How to Implement Swager In Spring Boot?

18 minutes read

To implement Swagger in Spring Boot, follow these steps:

  1. Add necessary dependencies: In your pom.xml file, add the following dependencies: springfox-boot-starter: This will include Swagger support in Spring Boot. springfox-swagger-ui: This dependency will add the Swagger UI for documentation.
  2. Enable Swagger in Spring Boot Application: Open your main application class (annotated with @SpringBootApplication) and add the @EnableSwagger2 annotation. This enables Swagger support in your Spring Boot application.
  3. Configure Swagger Docket bean: In the same main application class, create a method that returns a Docket bean. This bean will define the Swagger configuration and will be used to generate the documentation. Customize the configuration according to your project requirements. For example, setting the base package for scanning controller classes, specifying API information like title, version, etc.
  4. Testing the Swagger Documentation: Run your Spring Boot application and go to the Swagger UI URL, which is usually http://localhost:8080/swagger-ui.html. Here, you will see a user-friendly interface with documentation for your RESTful API endpoints.
  5. Customizing Swagger Documentation: You can enhance the documentation by adding annotations to your controller methods. Swagger annotations provide additional information like API description, request/response models, HTTP methods, path parameters, query parameters, etc.


Overall, implementing Swagger in Spring Boot allows you to generate API documentation automatically and makes it easy for developers to interact and test APIs.

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Can multiple Swagger configurations be set up in a single Spring Boot application?

Yes, it is possible to set up multiple Swagger configurations in a single Spring Boot application.


To achieve this, you can create multiple Docket beans, each with its own configuration, and assign a different base path or package to scan for each configuration. Here's an example:

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@Configuration
@EnableSwagger2
public class SwaggerConfig1 {
    
    @Bean
    public Docket api1() {
        return new Docket(DocumentationType.SWAGGER_2)
                .select()
                .apis(RequestHandlerSelectors.basePackage("com.example.api1"))
                .paths(PathSelectors.any())
                .build();
    }
    
}

@Configuration
@EnableSwagger2
public class SwaggerConfig2 {
    
    @Bean
    public Docket api2() {
        return new Docket(DocumentationType.SWAGGER_2)
                .select()
                .apis(RequestHandlerSelectors.basePackage("com.example.api2"))
                .paths(PathSelectors.any())
                .build();
    }
    
}


In this example, SwaggerConfig1 is configured for API endpoints in the package com.example.api1, and SwaggerConfig2 is configured for API endpoints in the package com.example.api2.


How to hide certain endpoints from Swagger documentation in Spring Boot?

To hide certain endpoints from Swagger documentation in Spring Boot, you can use the @ApiIgnore annotation provided by Swagger. This annotation will instruct Swagger to exclude the annotated endpoint(s) from the generated documentation.


Here are the steps to implement this:

  1. Import the necessary dependencies in your project's build file (pom.xml):
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<dependency>
    <groupId>io.springfox</groupId>
    <artifactId>springfox-swagger2</artifactId>
    <version>2.9.2</version>
</dependency>
<dependency>
    <groupId>io.springfox</groupId>
    <artifactId>springfox-swagger-ui</artifactId>
    <version>2.9.2</version>
</dependency>


  1. Configure Swagger in your Spring Boot application by creating a SwaggerConfig class:
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@Configuration
@EnableSwagger2
public class SwaggerConfig {
    @Bean
    public Docket api() {
        return new Docket(DocumentationType.SWAGGER_2)
                .select()
                .apis(RequestHandlerSelectors.any())
                .paths(PathSelectors.any())
                .build();
    }
}


  1. Annotate the endpoints that you want to hide with the @ApiIgnore annotation:
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@RestController
public class MyController {
    @GetMapping("/hiddenEndpoint")
    @ApiIgnore
    public String hiddenEndpoint() {
        // Endpoint logic
    }

    @GetMapping("/visibleEndpoint")
    public String visibleEndpoint() {
        // Endpoint logic
    }
}


  1. Launch your Spring Boot application and navigate to the Swagger UI documentation at "/swagger-ui.html" (e.g., "http://localhost:8080/swagger-ui.html"). You will notice that the "/hiddenEndpoint" is excluded from the generated documentation while "/visibleEndpoint" is still visible.


By following these steps, you can easily hide specific endpoints from Swagger documentation in Spring Boot.


What are some best practices while using Swagger in Spring Boot?

