(" ") || value.contains("\"") || value.contains("'");
+		if (!needsQuote)
+			return value;
+
+		boolean useDouble = !value.contains("\"") || value.contains("'");
+		String escaped = value.replace(useDouble ? "\"" : "'", useDouble ? "\\\"" : "\\'");
+		return useDouble ? "\"" + escaped + "\"" : "'" + escaped + "'";
+	}
+
+	public static String toStringRep(Map<String, List<String>> attributes, String defaultKey) {
+		List<String> parts = new ArrayList<>();
+
+		// Positional values first
+		List<String> positional = attributes.get(defaultKey);
+		if (positional != null) {
+			for (String value : positional) {
+				parts.add(quoteValue(value));
+			}
+		}
+
+		// Other keys
+		for (Map.Entry<String, List<String>> entry : attributes.entrySet()) {
+			String key = entry.getKey();
+			if (key.equals(defaultKey))
+				continue;
+
+			List<String> values = entry.getValue();
+			for (String value : values) {
+				if ("true".equals(value)) {
+					parts.add("%" + key);
+				} else {
+					parts.add(key + "=" + quoteValue(value));
+				}
+			}
+		}
+
+		return String.join(",", parts);
+	}
+}
diff --git a/src/test/java/dev/jbang/dependencies/DependencyResolverTest.java b/src/test/java/dev/jbang/dependencies/DependencyResolverTest.java
index 5709b3976..e70689dee 100644
--- a/src/test/java/dev/jbang/dependencies/DependencyResolverTest.java
+++ b/src/test/java/dev/jbang/dependencies/DependencyResolverTest.java
@@ -2,16 +2,7 @@
 
 import static dev.jbang.dependencies.DependencyUtil.toMavenRepo;
 import static dev.jbang.util.JavaUtil.defaultJdkManager;
-import static org.hamcrest.MatcherAssert.assertThat;
-import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.arrayWithSize;
-import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.containsInAnyOrder;
-import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.containsString;
-import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.endsWith;
-import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.equalTo;
-import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.hasItem;
-import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.hasSize;
-import static org.hamcrest.Matchers.not;
-import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.*;
+import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.*;
 
 import java.io.File;
 import java.io.IOException;
@@ -36,7 +27,7 @@ class DependencyResolverTest extends BaseTest {
 
 	@Test
 	void testFormatVersion() {
-		assertEquals("[1.0,)", DependencyUtil.formatVersion("1.0+"));
+		assertThat(DependencyUtil.formatVersion("1.0+")).isEqualTo("[1.0,)");
 	}
 
 	@BeforeEach
@@ -47,37 +38,121 @@ void clearCache() {
 	@Test
 	void testdepIdToArtifact() {
 		MavenCoordinate artifact = MavenCoordinate.fromString("com.offbytwo:docopt:0.6.0.20150202:redhat@doc");
-		assertEquals("com.offbytwo", artifact.getGroupId());
-		assertEquals("docopt", artifact.getArtifactId());
-		assertEquals("0.6.0.20150202", artifact.getVersion());
-		assertEquals("redhat", artifact.getClassifier());
-		assertEquals("doc", artifact.getType());
+		assertThat(artifact.getGroupId()).isEqualTo("com.offbytwo");
+		assertThat(artifact.getArtifactId()).isEqualTo("docopt");
+		assertThat(artifact.getVersion()).isEqualTo("0.6.0.20150202");
+		assertThat(artifact.getClassifier()).isEqualTo("redhat");
+		assertThat(artifact.getType()).isEqualTo("doc");
 
