One‑Click Deployment of a SpringBoot Application Using IDEA and Docker

1. Traditional Deployment Method

Usually a SpringBoot project is packaged into a JAR, uploaded to a server, and started with java -jar . Re‑deploying requires repeating these steps and makes log inspection cumbersome.

2. Prerequisites

Server with Docker installed and able to pull images

Basic knowledge of Dockerfile syntax

IntelliJ IDEA installed locally

A SpringBoot project that can be accessed via HTTP

3. SSH Configuration

Configure an SSH connection in IDEA settings by providing host, username and password, then test the connection.

4. Connect to Docker Daemon

In IDEA settings, add a Docker configuration, choose the SSH method, select the previously created SSH entry, and apply the changes.

5. Create a Simple SpringBoot Application

Implement a minimal controller that returns a simple HTML string on port 11020 :

import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.GetMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RestController;

@RestController
public class HelloWorldController {
    @GetMapping("/")
    public String index() {
        return "
Hello, world
";
    }
}

6. Write a Dockerfile

Place the Dockerfile next to the JAR file and use the following content (adjust as needed):

# Base image
FROM openjdk:17

# Copy the JAR into the image
ADD target/one-click-deployment-0.0.1-SNAPSHOT.jar /one-click-deployment-0.0.1-SNAPSHOT.jar

# Entry point
ENTRYPOINT ["java", "-jar", "/one-click-deployment-0.0.1-SNAPSHOT.jar", "--spring.profiles.active=prod"]

# Expose the service port
EXPOSE 11020

7. Configure Remote Deployment in IDEA

7.1 Create Configuration

Check “Store as project file”

Give a custom name

Select the Docker daemon created in step 4

Choose the Dockerfile created in step 6

Set image tag and container name

7.2 Bind Port

Map the container port 11020 to a host port of your choice.

7.3 Add Pre‑Deployment Tasks

Add Maven goals clean and package so the JAR is built before the Docker image is created.

8. Deploy the Project

Click the green run triangle in IDEA; the project will be built, the Docker image created, and the container started automatically. Logs appear in the IDEA console.

9. Open Firewall Port 11020

Ubuntu: sudo ufw allow 11020 sudo ufw reload

CentOS: sudo firewall-cmd --zone=public --add-port=11020/tcp --permanent sudo firewall-cmd --reload

10. Access the Application

Open a browser and navigate to http:// :11020/ to see the “Hello, world” page.

11. Common Issues

11.1 Cannot connect to the Docker daemon

Make sure the SSH user belongs to the docker group:

sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
getent group docker

Restart IDEA after adding the user.

11.2 No main manifest attribute in the JAR

This indicates the JAR lacks an entry point. Ensure the spring-boot-maven-plugin is enabled and the mainClass is specified in pom.xml .