Run Your First Spring Boot App in VS Code (2025) — Hello World REST API

Want to build powerful Java backend apps but don't want to use heavyweight IDEs like Eclipse or IntelliJ?

In this post, I’ll show you how to quickly set up and run your first Spring Boot REST API directly from Visual Studio Code — with zero clutter and maximum clarity.

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✅ What You’ll Build

We’ll create a Spring Boot project and build a simple REST endpoint that returns:

localhost:8080/hello → "Hello, World!"

🧰 Tools Required

• Java 17+

• Visual Studio Code

• Spring Boot Extension Pack

• Internet connection

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🔧 Step 1: Install Java and Spring Boot Extensions

✅ Install Java 17+

If you haven’t installed Java yet, follow this guide first:
👉 How to Install Java 17 on Windows

Once installed, verify it in the terminal:

java -version

✅ Install Spring Boot Extension Pack in VS Code

1. Open VS Code

2. Go to Extensions (or press Ctrl+Shift+X)

3. Search for Spring Boot Extension Pack and install it

It includes:

• Spring Initializr

• Spring Boot support

• Java language tools

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🐣 Step 2: Create a Spring Boot Project in VS Code

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+P to open the Command Palette

2. Type Spring Initializr: Create a Maven Project

3. Follow the prompts:

   • Language: Java

   • Group Id: com.example

   • Artifact Id: demo

   • Name: demo

   • Packaging: Jar

   • Java Version: 17

   • Dependencies: Spring Web

4. Choose a folder to save the project

5. VS Code will prompt: “Do you want to open it?” → Click Yes

✅ You now have a working Spring Boot app scaffold.

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✍️ Step 3: Add a REST Controller

1. In the src/main/java/com/example/demo directory, create a new file:

// HelloController.java
package com.example.demo;

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

@RestController
public class HelloController {

    @GetMapping("/hello")
    public String sayHello() {
        return "Hello, World!";
    }
}

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▶️ Step 4: Run the App

Open a terminal inside VS Code and run:

./mvnw spring-boot:run

OR on Windows:

mvnw.cmd spring-boot:run

Once you see Started DemoApplication, open your browser and go to:

👉 http://localhost:8080/hello

You should see:

Hello, World!

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🎉 That’s It!

You just built and ran your first Spring Boot REST API in VS Code.

Next up, I’ll show you:

• How to add error handling

• Connect to MySQL database

• Build and deploy real apps

🔖 Follow me for clean, silent backend tutorials.

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📦 Bonus Resources

• Java 17 Setup Blog

• Silent YouTube Tutorial for This Guide

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💬 Questions?

Drop them in the comments — I reply to all!

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