Introduction

Now that you know what Spring Boot is, it’s time to build your first real project.
This beginner guide will walk you through creating a Spring Boot application the right way — using Spring Initializr, the official starter tool.

By the end of this tutorial, you will have a fully running Spring Boot app on your machine.

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Step 1: Open Spring Initializr

The easiest way to start a Spring Boot project is through:

👉 https://start.spring.io/

Spring Initializr allows you to generate a clean project structure with the dependencies you choose.

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Step 2: Project Settings

Configure the following:

Project

• Maven Project

Language

• Java

Spring Boot Version

• Choose the latest stable version (e.g. 3.x.x)

Project Metadata

• Group: com.example
• Artifact: demo
• Name: demo
• Package: com.example.demo

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Step 3: Add Dependencies

Add the following dependencies for a simple beginner project:

Spring Web

(required for REST APIs)

Optional (but recommended for later tutorials):

• Spring Boot DevTools
• Lombok

Final list:

• Spring Web
• DevTools
• Lombok

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Step 4: Generate the Project

Click Generate → a ZIP file downloads.

Unzip it and open it inside your IDE:

• IntelliJ IDEA (recommended)
• Eclipse
• VS Code

IntelliJ will automatically load the Maven project.

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Step 5: Understanding the Project Structure

Your project will look like this:

src/
 └── main/
      ├── java/com/example/demo
      │      └── DemoApplication.java
      └── resources/
             ├── application.properties
             └── static/

DemoApplication.java

The main class that starts your application.

application.properties

Configuration file for your app.

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Step 6: Run the Application

From your IDE:

• Open DemoApplication.java
• Click Run

Or run from terminal:

mvn spring-boot:run

You’ll see logs ending with:

Started DemoApplication in 2.345 seconds

Your server is now running at:

👉 http://localhost:8080

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Step 7: Create Your First REST API

Create a new file:

HelloController.java

Inside:

@RestController
public class HelloController {

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

Visit:

👉 http://localhost:8080/hello

You’ll get:

Hello from Spring Boot!

Congratulations — your first Spring Boot API works!

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What You Learned

• How to generate a Spring Boot project
• How to run the application
• How to create your first controller
• How to expose your first REST endpoint

This is the foundation of every Spring Boot application you will ever build.

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Next Recommended Tutorial

Understanding Spring Boot Project Structure & Key Annotations