spring-boot/spring-boot-project/spring-boot-docs/src/main/asciidoc/appendix-configuration-metadata.adoc

[appendix]
[[configuration-metadata]]
== Configuration Metadata
Spring Boot jars include metadata files that provide details of all supported
configuration properties. The files are designed to let IDE developers offer
contextual help and "`code completion`" as users are working with `application.properties`
or `application.yml` files.

The majority of the metadata file is generated automatically at compile time by
processing all items annotated with `@ConfigurationProperties`. However, it is possible
to <<configuration-metadata-additional-metadata,write part of the metadata manually>>
for corner cases or more advanced use cases.



[[configuration-metadata-format]]
=== Metadata Format
Configuration metadata files are located inside jars under
`META-INF/spring-configuration-metadata.json` They use a simple JSON format with items
categorized under either "`groups`" or "`properties`" and additional values hints
categorized under "hints", as shown in the following example:

[source,json,indent=0]
----
	{"groups": [
		{
			"name": "server",
			"type": "org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.web.ServerProperties",
			"sourceType": "org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.web.ServerProperties"
		},
		{
			"name": "spring.jpa.hibernate",
			"type": "org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.orm.jpa.JpaProperties$Hibernate",
			"sourceType": "org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.orm.jpa.JpaProperties",
			"sourceMethod": "getHibernate()"
		}
		...
	],"properties": [
		{
			"name": "server.port",
			"type": "java.lang.Integer",
			"sourceType": "org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.web.ServerProperties"
		},
		{
			"name": "server.address",
			"type": "java.net.InetAddress",
			"sourceType": "org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.web.ServerProperties"
		},
		{
			  "name": "spring.jpa.hibernate.ddl-auto",
			  "type": "java.lang.String",
			  "description": "DDL mode. This is actually a shortcut for the \"hibernate.hbm2ddl.auto\" property.",
			  "sourceType": "org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.orm.jpa.JpaProperties$Hibernate"
		}
		...
	],"hints": [
		{
			"name": "spring.jpa.hibernate.ddl-auto",
			"values": [
				{
					"value": "none",
					"description": "Disable DDL handling."
				},
				{
					"value": "validate",
					"description": "Validate the schema, make no changes to the database."
				},
				{
					"value": "update",
					"description": "Update the schema if necessary."
				},
				{
					"value": "create",
					"description": "Create the schema and destroy previous data."
				},
				{
					"value": "create-drop",
					"description": "Create and then destroy the schema at the end of the session."
				}
			]
		}
	]}
----

Each "`property`" is a configuration item that the user specifies with a given value.
For example, `server.port` and `server.address` might be specified in
`application.properties`, as follows:

[source,properties,indent=0]
----
	server.port=9090
	server.address=127.0.0.1
----

The "`groups`" are higher level items that do not themselves specify a value but instead
provide a contextual grouping for properties. For example, the `server.port` and
`server.address` properties are part of the `server` group.

NOTE: It is not required that every "`property`" has a "`group`". Some properties might
exist in their own right.

Finally, "`hints`" are additional information used to assist the user in configuring a
given property. For example, when a developer is configuring the
`spring.jpa.hibernate.ddl-auto` property, a tool can use the hints to offer some
auto-completion help for the `none`, `validate`, `update`, `create`, and `create-drop`
values.



[[configuration-metadata-group-attributes]]
==== Group Attributes
The JSON object contained in the `groups` array can contain the attributes shown in the
following table:

[cols="1,1,4"]
|===
|Name | Type |Purpose

|`name`
| String
| The full name of the group. This attribute is mandatory.

|`type`
| String
| The class name of the data type of the group. For example, if the group were based
  on a class annotated with `@ConfigurationProperties`, the attribute would contain the
  fully qualified name of that class. If it were based on a `@Bean` method, it would be
  the return type of that method. If the type is not known, the attribute may be omitted.

