Spring Getting Started

Spring Initializr

The easiest way to create a Spring Boot project is via start.spring.io. Select your project metadata, dependencies, and download a ready-to-run project. You can also use your IDE's built-in Spring Initializr integration.

Maven pom.xml - Spring Boot Starter

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0">
    <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>

    <!-- Spring Boot Parent: manages all dependency versions -->
    <parent>
        <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
        <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-parent</artifactId>
        <version>3.2.0</version>
    </parent>

    <groupId>com.example</groupId>
    <artifactId>my-spring-app</artifactId>
    <version>1.0.0</version>
    <packaging>jar</packaging>

    <properties>
        <java.version>17</java.version>
    </properties>

    <dependencies>
        <!-- Web MVC + embedded Tomcat -->
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
            <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-web</artifactId>
        </dependency>

        <!-- JPA + Hibernate -->
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
            <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-data-jpa</artifactId>
        </dependency>

        <!-- MySQL Driver -->
        <dependency>
            <groupId>com.mysql</groupId>
            <artifactId>mysql-connector-j</artifactId>
            <scope>runtime</scope>
        </dependency>

        <!-- Spring Security -->
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
            <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-security</artifactId>
        </dependency>

        <!-- Thymeleaf template engine -->
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
            <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-thymeleaf</artifactId>
        </dependency>

        <!-- Actuator: health, metrics, info endpoints -->
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
            <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-actuator</artifactId>
        </dependency>

        <!-- Testing -->
        <dependency>
            <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
            <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-test</artifactId>
            <scope>test</scope>
        </dependency>
    </dependencies>

    <build>
        <plugins>
            <plugin>
                <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
                <artifactId>spring-boot-maven-plugin</artifactId>
            </plugin>
        </plugins>
    </build>
</project>

application.properties

application.properties Configuration

# Server configuration
server.port=8080
server.servlet.context-path=/api

# Database configuration
spring.datasource.url=jdbc:mysql://localhost:3306/mydb?useSSL=false
spring.datasource.username=root
spring.datasource.password=password
spring.datasource.driver-class-name=com.mysql.cj.jdbc.Driver

# JPA/Hibernate
spring.jpa.hibernate.ddl-auto=update
spring.jpa.show-sql=true
spring.jpa.properties.hibernate.format_sql=true
spring.jpa.database-platform=org.hibernate.dialect.MySQL8Dialect

# Logging
logging.level.org.springframework=INFO
logging.level.com.example=DEBUG
logging.file.name=logs/app.log

# Actuator
management.endpoints.web.exposure.include=health,info,metrics
management.endpoint.health.show-details=always

# Custom properties
app.name=My Spring App
app.version=1.0.0
app.jwt.secret=mySecretKey123

# application.yml (YAML format - same config, different syntax)
server:
  port: 8080
  servlet:
    context-path: /api

spring:
  datasource:
    url: jdbc:mysql://localhost:3306/mydb?useSSL=false
    username: root
    password: password
  jpa:
    hibernate:
      ddl-auto: update
    show-sql: true

logging:
  level:
    org.springframework: INFO
    com.example: DEBUG

app:
  name: My Spring App
  version: 1.0.0

First Spring Boot Application

Hello World REST Controller

package com.example.controller;

import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Value;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.*;

@RestController
@RequestMapping("/api")
public class HelloController {

    @Value("${app.name}")
    private String appName;

    @GetMapping("/hello")
    public String hello() {
        return "Hello from " + appName + "!";
    }

    @GetMapping("/hello/{name}")
    public String helloName(@PathVariable String name) {
        return "Hello, " + name + "!";
    }

    @GetMapping("/greet")
    public String greet(@RequestParam(defaultValue = "World") String name) {
        return "Greetings, " + name + "!";
    }
}

package com.example;

import org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication;
import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.SpringBootApplication;

@SpringBootApplication
public class Application {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        SpringApplication.run(Application.class, args);
        // App starts at http://localhost:8080
        // Test: curl http://localhost:8080/api/hello
        // Test: curl http://localhost:8080/api/hello/Alice
        // Test: curl http://localhost:8080/api/greet?name=Bob
    }
}

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Spring Getting Started

Spring Initializr

application.properties

First Spring Boot Application

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