 		artifact = MavenCoordinate.fromString("com.offbytwo:docopt:0.6.0.20150202");
-		assertEquals("com.offbytwo", artifact.getGroupId());
-		assertEquals("docopt", artifact.getArtifactId());
-		assertEquals("0.6.0.20150202", artifact.getVersion());
-		assertNull(artifact.getClassifier());
-		assertEquals("jar", artifact.getType());
+		assertThat(artifact.getGroupId()).isEqualTo("com.offbytwo");
+		assertThat(artifact.getArtifactId()).isEqualTo("docopt");
+		assertThat(artifact.getVersion()).isEqualTo("0.6.0.20150202");
+		assertThat(artifact.getClassifier()).isNull();
+		assertThat(artifact.getType()).isEqualTo("jar");
 
 		artifact = MavenCoordinate.fromString("com.offbytwo:docopt:0.6+");
-		assertEquals("com.offbytwo", artifact.getGroupId());
-		assertEquals("docopt", artifact.getArtifactId());
-		assertEquals("[0.6,)", artifact.getVersion());
-		assertNull(artifact.getClassifier());
-		assertEquals("jar", artifact.getType());
+		assertThat(artifact.getGroupId()).isEqualTo("com.offbytwo");
+		assertThat(artifact.getArtifactId()).isEqualTo("docopt");
+		assertThat(artifact.getVersion()).isEqualTo("[0.6,)");
+		assertThat(artifact.getClassifier()).isNull();
+		assertThat(artifact.getType()).isEqualTo("jar");
 
-		assertThrows(IllegalStateException.class, () -> MavenCoordinate.fromString("bla?f"));
+		assertThatExceptionOfType(IllegalStateException.class).isThrownBy(() -> MavenCoordinate.fromString("bla?f"));
+	}
+
+	@Test()
+	void testEqualsEmptyAttributes() {
+		MavenCoordinate a1 = MavenCoordinate.fromString("a.b:c:0.6:qf@doc");
+		MavenCoordinate a2 = MavenCoordinate.fromString("a.b:c:0.6:qf@doc");
+		assertThat(a1).as("mavencoordinate bad comparison of empty attribtues").isNotEqualTo(a2);
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	void testEqualsGAVBehavior() {
+		MavenCoordinate a1 = MavenCoordinate.fromString("a.b:c:0.6:qf@doc");
+		MavenCoordinate a2 = MavenCoordinate.fromString("a.b:c:0.6:qf@doc{build,run}");
+		assertThat(a1).isNotEqualTo(a2); // these are equal in behavior - but not in "format"
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	void testEqualsGAVFlippedBehavior() {
+		MavenCoordinate a1 = MavenCoordinate.fromString("a.b:c:0.6:qf@doc{run,build}");
+		MavenCoordinate a2 = MavenCoordinate.fromString("a.b:c:0.6:qf@doc{build,run}");
+		assertThat(a1).isNotEqualTo(a2); // these are equal in behavior - but not in "format"
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	void testVariants() {
+		MavenCoordinate artifact = MavenCoordinate
+			.fromString("com.offbytwo:docopt:0.6.0.20150202:redhat@doc{build,boot,run}");
+		assertThat(artifact.getGroupId()).isEqualTo("com.offbytwo");
+		assertThat(artifact.getArtifactId()).isEqualTo("docopt");
+		assertThat(artifact.getVersion()).isEqualTo("0.6.0.20150202");
+		assertThat(artifact.getClassifier()).isEqualTo("redhat");
+		assertThat(artifact.getType()).isEqualTo("doc");
+		assertThat(artifact.getAttributes().includeInScope("boot")).isTrue();
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	void testScopes() {
+
+		MavenCoordinate artifact = MavenCoordinate.fromString("a.b:c:1.2{build}");
+
+		assertThat(artifact)
+			.extracting("groupId", "artifactId", "version", "classifier")
+			.containsExactly("a.b", "c", "1.2", null);
+
+		assertThat(artifact.getAttributes().includeInScope("build")).isTrue();
+
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	void testMultiScopes() {
+		MavenCoordinate artifact = MavenCoordinate.fromString("a.b:c:1.2{build}");
+
+		assertThat(artifact)
+			.extracting("groupId", "artifactId", "version", "classifier")
+			.containsExactly("a.b", "c", "1.2", null);
+
+		assertThat(artifact.getAttributes().includeInScope("build")).isTrue();
+		assertThat(artifact.getAttributes().includeInScope("compile")).isFalse();
+		assertThat(artifact.getAttributes().includeInScope("doesnotexist")).isFalse();
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	void testBadDependencyRequests() {
+		assertThatExceptionOfType(IllegalStateException.class)
+			.isThrownBy(() -> MavenCoordinate.fromString("a.b:c:1.2{"));
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	void testOtherProperties() {
+
+		MavenCoordinate artifact = MavenCoordinate.fromString("a.b:c:1.2{build}");
+
+		assertThat(artifact)
+			.extracting("groupId", "artifactId", "version", "classifier")
+			.containsExactly("a.b", "c", "1.2", null);
+
+		MavenCoordinate artifact2 = MavenCoordinate.fromString("a.b:c:1.2");
+
+		assertThat(artifact2)
+			.extracting("groupId", "artifactId", "version", "classifier")
+			.containsExactly("a.b", "c", "1.2", null);
+
+		assertThat(artifact2.getAttributes().includeInScope("build")).isTrue();
+		assertThat(artifact2.getAttributes().includeInScope("run")).isTrue();
 	}
 
