Using SpringBoot DevTools, Lombok, and Configuration Processor for Hot Reload and Property Binding

In this tutorial a senior architect walks through three useful tools for SpringBoot development: DevTools for hot reload, Lombok for reducing boilerplate, and the Spring Configuration Processor for better configuration property support.

1. SpringBoot DevTools – DevTools enables automatic restart and live reload when code changes. It can be added by selecting the option during project creation or by adding 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 editing code to trigger recompilation; Eclipse does this automatically on Ctrl+S . Additional IDE settings can be enabled to make recompilation fully automatic.

2. Lombok – Lombok removes the need to write constructors, getters, setters, and other boilerplate. Enable it by selecting the Lombok option when initializing the project or by adding the Maven dependency:

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

Install the Lombok plugin in the IDE. An example class using Lombok annotations:

import com.baomidou.mybatisplus.annotation.TableField;
import com.baomidou.mybatisplus.annotation.TableName;
import lombok.AllArgsConstructor;
import lombok.Data;
import lombok.NoArgsConstructor;

@AllArgsConstructor // all‑args constructor
@NoArgsConstructor // no‑args constructor
@Data // getter + setter + toString
public class User {
    private Long id;
    private String name;
    private Integer age;
    private String email;
}

3. Spring Configuration Processor – This processor adds metadata for @ConfigurationProperties classes, enabling IDE auto‑completion for properties defined in application.properties or application.yml . Example of a configuration class:

package org.lzl.HelloWorld.entity;

import org.springframework.boot.context.properties.ConfigurationProperties;
import org.springframework.stereotype.Component;

@Component
@ConfigurationProperties(prefix = "mypet")
public class Pet {
    private String nickName;
    private String strain;
    // getters and setters omitted for brevity
    @Override
    public String toString() {
        return "Pet[nickName=" + nickName + ", strain=" + strain + "]";
    }
}

To include the processor, add the following Maven dependency and exclude it from the final jar to keep the artifact size small:

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

<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>

The article also includes several promotional messages and QR‑code links, but the core technical content provides practical steps for enhancing SpringBoot projects.