|`description`
| String
| A short description of the group that can be displayed to users. If not description is
  available, it may be omitted. It is recommended that descriptions be short paragraphs,
  with the first line providing a concise summary. The last line in the description should
  end with a period (`.`).

|`sourceType`
| String
| The class name of the source that contributed this group. For example, if the group
  were based on a `@Bean` method annotated with `@ConfigurationProperties`, this attribute
  would contain the fully qualified name of the `@Configuration` class that contains the
  method. If the source type is not known, the attribute may be omitted.

|`sourceMethod`
| String
| The full name of the method (include parenthesis and argument types) that contributed
  this group (for example, the name of a `@ConfigurationProperties` annotated `@Bean`
  method). If the source method is not known, it may be omitted.
|===



[[configuration-metadata-property-attributes]]
==== Property Attributes
The JSON object contained in the `properties` array can contain the attributes described
in the following table:

[cols="1,1,4"]
|===
|Name | Type |Purpose

|`name`
| String
| The full name of the property. Names are in lower-case period-separated form (for
  example, `server.address`). This attribute is mandatory.

|`type`
| String
| The full signature of the data type of the property (for example, `java.lang.String`)
  but also a full generic type (such as `java.util.Map<java.util.String,acme.MyEnum>`).
  You can use this attribute to guide the user as to the types of values that they can
  enter. For consistency, the type of a primitive is specified by using its wrapper
  counterpart (for example, `boolean` becomes `java.lang.Boolean`). Note that this class
  may be a complex type that gets converted from a `String` as values are bound. If the
  type is not known, it may be omitted.

|`description`
| String
| A short description of the group that can be displayed to users. If no description is
  available, it may be omitted. It is recommended that descriptions be short paragraphs,
  with the first line providing a concise summary. The last line in the description should
  end with a period (`.`).

|`sourceType`
| String
| The class name of the source that contributed this property. For example, if the
  property were from a class annotated with `@ConfigurationProperties`, this attribute
  would contain the fully qualified name of that class. If the source type is unknown, it
  may be omitted.

|`defaultValue`
| Object
| The default value, which is used if the property is not specified. If the type of the
  property is an array, it can be an array of value(s). If the default value is unknown,
  it may be omitted.

|`deprecation`
| Deprecation
| Specify whether the property is deprecated. If the field is not deprecated or if that
  information is not known, it may be omitted. The next table offers more detail about
  the `deprecation` attribute.
|===

The JSON object contained in the `deprecation` attribute of each `properties` element can
contain the following attributes:

[cols="1,1,4"]
|===
|Name | Type |Purpose

|`level`
|String
|The level of deprecation, which can be either `warning` (the default) or `error`. When a
 property has a `warning` deprecation level, it should still be bound in the environment.
 However, when it has an `error` deprecation level, the property is no longer managed and
 is not bound.

|`reason`
|String
|A short description of the reason why the property was deprecated. If no reason is
 available, it may be omitted. It is recommended that descriptions be short paragraphs,
 with the first line providing a concise summary. The last line in the description should
 end with a period (`.`).

|`replacement`
|String
|The full name of the property that _replaces_ this deprecated property. If there is no
 replacement for this property, it may be omitted.
|===

NOTE: Prior to Spring Boot 1.3, a single `deprecated` boolean attribute can be used
instead of the `deprecation` element. This is still supported in a deprecated fashion and
should no longer be used. If no reason and replacement are available, an empty
`deprecation` object should be set.

Deprecation can also be specified declaratively in code by adding the
`@DeprecatedConfigurationProperty` annotation to the getter exposing the deprecated
property. For instance, assume that the `app.acme.target` property was confusing and
was renamed to `app.acme.name`. The following example shows how to handle that situation:

[source,java,indent=0]
----
	@ConfigurationProperties("app.acme")
	public class AcmeProperties {

		private String name;

		public String getName() { ... }

		public void setName(String name) { ... }

		@DeprecatedConfigurationProperty(replacement = "app.acme.name")
		@Deprecated
		public String getTarget() {
			return getName();
		}

		@Deprecated
		public void setTarget(String target) {
			setName(target);
		}
	}
----

NOTE: There is no way to set a `level`. `warning` is always assumed, since code is still
handling the property.

