Maven Command to Run Spring Boot Application

In this quick guide, we'll walk you through how to use Maven commands to run a Spring Boot application.

Prerequisites 

Before you start, ensure that: 

1. You have a Spring Boot application with a pom.xml file (this file indicates it's a Maven project). 
2. You've installed Maven on your machine.

Maven and Spring Boot Plugin 

Spring Boot comes with a Maven plugin which offers several utilities for your application. To use it, ensure your pom.xml contains:

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

With this plugin, you can create an executable JAR or WAR file, and even run the application.

Running the Application 

To run your Spring Boot application via Maven, open a terminal or command prompt in the project's root directory and type:

mvn spring-boot:run

This command accomplishes two main tasks: 

1. It compiles and builds your project. 
2. It starts the Spring Boot application. 

After running the command, you'll typically see the Spring ASCII art banner, followed by application logs, indicating the app has started.

Behind the Scenes 

When you run the mvn spring-boot:run command, several things happen: 

• Maven resolves and downloads the dependencies defined in your pom.xml. 
• The Java compiler compiles your source code. 
• The Spring Boot Maven plugin starts the Spring context and embedded server (like Tomcat) if web dependencies are included. 
• Your application is now up and running and ready to serve requests.

Hot Tip: Profiles

Spring Boot allows you to define profiles – configurations specific to certain environments (like development, testing, and production). If you want to run the application with a particular profile, use:

mvn spring-boot:run -Dspring-boot.run.profiles=profileName

Replace profileName with the desired profile (e.g., dev, prod, etc.) 

Conclusion 

Using Maven with Spring Boot simplifies the process of running and managing your application. The mvn spring-boot:run command is a powerful tool in a developer's arsenal, making it easier than ever to get your Spring Boot app up and running in no time. Happy coding!