Run Spring Boot Maven Command
author : Sai K
Maven is a popular build automation tool used primarily for Java projects. Running a Spring Boot
application with
Maven is straightforward using the spring-boot:run goal provided by the Spring Boot
Maven plugin. This guide
will show you how to set up and run a Spring Boot application using Maven
commands.
Prerequisites
- JDK 17 or later
- Maven installed on your machine
- Spring Boot (version 3.2+ recommended)
- An IDE (IntelliJ IDEA, Eclipse, VS Code, etc.)
Step 1: Set Up a Spring Boot Project Using Spring Initializr
Use Spring Initializr to generate a new Spring Boot project with the following configuration:
- Project: Maven Project
- Language: Java
- Spring Boot: 3.2.x
- Dependencies: Spring Web
Download the generated project, unzip it, and open it in your IDE.
Example Project Structure
The basic structure of a Spring Boot project with Maven looks like this:
my-spring-boot-app/
├── src/
│ ├── main/
│ │ ├── java/
│ │ │ └── com/example/demo/
│ │ │ └── DemoApplication.java
│ │ └── resources/
│ │ ├── application.properties
│ └── test/
│ └── java/
│ └── com/example/demo/
│ └── DemoApplicationTests.java
├── mvnw
├── mvnw.cmd
├── pom.xml
└── .mvn/
└── wrapper/
└── maven-wrapper.properties
Step 2: Configure pom.xml
The pom.xml file is the heart of a Maven project. It defines the project's dependencies, build
configuration, and
more. Open the pom.xml file and ensure it has the following configuration:
< project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
< modelVersion>4.0.0< /modelVersion>
< groupId>com.example< /groupId>
< artifactId>demo< /artifactId>
< version>0.0.1-SNAPSHOT< /version>
< packaging>jar< /packaging>
< name>demo< /name>
< description>Demo project for Spring Boot< /description>
< parent>
< groupId>org.springframework.boot< /groupId>
< artifactId>spring-boot-starter-parent< /artifactId>
< version>3.2.0< /version>
< relativePath />
< /parent>
< properties>
< java.version>17< /java.version>
< /properties>
< dependencies>
< dependency>
< groupId>org.springframework.boot< /groupId>
< artifactId>spring-boot-starter-web< /artifactId>
< /dependency>
< 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>
Step 3: Create the Application Class
Create a Java class named DemoApplication in the src/main/java/com/example/demo directory.
package com.example.demo;
import org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication;
import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.SpringBootApplication;
@SpringBootApplication
public class DemoApplication {
public static void main(String[] args) {
SpringApplication.run(DemoApplication.class, args);
}
}
Explanation:
- @SpringBootApplication: Marks this class as the main entry point for the Spring Boot application.
- main method: Starts the Spring Boot application.
Step 4: Create a Simple REST Controller
To verify the application works as expected, let's create a simple REST controller.
Create a Java class named
HelloController in the src/main/java/com/example/demo directory:
package com.example.demo;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.GetMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RestController;
@RestController
public class HelloController {
@GetMapping("/hello")
public String sayHello() {
return "Hello, World!";
}
}
Explanation:
- @RestController: Marks this class as a REST controller.
- @GetMapping("/hello"): Maps HTTP GET requests to the /hello endpoint to the sayHello method.
- sayHello method: Returns a "Hello, World!" message.
Step 5: Run the Application
Using the Maven Wrapper
The Maven Wrapper is a script that allows you to run Maven commands without having Maven installed on
your
system. It's included in your project when you generate a Spring Boot project from Spring
Initializr.
Steps to Run the Application
1.Open a terminal: Navigate to the root directory of your Spring Boot project.
2.Run the Application: Use the spring-boot:run goal to start the application.
For Unix/Linux/macOS:
./mvnw spring-boot:run
For Windows:
mvnw.cmd spring-boot:run
Using Maven Installed on Your Machine
If you have Maven installed on your machine, you can use the mvn command directly:
1.Open a terminal: Navigate to the root directory of your Spring Boot project.
2.Run the Application: Use the spring-boot:run goal to start the application.
For Unix/Linux/macOS/Windows:
mvn spring-boot:run
Step 6: Verify the Application
Open a web browser or a tool like Postman and navigate to the following URL to verify the application:
- URL: http://localhost:8080/hello
- Method: GET
- Response: Hello, World!
You should see the "Hello, World!" message returned by the HelloController.
Step 7: Creating a Test Class
Create a Java class named DemoApplicationTests in the src/test/java/com/example/demo directory.
package com.example.demo;
import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
import org.springframework.boot.test.context.SpringBootTest;
@SpringBootTest
class DemoApplicationTests {
@Test
void contextLoads() {
}
}
Explanation:
- @SpringBootTest: Indicates that this is a Spring Boot test.
- contextLoads method: Tests if the Spring application context loads successfully.
Running Tests
1.Run Tests: Use the mvn test command to run the tests.
For Unix/Linux/macOS/Windows:
mvn test
1.View Test Results: The test results will be displayed in the terminal, indicating whether
the tests passed
successfully.
Conclusion
In this tutorial, you have learned how to set up and run a Spring Boot application using Maven
commands. We
covered:
- Setting up a Spring Boot project using Spring Initializr with Maven.
- Configuring the pom.xml file.
- Creating the main application class.
- Creating a simple REST controller to verify the application works as expected.
- Running the application using Maven commands.
- Creating and running tests.
By following these steps, you can easily set up and manage Spring Boot projects using Maven,
leveraging its
powerful build and dependency management capabilities.