The preceding code makes sure that the deprecated property still works (delegating
to the `name` property behind the scenes). Once the `getTarget` and `setTarget`
methods can be removed from your public API, the automatic deprecation hint in the
metadata goes away as well. If you want to keep a hint, adding manual metadata with
an `error` deprecation level ensures that users are still informed about that property.
Doing so is particularly useful when a `replacement` is provided.



[[configuration-metadata-hints-attributes]]
==== Hint Attributes
The JSON object contained in the `hints` array can contain the attributes shown in the
following table:

[cols="1,1,4"]
|===
|Name | Type |Purpose

|`name`
| String
| The full name of the property to which this hint refers. Names are in lower-case
  period-separated form (such as `spring.mvc.servlet.path`). If the property refers to a map
  (such as `system.contexts`), the hint either applies to the _keys_ of the map
  (`system.context.keys`) or the _values_ (`system.context.values`) of the map. This
  attribute is mandatory.

|`values`
| ValueHint[]
| A list of valid values as defined by the `ValueHint` object (described in the next
  table). Each entry defines the value and may have a description.

|`providers`
| ValueProvider[]
| A list of providers as defined by the `ValueProvider` object (described later in this
  document). Each entry defines the name of the provider and its parameters, if any.

|===

The JSON object contained in the `values` attribute of each `hint` element can contain
the attributes described in the following table:

[cols="1,1,4"]
|===
|Name | Type |Purpose

|`value`
| Object
| A valid value for the element to which the hint refers. If the type of the property is
  an array, it can also be an array of value(s). This attribute is mandatory.

|`description`
| String
| A short description of the value that can be displayed to users. If no description is
  available, it may be omitted . It is recommended that descriptions be short paragraphs,
  with the first line providing a concise summary. The last line in the description should
  end with a period (`.`).
|===

The JSON object contained in the `providers` attribute of each `hint` element can contain
the attributes described in the following table:

[cols="1,1,4"]
|===
|Name | Type |Purpose

|`name`
| String
| The name of the provider to use to offer additional content assistance for the element
  to which the hint refers.

|`parameters`
| JSON object
| Any additional parameter that the provider supports (check the documentation of the
  provider for more details).
|===



[[configuration-metadata-repeated-items]]
==== Repeated Metadata Items
Objects with the same "`property`" and "`group`" name can appear multiple times within a
metadata file. For example, you could bind two separate classes to the same prefix, with
each having potentially overlapping property names. While the same names appearing in the
metadata multiple times should not be common, consumers of metadata should take care to
ensure that they support it.



[[configuration-metadata-providing-manual-hints]]
=== Providing Manual Hints
To improve the user experience and further assist the user in configuring a given
property, you can provide additional metadata that:

* Describes the list of potential values for a property.
* Associates a provider, to attach a well defined semantic to a property, so that a tool
can discover the list of potential values based on the project's context.


==== Value Hint
The `name` attribute of each hint refers to the `name` of a property. In the
<<configuration-metadata-format,initial example shown earlier>>, we provide five values
for the `spring.jpa.hibernate.ddl-auto` property: `none`, `validate`, `update`, `create`,
and `create-drop`. Each value may have a description as well.

If your property is of type `Map`, you can provide hints for both the keys and the
values (but not for the map itself). The special `.keys` and `.values` suffixes must
refer to the keys and the values, respectively.