 	@Test
 	void testdecodeEnv() {
-		assertThrows(IllegalStateException.class, () -> DependencyUtil.decodeEnv("{{wonka}}"));
-		assertEquals("wonka", DependencyUtil.decodeEnv("wonka"));
+		assertThatExceptionOfType(IllegalStateException.class).isThrownBy(() -> DependencyUtil.decodeEnv("{{wonka}}"));
+		assertThat(DependencyUtil.decodeEnv("wonka")).isEqualTo("wonka");
 
 		environmentVariables.set("test.value", "wonka");
 
-		assertEquals("wonka", DependencyUtil.decodeEnv("{{test.value}}"));
+		assertThat(DependencyUtil.decodeEnv("{{test.value}}")).isEqualTo("wonka");
 	}
 
 	@Test
@@ -90,11 +165,11 @@ void testdepIdWithPlaceHoldersToArtifact() {
 				"com.example:my-native-library:1.0.0:${os.detected.jfxname}", p);
 
 		MavenCoordinate artifact = MavenCoordinate.fromString(gav);
-		assertEquals("com.example", artifact.getGroupId());
-		assertEquals("my-native-library", artifact.getArtifactId());
-		assertEquals("1.0.0", artifact.getVersion());
-		assertEquals(p.getProperty("os.detected.jfxname"), artifact.getClassifier());
-		assertEquals("jar", artifact.getType());
+		assertThat(artifact.getGroupId()).isEqualTo("com.example");
+		assertThat(artifact.getArtifactId()).isEqualTo("my-native-library");
+		assertThat(artifact.getVersion()).isEqualTo("1.0.0");
+		assertThat(artifact.getClassifier()).isEqualTo(p.getProperty("os.detected.jfxname"));
+		assertThat(artifact.getType()).isEqualTo("jar");
 	}
 
 	@Test
@@ -106,14 +181,14 @@ void testResolveJavaFXWithAether() {
 		List<String> deps = Collections.singletonList(
 				PropertiesValueResolver.replaceProperties("org.openjfx:javafx-base:18.0.2:${os.detected.jfxname}", p));
 		List<ArtifactInfo> artifacts = ArtifactResolver.Builder.create().build().resolve(deps);
-		assertEquals(1, artifacts.size());
+		assertThat(artifacts.size()).isEqualTo(1);
 	}
 
 	@Test
 	void testResolveDependenciesWithAether() {
 		List<String> deps = Arrays.asList("com.offbytwo:docopt:0.6.0.20150202", "log4j:log4j:1.2+");
 		List<ArtifactInfo> artifacts = ArtifactResolver.Builder.create().build().resolve(deps);
-		assertEquals(2, artifacts.size());
+		assertThat(artifacts.size()).isEqualTo(2);
 	}
 
