Creating an Executable Jar in Spring Boot

Creating an executable JAR in Spring Boot is a straightforward process that allows you to package your application along with its dependencies into a single, runnable JAR file. This makes it easy to deploy and run your application on any system with a Java runtime environment. In this blog post, we'll walk through the steps to create an executable JAR using Maven.

Step 1: Set Up Your Spring Boot Application

First, ensure you have a Spring Boot application set up. If you don't have one, you can quickly create a new Spring Boot project using Spring Initializr.

Step 2: Add the Spring Boot Maven Plugin

To create an executable JAR, you need to add the Spring Boot Maven plugin to your pom.xml file. This plugin provides the necessary configuration to package your application correctly.

<build>
    <plugins>
        <plugin>
            <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
            <artifactId>spring-boot-maven-plugin</artifactId>
        </plugin>
    </plugins>
</build>

Step 3: Configure the Packaging Type

Ensure that the packaging type in your pom.xml is set to jar.

jar

Step 4: Build the Executable JAR

With the plugin and packaging type configured, you can now build your executable JAR. Run the following Maven command from the root directory of your project:

mvn clean package

This command will compile your code, run tests, and package your application into a JAR file located in the target directory.

Step 5: Run the Executable JAR

Once the build is complete, you can run your Spring Boot application using the java -jar command:

java -jar target/your-application-name-0.0.1-SNAPSHOT.jar

Replace your-application-name-0.0.1-SNAPSHOT.jar with the actual name of your JAR file.

Additional Configuration

If you need to customize the build process further, you can configure the Spring Boot Maven plugin with additional options. For example, you can specify a custom main class or include additional resources.

<build>
    <plugins>
        <plugin>
            <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
            <artifactId>spring-boot-maven-plugin</artifactId>
            <configuration>
                <mainClass>com.example.MainApplication</mainClass>
            </configuration>
        </plugin>
    </plugins>
</build>

Conclusion

Creating an executable JAR in Spring Boot simplifies the deployment process by bundling your application and its dependencies into a single file. This approach ensures that your application can run consistently across different environments. By following the steps outlined in this blog post, you can easily create and run an executable JAR for your Spring Boot application.

Happy coding! 🚀