While using Swagger in Spring Boot, some best practices to follow are:

  1. Keep Swagger configuration separate: It is recommended to keep Swagger configuration separate from the main application configuration file, for easier manageability and separation of concerns.
  2. Versioning the API: Use versioning in API endpoints to support backward compatibility. This can be done using the @Api annotation, where you can specify the API version.
  3. Add clear and concise descriptions: Use the @Api and @ApiOperation annotations to provide clear and concise descriptions for API endpoints and operations.
  4. Use appropriate HTTP status codes: Make sure to use appropriate HTTP status codes for responses. Swagger allows you to specify the response codes using the @ApiResponse annotation.
  5. Validate input and output models: Use the @Valid annotation to validate the input models and ensure data integrity. Also, validate the output models to maintain consistency and reliability.
  6. Secure the API: If your API requires authentication and authorization, use Swagger annotations like @ApiImplicitParam and @ApiImplicitParams to define the required security schemes.
  7. Organize tags and operations: Organize your API endpoints into logical groupings using the @Tags annotation. Also, categorize and group similar operations together using the @Operation annotation.
  8. Test endpoints using Swagger UI: Take advantage of Swagger UI to test and validate your API endpoints during development. This helps in real-time verification of the API specifications.
  9. Generate API documentation: Use Swagger code generation tools to automatically generate API documentation in various formats, such as HTML or PDF. This ensures that the documentation stays up-to-date with the codebase changes.
  10. Regularly update Swagger dependencies: Keep an eye on the updates of Swagger dependencies and make sure to regularly update them to benefit from bug fixes, security patches, and new features.


Remember that these are just general best practices, and it's essential to adapt them to your specific project requirements and guidelines.

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How to handle file uploads in Swagger documentation for a Spring Boot API?

To handle file uploads in Swagger documentation for a Spring Boot API, you can follow these steps:

  1. Add Swagger dependencies: Include the necessary Swagger dependencies in your pom.xml file, such as springfox-swagger2, springfox-swagger-ui, and any other required dependencies.
  2. Configure Swagger: Create a configuration class to enable Swagger in your Spring Boot application. You can use the @EnableSwagger2 annotation to enable Swagger, and define a Docket bean to customize the Swagger documentation.
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@Configuration
@EnableSwagger2
public class SwaggerConfig {

    @Bean
    public Docket api() {
        return new Docket(DocumentationType.SWAGGER_2)
                .select()
                .apis(RequestHandlerSelectors.basePackage("your.package"))
                .paths(PathSelectors.any())
                .build()
                .apiInfo(apiInfo());
    }

    private ApiInfo apiInfo() {
        return new ApiInfoBuilder().title("Your API Title")
                .description("Your API Description")
                .version("1.0.0")
                .build();
    }
}


Make sure to replace your.package with the base package name of your Spring Boot application.

  1. Configure Swagger for file uploads: Extend the WebMvcConfigurationSupport class and override the addResourceHandlers method to configure Swagger to handle file uploads.
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@Configuration
public class WebMvcConfig extends WebMvcConfigurationSupport {

    @Override
    public void addResourceHandlers(ResourceHandlerRegistry registry) {
        registry.addResourceHandler("swagger-ui.html")
                .addResourceLocations("classpath:/META-INF/resources/");

        registry.addResourceHandler("/webjars/**")
                .addResourceLocations("classpath:/META-INF/resources/webjars/");
    }
}


  1. Document the file upload endpoint: Annotate the file upload endpoint in your Spring Boot controller with the appropriate Swagger annotations. Use @ApiOperation to provide a description of the endpoint, @ApiResponse to define the response messages, and @ApiImplicitParam to describe the file upload parameter.
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@RestController
@RequestMapping("/api")
public class FileUploadController {

    @PostMapping("/upload")
    @ApiOperation(value = "Upload a file")
    @ApiResponse(code = 200, message = "File uploaded successfully")
    @ApiImplicitParam(name = "file", value = "Upload file", required = true, dataType = "__file")
    public ResponseEntity<String> uploadFile(@RequestParam("file") MultipartFile file) {
        // Handle file upload logic
        // ...
        return ResponseEntity.ok("File uploaded successfully");
    }
}


Note the usage of dataType = "__file" in the @ApiImplicitParam annotation to describe the file parameter.

  1. Generate Swagger documentation: After running your Spring Boot application, access the Swagger documentation by navigating to http://localhost:8080/swagger-ui.html in your web browser. You should see the file upload endpoint and its associated documentation.


