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Spring Boot 4 Microservices & REST APIs · Lesson

WebClient for Reactive Calls

Call other services reactively.

WebClient for Reactive Calls is a free Spring Boot 4 Microservices & REST APIs lesson on CoddyKit — lesson 3 of 4. 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 4 lessons in the course, and your progress syncs across the web and the CoddyKit app.

What is WebClient

WebClient is the non-blocking, reactive HTTP client in Spring WebFlux. It replaces the blocking RestTemplate for reactive apps.

  • Returns Mono / Flux responses
  • Fully non-blocking on the Netty event loop

Building a WebClient

Create an instance with a base URL using the builder.

WebClient client = WebClient.builder()
    .baseUrl("https://api.example.com")
    .build();

A Simple GET

Chain get(), uri(), retrieve(), then convert the body to a publisher.

Mono<User> user = client.get()
    .uri("/users/{id}", 1)
    .retrieve()
    .bodyToMono(User.class);
user.subscribe(System.out::println);

Fetching a Collection

Use bodyToFlux when the response is a JSON array.

Flux<User> users = client.get()
    .uri("/users")
    .retrieve()
    .bodyToFlux(User.class);

Sending a POST Body

Use post() and bodyValue() to send a request body.

Mono<User> created = client.post()
    .uri("/users")
    .bodyValue(new User("Alice"))
    .retrieve()
    .bodyToMono(User.class);

Adding Headers

Attach headers per request or globally on the builder.

Mono<String> result = client.get()
    .uri("/data")
    .header("Authorization", "Bearer token123")
    .retrieve()
    .bodyToMono(String.class);

Handling Error Statuses

retrieve() throws on 4xx/5xx by default. Customize with onStatus.

Mono<User> user = client.get()
    .uri("/users/{id}", 99)
    .retrieve()
    .onStatus(HttpStatusCode::is4xxClientError,
        resp -> Mono.error(new RuntimeException("Not found")))
    .bodyToMono(User.class);

Composing Calls with flatMap

Because results are reactive, you can chain dependent HTTP calls without blocking.

Mono<Order> order = client.get()
    .uri("/users/{id}", 1)
    .retrieve()
    .bodyToMono(User.class)
    .flatMap(u -> client.get()
        .uri("/orders?userId={id}", u.getId())
        .retrieve()
        .bodyToMono(Order.class));

Timeouts

Apply a timeout with the timeout operator so slow upstreams fail fast.

Mono<User> user = client.get()
    .uri("/users/1")
    .retrieve()
    .bodyToMono(User.class)
    .timeout(Duration.ofSeconds(3));

Retrying on Failure

Use the retry operator to re-subscribe on error a fixed number of times.

Mono<User> user = client.get()
    .uri("/users/1")
    .retrieve()
    .bodyToMono(User.class)
    .retry(2);

Registering as a Bean

Configure a shared WebClient bean so it can be injected anywhere.

@Bean
public WebClient webClient() {
    return WebClient.builder()
        .baseUrl("https://api.example.com")
        .build();
}

Quick Check

Test your understanding of WebClient.

Recap

You learned to make non-blocking HTTP calls with WebClient:

  • Build with WebClient.builder().baseUrl(...)
  • retrieve().bodyToMono/bodyToFlux for responses
  • onStatus for error handling
  • timeout and retry for resilience

Frequently asked questions

Is the “WebClient for Reactive Calls” lesson free?

Yes — the full text of “WebClient for Reactive Calls” is free to read here on the web, and the Spring Boot 4 Microservices & REST APIs course includes 4 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 “WebClient for Reactive Calls”?

Call other services reactively. 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 3 of 4, so you can start here or from the beginning and move at your own pace.

How long does the “WebClient for Reactive Calls” 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

  1. Mono and Flux Basics
  2. Reactive Controllers
  3. WebClient for Reactive Calls
  4. Backpressure and Operators
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