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Server Setup

Setting up a Spring Boot Admin Server is straightforward and requires only a few steps. The server acts as the central monitoring hub for all your Spring Boot applications.

Creating the Admin Server​

Step 1: Create a Spring Boot Project​

Use Spring Initializr to create a new Spring Boot project, or add the dependencies to an existing project.

Step 2: Add Maven Dependencies​

Add the Spring Boot Admin Server starter and a web starter to your pom.xml:

pom.xml

<dependencies>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>de.codecentric</groupId>
        <artifactId>spring-boot-admin-starter-server</artifactId>
        <version>4.0.2</version>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
        <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-webmvc</artifactId>
    </dependency>
</dependencies>

For Gradle:

build.gradle
dependencies {
    implementation 'de.codecentric:spring-boot-admin-starter-server:4.0.2'
    implementation 'org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-webmvc'
}
tip

You can choose either Servlet (WebMVC) or Reactive (WebFlux) as your web stack. For reactive applications, use spring-boot-starter-webflux instead.

Step 3: Enable Admin Server​

Annotate your main application class with @EnableAdminServer:

SpringBootAdminApplication.java
import org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication;
import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.SpringBootApplication;

import de.codecentric.boot.admin.server.config.EnableAdminServer;

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

The @EnableAdminServer annotation enables Spring Boot Admin Server by loading all required configuration through Spring's auto-discovery feature.

Step 4: Configure Application Properties​

Create or update your application.yml or application.properties:

application.yml
spring:
  application:
    name: spring-boot-admin-server

server:
  port: 8080

management:
  endpoints:
    web:
      exposure:
        include: "*"
  endpoint:
    health:
      show-details: ALWAYS

Step 5: Run the Server​

Start your application and navigate to http://localhost:8080 to access the Spring Boot Admin UI.

Server Configuration Options​

Custom Context Path​

If you want to run the Admin Server under a different context path:

application.yml
spring:
  boot:
    admin:
      context-path: /admin  # UI will be available at http://localhost:8080/admin

Customizing the Server Port​

application.yml
server:
  port: 9090  # Run on a different port

Servlet vs. Reactive​

Spring Boot Admin Server can run on either a Servlet or Reactive stack:

Servlet (Default)​


<dependency>
    <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
    <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-webmvc</artifactId>
</dependency>

Best for traditional servlet-based applications and when you need features like Jolokia (JMX support).

Reactive (WebFlux)​


<dependency>
    <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
    <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-webflux</artifactId>
</dependency>

Best for fully reactive applications and high-concurrency scenarios.

Deployment Options​

Standalone JAR​

Build and run as a standalone application:

mvn clean package
java -jar target/spring-boot-admin-server.jar

WAR Deployment​

For deployment to an external servlet container, see the spring-boot-admin-sample-war example.

Docker​

Create a Dockerfile:

FROM eclipse-temurin:17-jre
COPY target/spring-boot-admin-server.jar app.jar
EXPOSE 8080
ENTRYPOINT ["java", "-jar", "/app.jar"]

Build and run:

docker build -t spring-boot-admin-server .
docker run -p 8080:8080 spring-boot-admin-server

Next Steps​

Now that your server is running, you need to register your applications:

Example Projects​