10.2 Installing the Spring Boot CLI

The Spring Boot CLI is a command line tool that can be used if you want to quickly prototype with Spring. It allows you to run Groovy scripts, which means that you have a familiar Java-like syntax, without so much boilerplate code.

You don’t need to use the CLI to work with Spring Boot but it’s definitely the quickest way to get a Spring application off the ground.

10.2.1 Manual installation

You can download the Spring CLI distribution from the Spring software repository:

Cutting edge snapshot distributions are also available.

Once downloaded, follow the INSTALL.txt instructions from the unpacked archive. In summary: there is a spring script (spring.bat for Windows) in a bin/ directory in the .zip file, or alternatively you can use java -jar with the .jar file (the script helps you to be sure that the classpath is set correctly).

10.2.2 Installation with SDKMAN!

SDKMAN! (The Software Development Kit Manager) can be used for managing multiple versions of various binary SDKs, including Groovy and the Spring Boot CLI. Get SDKMAN! from sdkman.io and install Spring Boot with

$ sdk install springboot
$ spring --version
Spring Boot v1.4.1.BUILD-SNAPSHOT

If you are developing features for the CLI and want easy access to the version you just built, follow these extra instructions.

$ sdk install springboot dev /path/to/spring-boot/spring-boot-cli/target/spring-boot-cli-1.4.1.BUILD-SNAPSHOT-bin/spring-1.4.1.BUILD-SNAPSHOT/
$ sdk default springboot dev
$ spring --version
Spring CLI v1.4.1.BUILD-SNAPSHOT

This will install a local instance of spring called the dev instance. It points at your target build location, so every time you rebuild Spring Boot, spring will be up-to-date.

You can see it by doing this:

$ sdk ls springboot

================================================================================
Available Springboot Versions
================================================================================
> + dev
* 1.4.1.BUILD-SNAPSHOT

================================================================================
+ - local version
* - installed
> - currently in use
================================================================================

10.2.3 OSX Homebrew installation

If you are on a Mac and using Homebrew, all you need to do to install the Spring Boot CLI is:

$ brew tap pivotal/tap
$ brew install springboot

Homebrew will install spring to /usr/local/bin.

	Note
If you don’t see the formula, your installation of brew might be out-of-date. Just execute `brew update` and try again.

10.2.4 MacPorts installation

If you are on a Mac and using MacPorts, all you need to do to install the Spring Boot CLI is:

$ sudo port install spring-boot-cli

10.2.5 Command-line completion

Spring Boot CLI ships with scripts that provide command completion for BASH and zsh shells. You can source the script (also named spring) in any shell, or put it in your personal or system-wide bash completion initialization. On a Debian system the system-wide scripts are in /shell-completion/bash and all scripts in that directory are executed when a new shell starts. To run the script manually, e.g. if you have installed using SDKMAN!

$ . ~/.sdkman/candidates/springboot/current/shell-completion/bash/spring
$ spring <HIT TAB HERE>
  grab  help  jar  run  test  version

	Note
If you install Spring Boot CLI using Homebrew or MacPorts, the command-line completion scripts are automatically registered with your shell.

10.2.6 Quick start Spring CLI example

Here’s a really simple web application that you can use to test your installation. Create a file called app.groovy:

_@RestController_
class ThisWillActuallyRun {

    _@RequestMapping("/")_
    String home() {
        "Hello World!"
    }

}

Then simply run it from a shell:

$ spring run app.groovy

	Note
It will take some time when you first run the application as dependencies are downloaded. Subsequent runs will be much quicker.

Open localhost:8080 in your favorite web browser and you should see the following output:

Hello World!

10.2 Installing the Spring Boot CLI