Setting Up Your Spring Boot Project
Learn how to initialize a new Spring Boot project using Spring Initializr and configure your development environment.
Setting Up Your Spring Boot Project is a free Spring Boot 4 Microservices & REST APIs lesson on CoddyKit — lesson 1 of 3. You can read the complete lesson below for free — then practise it hands-on in the browser with a built-in code editor and a 24/7 AI tutor. It is part of the Spring Boot 4 Microservices & REST APIs learning path, one of 3 lessons in the course, and your progress syncs across the web and the CoddyKit app.
Intro to Spring Boot
Spring Boot lets you build stand-alone, production-ready Spring apps fast — it slashes configuration so you can get running with minimal fuss.
What is Spring Initializr?
Spring Initializr is a web tool that bootstraps a new Spring Boot project — structure and dependencies generated for you, ready to import. A project wizard.
Initializr in Action
Use Spring Initializr right in your browser at start.spring.io — or through IntelliJ and VS Code, which integrate it for even smoother project creation.
Define Your Project
Set your project’s metadata: build tool (Maven or Gradle), language (Java), Spring Boot version, group/artifact IDs, package name, and Java version.
Choose Your Ingredients
Dependencies are the libraries you need. For a web app, add Spring Web — it brings everything for REST APIs, including embedded Tomcat.
Get Your Project Ready
Hit Generate to download a ZIP. Unzip it and open the project in your IDE — most import Maven or Gradle projects out of the box.
Inside Your New Project
Know your project layout: pom.xml for dependencies, src/main/java for code, src/main/resources for config, and src/test/java for tests.
Entry Point of Your App
Every app needs a main class. @SpringBootApplication bundles @Configuration, @EnableAutoConfiguration, and @ComponentScan, and main calls SpringApplication.run().
Hello Spring Boot Console
Let’s run a minimal Spring Boot app that just prints to the console — no web server yet. SpringApplication.run() starts the whole Spring context.
package com.coddykit.demo;
import org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication;
import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.SpringBootApplication;
@SpringBootApplication
public class DemoApplication {
public static void main(String[] args) {
SpringApplication.run(DemoApplication.class, args);
System.out.println("Spring Boot application started!");
}
}Initializr Quiz
Which of the following is the primary purpose of Spring Initializr?
Recap: Project Setup
Great work! You’ve covered Spring Boot basics, creating a project with Initializr, key settings, the project structure, and the main application class.
Frequently asked questions
Is the “Setting Up Your Spring Boot Project” lesson free?
Yes — the full text of “Setting Up Your Spring Boot Project” is free to read here on the web, and the Spring Boot 4 Microservices & REST APIs course includes 3 lessons in total. To practise it interactively (a built-in code editor and a 24/7 AI tutor) and unlock the rest of the Spring Boot 4 Microservices & REST APIs course, upgrade to CoddyKit PRO.
What will I learn in “Setting Up Your Spring Boot Project”?
Learn how to initialize a new Spring Boot project using Spring Initializr and configure your development environment. You practise Spring Boot 4 Microservices & REST APIs with hands-on code you run directly in the browser, and a 24/7 AI tutor answers your questions as you work through the lesson.
Do I need any experience to start Spring Boot 4 Microservices & REST APIs?
No prior experience is required. Spring Boot 4 Microservices & REST APIs on CoddyKit is structured for beginners through advanced learners; this is — lesson 1 of 3, so you can start here or from the beginning and move at your own pace.
How long does the “Setting Up Your Spring Boot Project” lesson take?
Most CoddyKit lessons take about 5–10 minutes. Each one is bite-sized and interactive, so you make steady progress and pick up exactly where you left off across the web and the app.
Can I write and run code in this Spring Boot 4 Microservices & REST APIs lesson?
Yes. Every Spring Boot 4 Microservices & REST APIs lesson includes a built-in code editor, so you write and run real code right in your browser and get instant AI feedback — no local setup required.
All lessons in this course
- Setting Up Your Spring Boot Project
- Building Your First REST Endpoint
- Understanding HTTP Methods & Statuses