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Getting Started with Spring MVC

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Static files

By default, Spring Boot will automatically serve static resources (HTML, CSS, JS, images, etc.) if you place them in the following locations.

/src/main/resources/
├── static/
├── public/
├── resources/
└── META-INF/resources/
  • If you place files like index.html, style.css, or script.js in one of the folders above, they will automatically be accessible at paths like / or /style.css.

Custom locations

If you want to use a path other than the default locations, you can configure it in your application.yml or application.properties file as follows:

spring:
  web:
    resources:
      static-locations: classpath:/custom-static/
/src/main/resources/custom-static/
├── logo.png       → <http://localhost:8080/logo.png>

Setting multiple:

spring:
  web:
    resources:
      static-locations:
        - classpath:/static/
        - classpath:/assets/

Tips

  • It is most common to place resources like images, JS, and CSS in the static or public folders.
  • You can place the static build results from frameworks like React or Vue into the /static folder to be served by Spring Boot.

Simple Spring Boot MVC Example

Project Creation

  • Create a project from the Spring Initializr (https://start.spring.io/), selecting spring-boot-starter-web.
  • In your IDE, check that the spring-boot-starter-web dependency is included in your pom.xml (Maven) or build.gradle (Gradle).

Creating the Application Class

package com.example.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);
    }
}
  • When you run the main class annotated with @SpringBootApplication, the embedded server (Tomcat) opens a port and Spring MVC starts running.

Creating a Controller (e.g., HelloController)

package com.example.demo.controller;
 
import org.springframework.stereotype.Controller;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.GetMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.ResponseBody;
 
@Controller
public class HelloController {
 
    @GetMapping("/hello")
    @ResponseBody
    public String hello() {
        return "Hello, Spring Boot MVC!";
    }
}
  • When a GET request is made to the /hello path, the string “Hello, Spring Boot MVC!” is sent as the response.
  • Because @ResponseBody is attached, the string is returned directly in the HTTP body, rather than being used to find a view template.

Using Static Resources

Create src/main/resources/static/index.html

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>Welcome</title>
</head>
<body>
    <h1>Welcome to Spring Boot!</h1>
</body>
</html>
  • With the application running, if you access http://localhost:8080/index.html in a browser, this page will appear as is.
  • It is served directly as a static file, without needing any controller code.

Summary

In Spring Boot, spring-boot-starter-web provides a bundle of all the necessary components for web application development. From the DispatcherServlet to the JSON converter and static resource handling, everything is auto-configured, which reduces the setup burden. The key in practice is to understand this basic structure and customize it as needed.

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