 	@Test
@@ -124,14 +199,15 @@ void testResolveDependenciesAltRepo(@TempDir File altrepo) {
 			.localFolder(altrepo.toPath())
 			.build()
 			.resolve(deps);
-		assertEquals(2, artifacts.size());
-		assertThat(altrepo.listFiles(), arrayWithSize(4));
+		assertThat(artifacts.size()).isEqualTo(2);
+		assertThat(altrepo.listFiles()).hasSize(4);
 	}
 
 	@Test
 	void testRedHatJBossRepos() {
-		assertEquals(toMavenRepo("jbossorg").getUrl(), "https://repository.jboss.org/nexus/content/groups/public/");
-		assertEquals(toMavenRepo("redhat").getUrl(), "https://maven.repository.redhat.com/ga/");
+		assertThat("https://repository.jboss.org/nexus/content/groups/public/")
+			.isEqualTo(toMavenRepo("jbossorg").getUrl());
+		assertThat("https://maven.repository.redhat.com/ga/").isEqualTo(toMavenRepo("redhat").getUrl());
 	}
 
 	@Test
@@ -143,7 +219,7 @@ void testResolveDependencies() {
 				true, false);
 
 		// if returns 5 its because optional deps are included which they shouldn't
-		assertEquals(2, classpath.getClassPaths().size());
+		assertThat(classpath.getClassPaths().size()).isEqualTo(2);
 	}
 
 	@Test
@@ -162,7 +238,7 @@ void testResolveDependenciesNoDuplicates() {
 
 		HashSet<String> othercps = new HashSet<>(cps);
 
-		assertThat(cps, containsInAnyOrder(othercps.toArray()));
+		assertThat(cps).containsAll(othercps);
 	}
 
 	@Test
@@ -177,7 +253,7 @@ void testResolveNativeDependencies() {
 				false,
 				true, false);
 
-		assertEquals(46, classpath.getClassPaths().size());
+		assertThat(classpath.getClassPaths().size()).isEqualTo(46);
 	}
 
 	@Test
@@ -196,11 +272,11 @@ protected boolean supportsModules(Jdk jdk) {
 
 		List<String> ma = cp.getAutoDectectedModuleArguments(defaultJdkManager().getOrInstallJdk(null));
 
-		assertThat(ma, hasItem("--module-path"));
+		assertThat(ma).contains("--module-path");
 
-		assertThat(ma, not(hasItem("docopt")));
+		assertThat(ma).doesNotContain("docopt");
 
-		assertThat(cp.getClassPath(), containsString("docopt"));
+		assertThat(cp.getClassPath()).contains("docopt");
 	}
 
 	@Test
@@ -211,7 +287,7 @@ void testImportPOM() {
 				false,
 				true, false);
 
-		assertEquals(62, classpath.getArtifacts().size());
+		assertThat(classpath.getArtifacts().size()).isEqualTo(62);
 	}
 
 	@Test
@@ -235,14 +311,14 @@ void testImportMultipleBoms() {
 				.startsWith("io.vertx:vertx-core"))
 			.findFirst();
 
-		assertEquals("4.2.3", coord.get().getCoordinate().getVersion());
+		assertThat(coord.get().getCoordinate().getVersion()).isEqualTo("4.2.3");
 
 		coord = classpath.getArtifacts()
 			.stream()
 			.filter(ai -> ai.getCoordinate().toCanonicalForm().startsWith("org.slf4j:slf4j-simple:"))
 			.findFirst();
 
-		assertEquals("1.7.30", coord.get().getCoordinate().getVersion());
+		assertThat(coord.get().getCoordinate().getVersion()).isEqualTo("1.7.30");
 
 		coord = classpath.getArtifacts()
 			.stream()
@@ -251,7 +327,7 @@ void testImportMultipleBoms() {
 				.startsWith("org.apache.camel:camel-vertx"))
 			.findFirst();
 
