Why @Data and @Builder Conflict in Lombok: Avoid This Common Pitfall

Background

When generating a no‑argument constructor with Lombok, a teammate also added @Data and @Builder on the same class, which caused compilation to fail.

@Data annotation

@Data

generates a no‑argument constructor, getters, setters, hashCode, toString, and equals for all fields.

@Data
public class LeaveWordReq {
    @NotBlank(message = "title is required", groups = {ValidGroup.Update.class})
    private String id;
    @NotBlank(message = "title is required", groups = {ValidGroup.Insert.class})
    @Length(min=1, max=25, message = "title length must be 1‑25", groups = {ValidGroup.Insert.class})
    private String title;
}

After compilation the class contains the generated getters, setters, no‑arg constructor, and overridden hashCode and toString methods.

@Builder annotation

@Builder

creates an inner static builder class that mirrors the entity’s fields and provides:

Static inner class with the same fields.

Default no‑arg constructor for the builder.

Setter‑like methods named after each field that return the builder, enabling method chaining. build() method that constructs the entity instance. toString() method for the builder.

Static builder() method in the entity to obtain a builder instance. @Builder does not generate getters, setters, or a no‑argument constructor for the entity itself.

Conflict when combined

Applying @Data and @Builder together causes Lombok to overwrite the no‑argument constructor and the getter/setter methods, leaving only the builder‑related code. The resulting class lacks the expected constructor and accessor methods, leading to compilation errors.

Resolution

Replace @Data with explicit constructor annotations to separate responsibilities:

@NoArgsConstructor
@RequiredArgsConstructor
@Builder
public class LeaveWordReq {
    // fields as shown above
}

@NoArgsConstructor

generates the no‑argument constructor, @RequiredArgsConstructor generates an all‑args constructor for required fields, and @Builder provides the builder pattern without interfering with the constructors.