Assume a `sample.contexts` maps magic `String` values to an integer, as shown in the
following example:

[source,java,indent=0]
----
	@ConfigurationProperties("sample")
	public class SampleProperties {

		private Map<String,Integer> contexts;
		// getters and setters
	}
----

The magic values are (in this example) are `sample1` and `sample2`. In order to offer
additional content assistance for the keys, you could add the following JSON to
<<configuration-metadata-additional-metadata,the manual metadata of the module>>:

[source,json,indent=0]
----
	{"hints": [
		{
			"name": "sample.contexts.keys",
			"values": [
				{
					"value": "sample1"
				},
				{
					"value": "sample2"
				}
			]
		}
	]}
----

TIP: We recommend that you use an `Enum` for those two values instead. If your IDE
supports it, this is by far the most effective approach to auto-completion.



==== Value Providers
Providers are a powerful way to attach semantics to a property. In this section, we
define the official providers that you can use for your own hints. However, your favorite
IDE may implement some of these or none of them. Also, it could eventually provide its
own.

NOTE: As this is a new feature, IDE vendors must catch up with how it works. Adoption
times naturally vary.

The following table summarizes the list of supported providers:

[cols="2,4"]
|===
|Name | Description

|`any`
|Permits any additional value to be provided.

|`class-reference`
|Auto-completes the classes available in the project. Usually constrained by a base
 class that is specified by the `target` parameter.

|`handle-as`
|Handles the property as if it were defined by the type defined by the mandatory `target`
 parameter.

|`logger-name`
|Auto-completes valid logger names. Typically, package and class names available in
 the current project can be auto-completed.

|`spring-bean-reference`
|Auto-completes the available bean names in the current project. Usually constrained
 by a base class that is specified by the `target` parameter.

|`spring-profile-name`
|Auto-completes the available Spring profile names in the project.

|===

TIP: Only one provider can be active for a given property, but you can specify several
providers if they can all manage the property _in some way_. Make sure to place the most
powerful provider first, as the IDE must use the first one in the JSON section that it
can handle. If no provider for a given property is supported, no special content
assistance is provided, either.



===== Any
The special **any** provider value permits any additional values to be provided. Regular
value validation based on the property type should be applied if this is supported.

This provider is typically used if you have a list of values and any extra values
should still be considered as valid.

The following example offers `on` and `off` as auto-completion values for `system.state`:

[source,json,indent=0]
----
	{"hints": [
		{
			"name": "system.state",
			"values": [
				{
					"value": "on"
				},
				{
					"value": "off"
				}
			],
			"providers": [
				{
					"name": "any"
				}
			]
		}
	]}
----

Note that, in the preceding example, any other value is also allowed.

===== Class Reference
The **class-reference** provider auto-completes classes available in the project. This
provider supports the following parameters:

[cols="1,1,2,4"]
|===
|Parameter |Type |Default value |Description

|`target`
|`String` (`Class`)
|_none_
|The fully qualified name of the class that should be assignable to the chosen value.
 Typically used to filter out-non candidate classes. Note that this information can
 be provided by the type itself by exposing a class with the appropriate upper bound.

|`concrete`
|`boolean`
|true
|Specify whether only concrete classes are to be considered as valid candidates.
|===


The following metadata snippet corresponds to the standard `server.servlet.jsp.class-name`
property that defines the `JspServlet` class name to use:

[source,json,indent=0]
----
	{"hints": [
		{
			"name": "server.servlet.jsp.class-name",
			"providers": [
				{
					"name": "class-reference",
					"parameters": {
						"target": "javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet"
					}
				}
			]
		}
	]}
----



===== Handle As
The **handle-as** provider lets you substitute the type of the property to a more
high-level type. This typically happens when the property has a `java.lang.String` type,
because you do not want your configuration classes to rely on classes that may not be
on the classpath. This provider supports the following parameters:

[cols="1,1,2,4"]
|===
|Parameter |Type |Default value |Description

| **`target`**
| `String` (`Class`)
|_none_
|The fully qualified name of the type to consider for the property. This parameter is
 mandatory.
|===

The following types can be used:

* Any `java.lang.Enum`: Lists the possible values for the property. (We recommend
  defining the property with the `Enum` type, as no further hint should be required for
  the IDE to auto-complete the values.)
* `java.nio.charset.Charset`: Supports auto-completion of charset/encoding values (such as
  `UTF-8`)
* `java.util.Locale`: auto-completion of locales (such as `en_US`)
* `org.springframework.util.MimeType`: Supports auto-completion of content type values
  (such as `text/plain`)
* `org.springframework.core.io.Resource`: Supports auto-completion of Spring’s Resource
  abstraction to refer to a file on the filesystem or on the classpath. (such as
  `classpath:/sample.properties`)

TIP: If multiple values can be provided, use a `Collection` or _Array_ type to teach the
IDE about it.

