How to Use @Profile Annotation in Spring for Environment-Specific Beans

Use the @Profile annotation on Spring components or configuration classes to specify which environment or profile they belong to. Beans annotated with @Profile are only created when their profile is active, allowing environment-specific configurations.

Syntax

The @Profile annotation is placed on a Spring component or configuration class to specify one or more profiles under which the bean should be active.

• @Profile("profileName"): Activates the bean only if profileName is active.
• You can specify multiple profiles with @Profile({"dev", "test"}) to activate the bean if any listed profile is active.

java

@Profile("dev")
@Component
public class DevDatabaseConfig {
    // Bean definitions for dev environment
}

Example

This example shows two configuration classes with @Profile annotations for dev and prod environments. Spring will load only the beans matching the active profile.

java

import org.springframework.context.annotation.*;
import org.springframework.stereotype.Component;

@Profile("dev")
@Component
class DevService {
    public String getMessage() {
        return "Running in Development";
    }
}

@Profile("prod")
@Component
class ProdService {
    public String getMessage() {
        return "Running in Production";
    }
}

@Configuration
@ComponentScan
public class AppConfig {
}

public class MainApp {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        System.setProperty("spring.profiles.active", "dev");
        AnnotationConfigApplicationContext context = new AnnotationConfigApplicationContext(AppConfig.class);

        DevService service = context.getBean(DevService.class);
        System.out.println(service.getMessage());

        context.close();
    }
}

Output

Running in Development

Common Pitfalls

• Not setting the active profile properly, so no beans with @Profile are loaded.
• Using @Profile on beans without matching active profiles causes NoSuchBeanDefinitionException.
• For multiple profiles, remember @Profile({"dev", "test"}) means bean loads if any profile matches, not all.

java

/* Wrong: No active profile set, bean won't load */
@Component
@Profile("dev")
public class DevOnlyBean {}

/* Right: Set active profile to 'dev' to load bean */
System.setProperty("spring.profiles.active", "dev");

Quick Reference

Usage	Description
@Profile("dev")	Bean active only when 'dev' profile is active
@Profile({"dev", "test"})	Bean active if 'dev' or 'test' profile is active
spring.profiles.active	System property or config to set active profile
No @Profile	Bean always active regardless of profile

Key Takeaways

Use @Profile to load beans only in specific environments like dev or prod.

Set the active profile using 'spring.profiles.active' to control which beans load.

Multiple profiles in @Profile mean the bean loads if any listed profile is active.

Without matching active profiles, beans annotated with @Profile won't be created.

Use @Profile on configuration classes or components to organize environment-specific code.