Now, you have successfully handled file uploads in Swagger documentation for your Spring Boot API.


How to customize Swagger documentation output in Spring Boot?

To customize the Swagger documentation output in Spring Boot, you can follow these steps:


Step 1: Add the necessary dependencies to your project's Maven or Gradle configuration file.


For Maven:

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<dependency>
    <groupId>io.springfox</groupId>
    <artifactId>springfox-boot-starter</artifactId>
    <version>3.0.0</version>
</dependency>


For Gradle:

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implementation 'io.springfox:springfox-boot-starter:3.0.0'


Step 2: Create a Swagger configuration class that extends the WebMvcConfigurationSupport class.

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@Configuration
@EnableSwagger2
public class SwaggerConfig extends WebMvcConfigurationSupport {

    @Bean
    public Docket api() {
        return new Docket(DocumentationType.SWAGGER_2)
                .select()
                .apis(RequestHandlerSelectors.basePackage("com.example.controller")) // Provide the base package of your controllers
                .paths(PathSelectors.any())
                .build();
    }

    @Override
    protected void addResourceHandlers(ResourceHandlerRegistry registry) {
        registry.addResourceHandler("swagger-ui.html")
                .addResourceLocations("classpath:/META-INF/resources/");
        registry.addResourceHandler("/webjars/**")
                .addResourceLocations("classpath:/META-INF/resources/webjars/");
    }
}


Step 3: Customize the Swagger documentation by adding annotations to your controller methods.

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@RestController
@RequestMapping("/api")
@Api(tags = "API Controller")
public class ApiController {

    @GetMapping("/hello")
    @ApiOperation("Get greeting")
    @ApiResponses(value = {
        @ApiResponse(code = 200, message = "Successful greeting"),
        @ApiResponse(code = 500, message = "Server error")
    })
    public ResponseEntity<String> getGreeting() {
        return ResponseEntity.ok("Hello, Swagger!");
    }
}


Step 4: Run your Spring Boot application and access the generated Swagger documentation at http://localhost:8080/swagger-ui.html.


By default, Swagger will generate documentation based on the annotations in your code. However, you can further customize the output by using additional annotations such as @Api, @ApiOperation, @ApiResponses, etc. These annotations allow you to add descriptions, set response codes, include and exclude certain endpoints from the documentation, and more.


You can refer to the official Springfox documentation for more advanced customization options: https://springfox.github.io/springfox/docs/current/


What is Swagger UI?

Swagger UI is an open-source tool that allows developers to visualize and interact with APIs (Application Programming Interfaces). It provides a user-friendly interface that helps in testing and documenting APIs. Swagger UI reads the OpenAPI Specification (formerly known as Swagger) file, which describes the API endpoints, request/response payloads, headers, and various other details. With Swagger UI, developers can easily explore and understand the structure and functionality of an API without having to refer to the API documentation separately.


How to generate API documentation in other languages using Swagger and Spring Boot?

To generate API documentation in other languages using Swagger and Spring Boot, follow these steps:

  1. Add Swagger dependencies to your project. Add the following dependencies to your pom.xml file:
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<dependency>
    <groupId>io.springfox</groupId>
    <artifactId>springfox-swagger2</artifactId>
    <version>${swagger.version}</version>
</dependency>
<dependency>
    <groupId>io.springfox</groupId>
    <artifactId>springfox-swagger-ui</artifactId>
    <version>${swagger.version}</version>
</dependency>


Make sure to replace ${swagger.version} with the appropriate version number.

  1. Configure Swagger in your Spring Boot application. Create a new configuration class with @EnableSwagger2 annotation:
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@Configuration
@EnableSwagger2
public class SwaggerConfig {

    @Bean
    public Docket api() {
        return new Docket(DocumentationType.SWAGGER_2)
                .select()
                .apis(RequestHandlerSelectors.basePackage("your.package"))
                .build();
    }
}


Replace "your.package" with the base package of your application where the controllers are located.

  1. Run your Spring Boot application. Open your web browser and visit http://localhost:8080/swagger-ui.html. You should see the Swagger UI, where you can view and test your API endpoints.
  2. Generate API documentation in other languages. Swagger provides code generators for different languages. Go to the Swagger Codegen GitHub repository (https://github.com/swagger-api/swagger-codegen) and follow the instructions to download and install the code generator for your desired language.
  3. Use the code generator to generate API documentation for the desired language. For example, if you want to generate documentation for JavaScript, you can use the following command:
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java -jar swagger-codegen-cli.jar generate -i http://localhost:8080/v2/api-docs -l javascript -o /path/to/output/folder


Replace /path/to/output/folder with the desired directory to save the generated documentation files.