The following metadata snippet corresponds to the standard `spring.liquibase.change-log`
property that defines the path to the changelog to use. It is actually used internally as a
`org.springframework.core.io.Resource` but cannot be exposed as such, because we need to
keep the original String value to pass it to the Liquibase API.

[source,json,indent=0]
----
	{"hints": [
		{
			"name": "spring.liquibase.change-log",
			"providers": [
				{
					"name": "handle-as",
					"parameters": {
						"target": "org.springframework.core.io.Resource"
					}
				}
			]
		}
	]}
----



===== Logger Name
The **logger-name** provider auto-completes valid logger names. Typically, package and
class names available in the current project can be auto-completed. Specific frameworks
may have extra magic logger names that can be supported as well.

Since a logger name can be any arbitrary name, this provider should allow any
value but could highlight valid package and class names that are not available in the
project's classpath.

The following metadata snippet corresponds to the standard `logging.level` property. Keys
are _logger names_, and values correspond to the standard log levels or any custom
level.

[source,json,indent=0]
----
	{"hints": [
		{
			"name": "logging.level.keys",
			"values": [
				{
					"value": "root",
					"description": "Root logger used to assign the default logging level."
				}
			],
			"providers": [
				{
					"name": "logger-name"
				}
			]
		},
		{
			"name": "logging.level.values",
			"values": [
				{
					"value": "trace"
				},
				{
					"value": "debug"
				},
				{
					"value": "info"
				},
				{
					"value": "warn"
				},
				{
					"value": "error"
				},
				{
					"value": "fatal"
				},
				{
					"value": "off"
				}

			],
			"providers": [
				{
					"name": "any"
				}
			]
		}
	]}
----



===== Spring Bean Reference
The **spring-bean-reference** provider auto-completes the beans that are defined in
the configuration of the current project. This provider supports the following parameters:

[cols="1,1,2,4"]
|===
|Parameter |Type |Default value |Description

|`target`
| `String` (`Class`)
|_none_
|The fully qualified name of the bean class that should be assignable to the candidate.
 Typically used to filter out non-candidate beans.
|===

The following metadata snippet corresponds to the standard `spring.jmx.server` property
that defines the name of the `MBeanServer` bean to use:

[source,json,indent=0]
----
	{"hints": [
		{
			"name": "spring.jmx.server",
			"providers": [
				{
					"name": "spring-bean-reference",
					"parameters": {
						"target": "javax.management.MBeanServer"
					}
				}
			]
		}
	]}
----

NOTE: The binder is not aware of the metadata. If you provide that hint, you still need
to transform the bean name into an actual Bean reference using by the `ApplicationContext`.



===== Spring Profile Name
The **spring-profile-name** provider auto-completes the Spring profiles that are
defined in the configuration of the current project.

The following metadata snippet corresponds to the standard `spring.profiles.active`
property that defines the name of the Spring profile(s) to enable:

[source,json,indent=0]
----
	{"hints": [
		{
			"name": "spring.profiles.active",
			"providers": [
				{
					"name": "spring-profile-name"
				}
			]
		}
	]}
----



[[configuration-metadata-annotation-processor]]
=== Generating Your Own Metadata by Using the Annotation Processor
You can easily generate your own configuration metadata file from items annotated with
`@ConfigurationProperties` by using the `spring-boot-configuration-processor` jar.
The jar includes a Java annotation processor which is invoked as your project is
compiled. To use the processor, include a dependency on
`spring-boot-configuration-processor`.

