How to Enable SpringBoot DevTools Hot Deployment, Use Lombok, and Configure Spring Configuration Processor

SpringBoot DevTools

The DevTools module enables hot deployment in SpringBoot projects. You can either select the option when creating the project or add the following Maven dependency:

<dependency>
    <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
    <artifactId>spring-boot-devtools</artifactId>
    <optional>true</optional>
</dependency>

In IntelliJ IDEA press Ctrl+F9 after code changes to recompile, while Eclipse recompiles automatically on Ctrl+S . To enable automatic recompilation without manual triggers, enable the relevant settings in IDEA and restart the IDE.

Lombok

Lombok reduces boilerplate by generating constructors, getters, setters, and other methods. Add Lombok by selecting it during project initialization or by adding this Maven dependency:

<dependency>
    <groupId>org.projectlombok</groupId>
    <artifactId>lombok</artifactId>
    <optional>true</optional>
</dependency>

Install the Lombok plugin in IDEA to enable annotation processing. Example usage:

import lombok.AllArgsConstructor;
import lombok.Data;
import lombok.NoArgsConstructor;

@AllArgsConstructor // all‑args constructor
@NoArgsConstructor // no‑args constructor
@Data // getters, setters, toString, etc.
public class User {
    private Long id;
    private String name;
    private Integer age;
    private String email;
}

Spring Configuration Processor

This processor provides metadata for application.properties or application.yml so that IDEs can offer code completion for custom configuration prefixes. Add the dependency:

<dependency>
    <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
    <artifactId>spring-boot-configuration-processor</artifactId>
    <optional>true</optional>
</dependency>

Exclude it from the final jar to reduce size by adding the following snippet to the <build> section of your pom.xml :

<build>
    <plugins>
        <plugin>
            <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
            <artifactId>spring-boot-maven-plugin</artifactId>
            <configuration>
                <excludes>
                    <exclude>
                        <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
                        <artifactId>spring-boot-configuration-processor</artifactId>
                    </exclude>
                </excludes>
            </configuration>
        </plugin>
    </plugins>
</build>

With these settings, developers gain hot‑reloading, reduced boilerplate, and IDE assistance for custom configuration properties, improving productivity when building SpringBoot applications.