-		assertEquals(coord.get().getCoordinate().getVersion(), "3.9.0");
+		assertThat("3.9.0").isEqualTo(coord.get().getCoordinate().getVersion());
 
 		deps = Arrays.asList(
 				"org.apache.camel:camel-bom:3.9.0@pom",
@@ -265,7 +341,7 @@ void testImportMultipleBoms() {
 			.filter(ai -> ai.getCoordinate().toCanonicalForm().startsWith("io.vertx:vertx-core"))
 			.findFirst();
 
-		assertEquals("3.9.5", coord.get().getCoordinate().getVersion());
+		assertThat(coord.get().getCoordinate().getVersion()).isEqualTo("3.9.5");
 	}
 
 	@Test
@@ -276,12 +352,11 @@ void testResolveTestJar() {
 				false,
 				true, false);
 
-		assertThat(classpath.getArtifacts(), hasSize(7));
+		assertThat(classpath.getArtifacts()).hasSize(7);
 		ArtifactInfo ai = classpath.getArtifacts().get(0);
-		assertThat(ai.getCoordinate().toCanonicalForm(),
-				equalTo("org.infinispan:infinispan-commons:tests:jar:13.0.5.Final"));
-		assertThat(ai.getFile().toString(),
-				endsWith("infinispan-commons-13.0.5.Final-tests.jar"));
+		assertThat(ai.getCoordinate().toCanonicalForm())
+			.isEqualTo("org.infinispan:infinispan-commons:tests:jar:13.0.5.Final");
+		assertThat(ai.getFile().toString()).endsWith("infinispan-commons-13.0.5.Final-tests.jar");
 	}
 
 }
diff --git a/src/test/java/dev/jbang/util/AttributeParserTest.java b/src/test/java/dev/jbang/util/AttributeParserTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..567c38ade
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/java/dev/jbang/util/AttributeParserTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,86 @@
+package dev.jbang.util;
+
+import static dev.jbang.util.AttributeParser.parseAttributeList;
+import static java.util.List.of;
+import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThat;
+import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.entry;
+
+import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Map;
+
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+
+public class AttributeParserTest {
+
+	Map<String, List<String>> parse(String str) {
+		return parse(str, "");
+	}
+
+	Map<String, List<String>> parse(String str, String def) {
+		return parseAttributeList(str, def);
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void testEmpty() {
+		assertThat(parse("")).isEmpty();
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void testParseBasic() {
+		assertThat(parse("basic"))
+			.isNotEmpty()
+			.contains(entry("", of("basic")));
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void testParseBoolean() {
+		assertThat(parse("%transitive"))
+			.isNotEmpty()
+			.contains(entry("transitive", of("true")));
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void testList() {
+		assertThat(parse("basic,run"))
+			.isNotEmpty()
+			.contains(entry("", of("basic", "run")));
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void testMultipleBooleans() {
+		assertThat(parse("%transitive%import"))
+			.isNotEmpty()
+			.contains(entry("transitive", of("true")), entry("import", of("true")));
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void testNamedAttributes() {
+		assertThat(parse("my=basic,run"))
+			.isNotEmpty()
+			.hasSize(2)
+			.contains(entry("my", of("basic")), entry("", of("run")));
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void testCombinedMultipleBooleans() {
+		assertThat(parse("basic,run,scope=herewego,%transitive%import", "scope"))
+			.isNotEmpty()
+			.hasSize(3)
+			.contains(
+					entry("transitive", of("true")),
+					entry("import", of("true")),
+					entry("scope", of("basic", "run", "herewego")));
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void testQuotes() {
+		assertThat(parse("'basic,run' ,scope=\"here 'we' \\\"go\\\" \",%transitive%import", "scope"))
+			.isNotEmpty()
+			.hasSize(3)
+			.contains(
+					entry("transitive", of("true")),
+					entry("import", of("true")),
+					entry("scope", of("basic,run", "here 'we' \"go\" ")));
+	}
+
+}