With Maven the dependency should be declared as optional, as shown in the following
example:

[source,xml,indent=0,subs="verbatim,quotes,attributes"]
----
	<dependency>
		<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
		<artifactId>spring-boot-configuration-processor</artifactId>
		<optional>true</optional>
	</dependency>
----

With Gradle 4.5 and earlier, the dependency should be declared in the `compileOnly`
configuration, as shown in the following example:

[source,groovy,indent=0,subs="verbatim,quotes,attributes"]
----
	dependencies {
		compileOnly "org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-configuration-processor"
	}
----

With Gradle 4.6 and later, the dependency should be declared in the `annotationProcessor`
configuration, as shown in the following example:

[source,groovy,indent=0,subs="verbatim,quotes,attributes"]
----
	dependencies {
		annotationProcessor "org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-configuration-processor"
	}
----

If you are using an `additional-spring-configuration-metadata.json` file, the
`compileJava` task should be configured to depend on the `processResources` task, as shown
in the following example:

[source,groovy,indent=0,subs="verbatim,quotes,attributes"]
----
	compileJava.dependsOn(processResources)
----

This dependency ensures that the additional metadata is available when the annotation
processor runs during compilation.

The processor picks up both classes and methods that are annotated with
`@ConfigurationProperties`. The Javadoc for field values within configuration classes
is used to populate the `description` attribute.

NOTE: You should only use simple text with `@ConfigurationProperties` field Javadoc, since
they are not processed before being added to the JSON.

Properties are discovered through the presence of standard getters and setters with
special handling for collection types (that is detected even if only a getter is present).
The annotation processor also supports the use of the `@Data`, `@Getter`, and `@Setter`
lombok annotations.

[NOTE]
====
If you are using AspectJ in your project, you need to make sure that the annotation
processor runs only once. There are several ways to do this. With Maven, you can
configure the `maven-apt-plugin` explicitly and add the dependency to the annotation
processor only there. You could also let the AspectJ plugin run all the processing
and disable annotation processing in the `maven-compiler-plugin` configuration, as
follows:

[source,xml,indent=0,subs="verbatim,quotes,attributes"]
----
	<plugin>
		<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
		<artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
		<configuration>
			<proc>none</proc>
		</configuration>
	</plugin>
----
====



[[configuration-metadata-nested-properties]]
==== Nested Properties
The annotation processor automatically considers inner classes as nested properties.
Consider the following class:

[source,java,indent=0,subs="verbatim,quotes,attributes"]
----
	@ConfigurationProperties(prefix="server")
	public class ServerProperties {

		private String name;

		private Host host;

		// ... getter and setters

		public static class Host {

			private String ip;

			private int port;

			// ... getter and setters

		}

	}
----

The preceding example produces metadata information for `server.name`, `server.host.ip`,
and `server.host.port` properties. You can use the `@NestedConfigurationProperty`
annotation on a field to indicate that a regular (non-inner) class should be treated as
if it were nested.

TIP: This has no effect on collections and maps, as those types are automatically
identified, and a single metadata property is generated for each of them.


[[configuration-metadata-additional-metadata]]
==== Adding Additional Metadata
Spring Boot's configuration file handling is quite flexible, and it is often the case
that properties may exist that are not bound to a `@ConfigurationProperties` bean. You
may also need to tune some attributes of an existing key. To support such cases and let
you provide custom "hints", the annotation processor automatically merges items
from `META-INF/additional-spring-configuration-metadata.json` into the main metadata
file.

If you refer to a property that has been detected automatically, the description,
default value, and deprecation information are overridden, if specified. If the manual
property declaration is not identified in the current module, it is added as a new
property.

The format of the `additional-spring-configuration-metadata.json` file is exactly the same
as the regular `spring-configuration-metadata.json`. The additional properties file is
optional. If you do not have any additional properties, do not add the file.