Spring Boot Starters

Spring Boot Starters are pre-configured dependency packages that make it easy to start a Spring Boot project. They include all the commonly required libraries for a specific feature or functionality.

In simple words: Starters save you from manually adding multiple dependencies. Just include a starter, and it brings everything you need for that feature.

This saves time, reduces errors, and helps you get your project running quickly.

Why Spring Boot Starters Are Important

Starting a Spring project manually can be confusing. You have to figure out:

• Which libraries are needed
• Which versions work together
• How to configure everything

Spring Boot Starters solve all this by including the right libraries automatically.

Benefits of Starters:

• Simplify dependency management
• Avoid version conflicts between libraries
• Speed up project setup
• Follow best practices automatically
• Make development beginner-friendly

Popular Spring Boot Starters

Here are the most commonly used Spring Boot Starters:

1. spring-boot-starter-web

• Used for building web applications and REST APIs
• Includes Spring MVC (for web handling)
• Includes embedded Tomcat server (runs your app automatically)
• Supports JSON conversion using Jackson
• Handles static resources like HTML, CSS, JS

Usage:

<dependency>
    <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
    <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-web</artifactId>
</dependency>

Example:

@SpringBootApplication
public class WebAppExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        SpringApplication.run(WebAppExample.class, args);
    }
}

@RestController
class HelloController {
    @GetMapping("/hello")
    public String hello() {
        return "Spring Boot Web Starter works!";
    }
}

2. spring-boot-starter-data-jpa

• Used for working with databases
• Includes Spring Data JPA and Hibernate
• Automatically configures EntityManager, Repositories, and DataSource
• Works with H2 in-memory database if no DB is configured

Dependency:

<dependency>
    <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
    <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-data-jpa</artifactId>
</dependency>
<dependency>
    <groupId>com.h2database</groupId>
    <artifactId>h2</artifactId>
</dependency>

Example:

@Entity
class User {
    @Id @GeneratedValue
    private Long id;
    private String name;
    // getters & setters
}

@Repository
interface UserRepository extends JpaRepository<User, Long> {}

@SpringBootApplication
class JpaExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        SpringApplication.run(JpaExample.class, args);
    }
}

H2 database is auto-configured — you can save and fetch data easily.

3. spring-boot-starter-security

• Adds Spring Security to your application
• Provides authentication and authorization features
• Automatically secures your web endpoints

Dependency:

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

Example:

@RestController
class SecureController {
    @GetMapping("/secure")
    public String secure() {
        return "Spring Security is working!";
    }
}

➡ By default, all endpoints require login. No manual filter configuration needed.

4. spring-boot-starter-actuator

• Adds monitoring and management features to your application
• Provides health checks, metrics, and application info endpoints
• Useful for production-ready apps

Dependency:

<dependency>
    <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
    <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-actuator</artifactId>
</dependency>

Example endpoints: /actuator/health, /actuator/metrics

5. spring-boot-starter-test

• Adds testing libraries like JUnit, Mockito, and Spring Test
• Makes it easy to write unit tests and integration tests

Dependency:

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

Example:

@SpringBootTest
class WebAppTest {

    @Autowired
    private TestRestTemplate restTemplate;

    @Test
    void helloEndpointTest() {
        String response = restTemplate.getForObject("/hello", String.class);
        assertEquals("Spring Boot Web Starter works!", response);
    }
}

Auto-configures testing support — you can write tests instantly.

6. spring-boot-devtools

• Helps developers work faster
• Adds hot reload and automatic restart
• Shows live changes without restarting the server manually

Dependency:

<dependency>
    <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
    <artifactId>spring-boot-devtools</artifactId>
</dependency>

Example:

• Modify a controller or template
• Spring Boot reloads automatically without manual restart

➡ Perfect for development environment only

How Starters Work With Auto-Configuration

• Starters provide the necessary libraries
• Auto-Configuration uses those libraries to configure your app automatically

Example:

Adding spring-boot-starter-web triggers auto-configuration for:

• DispatcherServlet
• REST controllers
• Embedded Tomcat
• Jackson for JSON conversion

➡ Starters = libraries; Auto-Configuration = automatic setup using those libraries.

Conclusion

Spring Boot Starters are a time-saving feature that make project setup fast and easy.

• They include all necessary libraries for a feature
• They work perfectly with Auto-Configuration
• They reduce errors and follow best practices
• They make your application ready to run instantly

Using starters, you can focus on writing code instead of managing dependencies.