Clean ⢠Professional
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.
Starting a Spring project manually can be confusing. You have to figure out:
Spring Boot Starters solve all this by including the right libraries automatically.
Benefits of Starters:
Here are the most commonly used Spring Boot Starters:

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!";
}
}
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 ā you can save and fetch data easily.
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!";
}
}
ā” By default, all endpoints require login. No manual filter configuration needed.
Dependency:
<dependency>
<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-actuator</artifactId>
</dependency>
Example endpoints: /actuator/health, /actuator/metrics
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 ā you can write tests instantly.
Dependency:
<dependency>
<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-boot-devtools</artifactId>
</dependency>
Example:
ā” Perfect for development environment only
Example:
Adding spring-boot-starter-web triggers auto-configuration for:
ā” Starters = libraries; Auto-Configuration = automatic setup using those libraries.
Spring Boot Starters are a time-saving feature that make project setup fast and easy.
Using starters, you can focus on writing code instead of managing dependencies.