Spring Initializr for Spring Boot

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Are you a developer who needs to create and configure a new Spring Boot project? Perhaps you're intimidated by all the options? Don't worry, the Spring Boot Initializr has got your back.

How to use the Spring Initializr

Available online at start.spring.io (although that might change as the .io subdomain's future is currently in doubt), the web interface enables you to select options such as the following:

  • A build tool such as Maven or Gradle.
  • The preferred language such as Java or Kotlin.
  • The version of Spring Boot to use.
  • Which dependencies to add to your project.

After the basic project configuration is complete, the online Spring Initializr lets you share a link to the online settings with co-workers, explore the Maven POM or Gradle build file that will be generated, and most importantly, download a zip file that contains the skeleton project.

You can then extract the zip file to your local file system and import it as a new project into any IDE that supports Gradle or Maven projects.

Spring Initializr alternatives

If you have the Spring Tool Suite version of Eclipse, or the Spring Tools plugin added to VS Code, you can access the Spring Initializr directly through the tool. Access to the online version isn't required.

Screenshot of Spring Initializr interface.
The Spring Initializer allows you to build a basic, autoconfigured Spring Boot app online.

However, some tools, such as the community version of IntelliJ, do not have the Spring tools prepackaged, so you'll need to import a Maven or Gradle project built by the Spring Initializr.

The Spring Initializr doesn't write code for you and it doesn't implement any features. It just provides a working, preconfigured project that supports Spring Web MVC, Spring Data JPA, Spring Boot Actuator and any other Spring projects you might require.

The Spring Initializr simply helps you bootstrap your development with Spring, and that's what Spring Boot is all about.

Cameron McKenzie has been a Java EE software engineer for 20 years. His current specialties include Agile development; DevOps; Spring; and container-based technologies such as Docker, Swarm and Kubernetes.

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