---
title: 'Use Supabase with Spring Boot'
subtitle: 'Learn how to create a Spring Boot project and connect it to your Supabase project.'
breadcrumb: 'Framework Quickstarts'
---

<AiPrompt id="spring-boot" />

## Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

- Java 17 or later, which you can check with `java -version`
- `curl` and `unzip`, to download and extract the generated project

<$Partial path="quickstart_create_project.mdx" />

Save your database password securely. You need it for the connection string.

<Admonition type="note">

This guide uses Spring Boot's own JPA entities and generated schema, not the shared `instruments` sample table used by other quickstarts.

</Admonition>

## 2. Create a Spring Boot project

Use [Spring Initializr](https://start.spring.io) to scaffold a new project with the Web, Spring Data JPA, and Postgres Driver dependencies. Run the following from the directory where you keep your projects.

```bash
curl https://start.spring.io/starter.zip \
  -d dependencies=web,data-jpa,postgresql \
  -d type=maven-project \
  -d language=java \
  -d groupId=com.example \
  -d artifactId=instruments \
  -d name=instruments \
  -o instruments.zip
unzip instruments.zip -d instruments && cd instruments
```

## 3. Set up AI tooling (optional)

<$Partial path="quickstart_ai_tooling.mdx" />

## 4. Set up the Postgres connection details

<$Partial path="quickstart_connection_string.mdx" />

Select the **JDBC** tab to copy the connection string in the right format for Spring Boot.

The connection string contains your database password, and `application.properties` is committed with your project. Set the string as an environment variable instead, and set it the same way on whatever platform you deploy to.

```bash
export SUPABASE_DB_URL='jdbc:postgresql://[POOLER-HOST]:5432/postgres?user=postgres.[PROJECT-REF]&password=[YOUR-PASSWORD]&sslmode=require'
```

Then reference the variable, along with the driver, in `src/main/resources/application.properties`.

```text name=src/main/resources/application.properties
spring.datasource.url=${SUPABASE_DB_URL}
spring.datasource.driver-class-name=org.postgresql.Driver
spring.jpa.hibernate.ddl-auto=update
```

If the app fails to start with `Unable to determine Dialect without JDBC metadata`, Hibernate couldn't open a connection at all. Look above that line in the logs for the real cause, most commonly `password authentication failed`.

## 5. Change the default schema

By default Hibernate creates tables in the `public` schema. We recommend changing this as Supabase exposes the `public` schema as a [data API](/docs/guides/api).

Create the `app` schema before you start the app. Hibernate creates tables in that schema on startup, but it does not create the schema itself. Run the following in the [SQL Editor](/dashboard/project/_/sql/new):

```sql SQL_EDITOR
create schema if not exists app;
```

Then point Hibernate at the schema in `application.properties`.

```text name=src/main/resources/application.properties
spring.jpa.properties.hibernate.default_schema=app
```

## 6. Create an entity and repository

Spring Data JPA maps Java classes to database tables. Create an `Instrument` entity in `src/main/java/com/example/instruments/Instrument.java`. With `spring.jpa.hibernate.ddl-auto=update` set, Hibernate creates the `instruments` table for you when the app starts.

```java name=src/main/java/com/example/instruments/Instrument.java
package com.example.instruments;

import jakarta.persistence.Entity;
import jakarta.persistence.GeneratedValue;
import jakarta.persistence.GenerationType;
import jakarta.persistence.Id;
import jakarta.persistence.Table;

@Entity
@Table(name = "instruments")
public class Instrument {

    @Id
    @GeneratedValue(strategy = GenerationType.IDENTITY)
    private Long id;

    private String name;

    public Instrument() {}

    public Instrument(String name) {
        this.name = name;
    }

    public Long getId() {
        return id;
    }

    public String getName() {
        return name;
    }

    public void setName(String name) {
        this.name = name;
    }
}
```

Create an `InstrumentRepository` interface in the same package. Extending `JpaRepository` gives you `findAll`, `save`, and other query methods without writing any implementation.

```java name=src/main/java/com/example/instruments/InstrumentRepository.java
package com.example.instruments;

import org.springframework.data.jpa.repository.JpaRepository;

public interface InstrumentRepository extends JpaRepository<Instrument, Long> {}
```

## 7. Seed sample data

Add a `CommandLineRunner` bean to `InstrumentsApplication.java` that saves some sample instruments the first time the app starts.

```java name=src/main/java/com/example/instruments/InstrumentsApplication.java
package com.example.instruments;

import org.springframework.boot.CommandLineRunner;
import org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication;
import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.SpringBootApplication;
import org.springframework.context.annotation.Bean;

@SpringBootApplication
public class InstrumentsApplication {

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        SpringApplication.run(InstrumentsApplication.class, args);
    }

    @Bean
    CommandLineRunner seedInstruments(InstrumentRepository instrumentRepository) {
        return args -> {
            if (instrumentRepository.count() == 0) {
                instrumentRepository.save(new Instrument("violin"));
                instrumentRepository.save(new Instrument("viola"));
                instrumentRepository.save(new Instrument("cello"));
            }
        };
    }
}
```

## 8. Query data from the app

Create an `InstrumentController` that fetches every row from the `instruments` table through the repository and returns it as JSON.

```java name=src/main/java/com/example/instruments/InstrumentController.java
package com.example.instruments;

import java.util.List;

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

@RestController
public class InstrumentController {

    private final InstrumentRepository instrumentRepository;

    public InstrumentController(InstrumentRepository instrumentRepository) {
        this.instrumentRepository = instrumentRepository;
    }

    @GetMapping("/instruments")
    public List<Instrument> getInstruments() {
        return instrumentRepository.findAll();
    }
}
```

## 9. Start the app

Run the Spring Boot app, and go to http://localhost:8080/instruments in your browser. You should see the list of instruments.

```bash
./mvnw spring-boot:run
```

<$Partial path="quickstart_going_to_production.mdx" />

## Next steps

- Set up [Auth](/docs/guides/auth) for your app
- [Insert more data](/docs/guides/database/import-data) into your database
- Upload and serve static files using [Storage](/docs/guides/storage)
- Replace `ddl-auto` with [database migrations](/docs/guides/deployment/database-migrations) before going to production