How to Add Actuator to Spring Boot: Simple Steps

To add Spring Boot Actuator, include the spring-boot-starter-actuator dependency in your build.gradle or pom.xml. Then, run your application and access actuator endpoints like /actuator/health to monitor your app.

Syntax

Adding Spring Boot Actuator requires adding a dependency to your project build file. For Maven, add it inside <dependencies>. For Gradle, add it inside dependencies block.

• spring-boot-starter-actuator: This starter includes all necessary libraries for actuator features.
• application.properties or application.yml: Optional configuration to enable or customize endpoints.

xml

/* Maven */
<dependency>
  <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
  <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-actuator</artifactId>
  <version>3.0.6</version>
</dependency>

/* Gradle */
dependencies {
  implementation 'org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-actuator'
}

Example

This example shows a simple Spring Boot application with actuator added. After running, you can visit http://localhost:8080/actuator/health to see the health status.

java

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);
  }
}

/* build.gradle */
plugins {
  id 'org.springframework.boot' version '3.0.6'
  id 'io.spring.dependency-management' version '1.1.0'
  id 'java'
}

dependencies {
  implementation 'org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-actuator'
  implementation 'org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-web'
}

/* application.properties */
management.endpoints.web.exposure.include=health,info

Output

{
  "status": "UP"
}

Common Pitfalls

Common mistakes when adding actuator include:

• Not adding the spring-boot-starter-actuator dependency, so endpoints won't be available.
• Forgetting to expose endpoints in application.properties or application.yml. By default, only health and info are exposed.
• Trying to access actuator endpoints without the correct URL path prefix /actuator.

properties

/* Wrong: Missing dependency, no actuator endpoints */
// No actuator dependency in build file

/* Right: Add dependency and expose endpoints */
management.endpoints.web.exposure.include=health,info,metrics

Quick Reference

Summary tips for adding Spring Boot Actuator:

• Add spring-boot-starter-actuator dependency.
• Configure exposed endpoints in application.properties with management.endpoints.web.exposure.include.
• Access endpoints via /actuator/{endpoint}, e.g., /actuator/health.
• Use actuator for monitoring app health, metrics, and info.

Key Takeaways

Add spring-boot-starter-actuator dependency to enable actuator features.

Configure which endpoints to expose using management.endpoints.web.exposure.include.

Access actuator endpoints at /actuator/{endpoint} URLs.

Actuator helps monitor app health, metrics, and info easily.

Without proper dependency and config, actuator endpoints won't be available.