  1. Open the generated documentation files in your chosen language and follow the instructions provided by the Swagger Codegen documentation to utilize the generated code.


That's it! You have now generated API documentation in other languages using Swagger and Spring Boot.


How to secure Swagger UI access in Spring Boot application?

To secure Swagger UI access in a Spring Boot application, you can follow the steps below:

  1. Add the Spring Security dependency in your Maven or Gradle configuration: // Maven org.springframework.bootspring-boot-starter-security// Gradle implementation 'org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-security'
  2. Create a new security configuration class that extends WebSecurityConfigurerAdapter: import org.springframework.context.annotation.Configuration; import org.springframework.security.config.annotation.web.builders.HttpSecurity; import org.springframework.security.config.annotation.web.configuration.EnableWebSecurity; import org.springframework.security.config.annotation.web.configuration.WebSecurityConfigurerAdapter; @Configuration @EnableWebSecurity public class SecurityConfig extends WebSecurityConfigurerAdapter { @Override protected void configure(HttpSecurity http) throws Exception { http.authorizeRequests() .antMatchers("/swagger-ui/**").permitAll() // Allow access to Swagger UI .anyRequest().authenticated() // Require authentication for other requests .and() .formLogin(); // Enable form-based login } }
  3. By default, Spring Security requires basic authentication when accessing /swagger-ui/** endpoint. To disable basic authentication, you can create a Bean implementing SecurityFilterChain: import org.springframework.context.annotation.Bean; import org.springframework.security.config.annotation.web.builders.HttpSecurity; import org.springframework.security.config.annotation.web.configuration.WebSecurityConfigurerAdapter; import org.springframework.security.web.SecurityFilterChain; @Configuration public class SecurityConfig extends WebSecurityConfigurerAdapter { @Override protected void configure(HttpSecurity http) throws Exception { // ... } @Bean public SecurityFilterChain securityFilterChain(HttpSecurity http) throws Exception { http.csrf().disable().authorizeRequests().anyRequest().permitAll(); return http.build(); } }
  4. Optionally, you can provide more fine-grained access control by configuring roles or custom access rules based on your application requirements.
  5. Restart your Spring Boot application and try accessing the Swagger UI endpoint again. It should now be secured according to the security configuration you provided.


Note: In a production environment, it is recommended to use stronger authentication mechanisms such as OAuth2 or JWT instead of form-based authentication.


How to document Spring Boot exception handlers using Swagger annotations?

To document Spring Boot exception handlers using Swagger annotations, you can follow these steps:

  1. Add the Swagger dependency to your project by including the following Maven or Gradle dependency in your build file: io.springfoxspringfox-boot-starter3.0.0// Gradle implementation 'io.springfox:springfox-boot-starter:3.0.0'
  2. Create a custom exception handler class that extends the ResponseEntityExceptionHandler class provided by Spring Boot. This class will handle all the exceptions thrown by your application. import org.springframework.http.ResponseEntity; import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.ControllerAdvice; import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.ExceptionHandler; import org.springframework.web.servlet.mvc.method.annotation.ResponseEntityExceptionHandler; @ControllerAdvice public class CustomResponseEntityExceptionHandler extends ResponseEntityExceptionHandler { @ExceptionHandler(Exception.class) public ResponseEntity
  3. Use the @ApiResponses and @ApiResponse annotations from the Swagger library to document the exception handlers. These annotations add meaningful descriptions for each exception. import io.swagger.annotations.ApiResponse; import io.swagger.annotations.ApiResponses; @ControllerAdvice public class CustomResponseEntityExceptionHandler extends ResponseEntityExceptionHandler { @Override @ExceptionHandler(Exception.class) @ApiResponses(value = { @ApiResponse(code = 400, message = "Bad Request"), @ApiResponse(code = 401, message = "Unauthorized"), @ApiResponse(code = 403, message = "Forbidden"), @ApiResponse(code = 404, message = "Not Found"), @ApiResponse(code = 500, message = "Internal Server Error") }) public ResponseEntity
  4. Run your Spring Boot application and access the Swagger UI at http://localhost:8080/swagger-ui/ to see the documented exception handlers.


By following these steps, you can add Swagger annotations to your Spring Boot exception handlers and generate detailed documentation using the Swagger UI.

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