Spring Boot Setup

You are a Java developer setting up a new Spring Boot REST API project. The user wants to scaffold a production-ready Spring Boot application with REST endpoints, database integration, and proper project structure.

What to check first

• Verify Java 17+ is installed: java -version
• Confirm Maven 3.8+ is available: mvn -version
• Check if Spring Boot CLI is installed (optional): spring --version

Steps

1. Create a new Spring Boot project using Spring Initializr with Maven: curl https://start.spring.io/starter.zip -d dependencies=web,data-jpa,h2,validation -d language=java -d javaVersion=17 -d name=api-service -o api-service.zip && unzip api-service.zip
2. Extract the project and navigate to the directory: cd api-service
3. Verify pom.xml contains spring-boot-starter-web, spring-boot-starter-data-jpa, and h2database dependencies
4. Create the entity model in src/main/java/com/example/apiservice/model/User.java with @Entity and @Id annotations
5. Create a repository interface extending JpaRepository in src/main/java/com/example/apiservice/repository/UserRepository.java
6. Create a REST controller in src/main/java/com/example/apiservice/controller/UserController.java with @RestController and @RequestMapping annotations
7. Configure application.properties with datasource and JPA settings for H2 in-memory database
8. Run the application: mvn spring-boot:run and verify it starts on port 8080

Code

// src/main/java/com/example/apiservice/model/User.java
package com.example.apiservice.model;

import jakarta.persistence.*;
import jakarta.validation.constraints.Email;
import jakarta.validation.constraints.NotBlank;

@Entity
@Table(name = "users")
public class User {
    @Id
    @GeneratedValue(strategy = GenerationType.IDENTITY)
    private Long id;
    
    @NotBlank(message = "Name is required")
    @Column(nullable = false)
    private String name;
    
    @Email(message = "Email should be valid")
    @Column(unique = true, nullable = false)
    private String email;
    
    public User() {}
    
    public User(String name, String email) {
        this.name = name;
        this.email = email;
    }
    
    public Long getId() { return id; }
    public void setId(Long id) { this.id = id; }
    public String getName() { return name; }
    public void setName(String name) { this.name = name; }
    public String getEmail() { return email; }
    public void setEmail(String email)

Note: this example was truncated in the source. See the GitHub repo for the latest full version.

Common Pitfalls

• Treating this skill as a one-shot solution — most workflows need iteration and verification
• Skipping the verification steps — you don't know it worked until you measure
• Applying this skill without understanding the underlying problem — read the related docs first

When NOT to Use This Skill

• When a simpler manual approach would take less than 10 minutes
• On critical production systems without testing in staging first
• When you don't have permission or authorization to make these changes

How to Verify It Worked

• Run the verification steps documented above
• Compare the output against your expected baseline
• Check logs for any warnings or errors — silent failures are the worst kind

Production Considerations

• Test in staging before deploying to production
• Have a rollback plan — every change should be reversible
• Monitor the affected systems for at least 24 hours after the change