How to Start a Spring Boot Project: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners

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If you're new to backend development in Java, Spring Boot is the perfect framework to begin your journey. It allows you to build robust, production-grade applications with minimal boilerplate code.

In this blog, I’ll guide you through creating your first Spring Boot project, understanding its folder structure, and building a basic REST API—all with practical examples and screenshots.

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📌 What is Spring Boot?

Spring Boot is an open-source Java framework designed to simplify Spring application development. It comes with built-in configurations, embedded servers, and dependency management to reduce boilerplate and speed up your development process.

🔑 Key Benefits of Spring Boot

• Zero XML configuration
• Embedded Tomcat/Jetty/Undertow
• Auto-configuration for faster setup
• Powerful Spring ecosystem (Security, Data, Cloud, etc.)

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✅ Step 1: Create Your Project Using Spring Initializr

Spring Initializr is a web-based generator for Spring Boot apps. It’s fast, intuitive, and generates all the project boilerplate for you.

🖥️ Visit Spring Initializr

🔗 https://start.spring.io/

🔧 Configure Your Project

Choose the following options:

• Project: Maven
• Language: Java
• Spring Boot Version: Latest stable (e.g., 3.2.x)
• Group: com.example
• Artifact: springboot-demo
• Name: springboot-demo
• Description: A demo Spring Boot application
• Packaging: Jar
• Java: 17 or higher

📆 Add Dependencies

Click "Add Dependencies" and select:

• ✅ Spring Web
• ✅ Spring Boot DevTools (optional, for auto-restart)
• ✅ Spring Data JPA (optional, for DB operations)
• ✅ H2 Database (optional, for in-memory DB)

Then click "Generate" to download the .zip file.

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📂 Step 2: Open the Project in IntelliJ IDEA or Eclipse

🧝‍♀️ Extract and Import

1. Unzip the downloaded project.
2. Open IntelliJ IDEA → File → Open → Select the extracted folder.

Your folder structure should look like:

springboot-demo/
├── src/
│   ├── main/
│   │   ├── java/com/example/springbootdemo/
│   │   │   └── SpringbootDemoApplication.java
│   │   └── resources/
│   │       ├── application.properties
│   │       └── static/
└── pom.xml

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🏃 Step 3: Run Your Spring Boot Application

Inside SpringbootDemoApplication.java, you’ll find:

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

▶️ Run From IDE

Click the green run button next to the main() method or right-click → Run.

🗅️ Run From Terminal

./mvnw spring-boot:run

You should see:

Tomcat started on port(s): 8080 (http)
Started SpringbootDemoApplication in 2.5 seconds

Open a browser and visit http://localhost:8080

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🛠️ Step 4: Build a Simple REST API

Let’s create a HelloController.java to test if our backend is working.

📁 Create Controller Class

src/main/java/com/example/springbootdemo/controller/HelloController.java

package com.example.springbootdemo.controller;

import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.GetMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RestController;

@RestController
public class HelloController {

    @GetMapping("/hello")
    public String sayHello() {
        return "Hello, Spring Boot!";
    }
}

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🌐 Test the API

Now go to your browser and hit: 🔗 http://localhost:8080/hello

✅ You should see: Hello, Spring Boot!

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🧠 Bonus: Customize application.properties

Edit src/main/resources/application.properties:

server.port=9090
spring.application.name=springboot-demo

Re-run your app and visit: 🔗 http://localhost:9090/hello

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🤔 FAQs

Q: Can I add more dependencies later? 👉 Yes! Add them to pom.xml and reload your project.

Q: Do I need Tomcat installed? 👉 No, Spring Boot embeds Tomcat by default.

Q: Can I use MySQL/PostgreSQL instead of H2? 👉 Absolutely. Just add the dependency and update application.properties.

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💪 Checklist for Hands-On Practice

Task	Status
Create project with Spring Initializr	✅
Open in IDE	✅
Run basic app	✅
Add REST Controller	✅
Customize configuration	✅
Hit API in browser	✅

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🚀 Conclusion

Spring Boot makes backend development in Java fast, modular, and fun. With just a few steps, you can spin up a working application and start building real features.

Whether you're building REST APIs, connecting databases, or creating full-stack apps—Spring Boot is the go-to choice for Java developers.

So what are you waiting for? Fire up Spring Initializr and start building!

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