One-Click Deployment of SpringBoot Projects Using IntelliJ IDEA and Docker

This guide shows how to use IntelliJ IDEA 2024.2 together with Docker 26.1.3 to achieve one‑click remote deployment of a SpringBoot project, eliminating the repetitive steps of manual jar packaging and server upload.

1. Traditional deployment method

Typically you build a jar, upload it to the server, and start it with java -jar . Re‑deployments require repeating these steps and make log viewing inconvenient.

2. Prerequisites

Server with Docker installed and able to pull images.

Basic knowledge of writing a Dockerfile.

IntelliJ IDEA installed locally.

A SpringBoot project that can serve HTTP requests.

3. SSH configuration

Configure an SSH connection in IDEA settings (Host, Username, Password) and test the connection.

4. Connect to Docker daemon

Add a Docker configuration in IDEA, choose SSH as the connection method, select the previously created SSH profile, and apply the settings.

5. Create a simple SpringBoot application

Example controller:

import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.GetMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RestController;
@RestController
public class HelloWorldController {
@GetMapping("/")
public String index() {
return "<h1>Hello, world</h1>";
}
}

6. Write a Dockerfile

# Base image
FROM openjdk:17

# Copy the built jar into the image (place the jar next to the Dockerfile)
ADD target/one-click-deployment-0.0.1-SNAPSHOT.jar /one-click-deployment-0.0.1-SNAPSHOT.jar

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

# Expose the application port
EXPOSE 11020

7. Configure remote deployment in IDEA

Create a new Docker deployment configuration, select the Dockerfile, give the image and container custom names, and store the configuration as a project file.

Bind the container port (11020) to a host port.

Add pre‑deployment tasks: run Maven goals clean and package .

8. Deploy the project

Click the green run triangle; IDEA builds the image, pushes it via SSH, creates the container and starts the application. Logs appear in the IDEA console.

9. Open firewall port 11020

On Ubuntu: sudo ufw allow 11020 sudo ufw reload

On 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

Ensure the SSH user belongs to the docker group:

sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

Verify with getent group docker and restart IDEA.

11.2 No main manifest attribute in the jar

This occurs when the JAR lacks a defined main class. Add the main class configuration to pom.xml and ensure the SpringBoot Maven plugin is enabled.

After fixing the pom, rebuild the project and repeat the deployment steps.