Spring Boot with MongoDB Using Docker Compose: A Step-by-Step Tutorial

Docker Compose is a powerful tool that allows you to define and run multi-container Docker applications. In this tutorial, we will set up a Spring Boot application that interacts with MongoDB using Docker Compose. This will enable us to run MongoDB and our Spring Boot application in separate containers.

Prerequisites

• JDK 17 or later
• Maven
• Docker and Docker Compose installed on your machine
• IDE (IntelliJ IDEA, Eclipse, etc.)

Step 1: Set Up a Spring Boot Project

Use Spring Initializr to create a new project with the following configuration:

• Project: Maven Project
• Language: Java
• Spring Boot: 3.2.x
• Dependencies: Spring Web, Spring Data MongoDB

Download and unzip the project, then open it in your IDE.

Example Spring Boot Application

Create a simple Spring Boot application that interacts with MongoDB.

1.1 Application Class

package com.example.demo;

import org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication;
import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.SpringBootApplication;

@SpringBootApplication
public class DemoApplication {

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

1.2 Entity Class

Create a Student entity in the com.example.demo.entity package.

package com.example.demo.entity;

import org.springframework.data.annotation.Id;
import org.springframework.data.mongodb.core.mapping.Document;

@Document(collection = "students")
public class Student {

    @Id
    private String id;
    private String name;
    private String email;

    // Getters and setters
    public String getId() {
        return id;
    }

    public void setId(String id) {
        this.id = id;
    }

    public String getName() {
        return name;
    }

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

    public String getEmail() {
        return email;
    }

    public void setEmail(String email) {
        this.email = email;
    }
}

1.3 Repository Interface

Create a StudentRepository interface in the com.example.demo.repository package.

package com.example.demo.repository;

import com.example.demo.entity.Student;
import org.springframework.data.mongodb.repository.MongoRepository;
import org.springframework.stereotype.Repository;

@Repository
public interface StudentRepository extends MongoRepository<Student, String> {
}

1.4 Service Class

Create a StudentService class in the com.example.demo.service package.

package com.example.demo.service;

import com.example.demo.entity.Student;
import com.example.demo.repository.StudentRepository;
import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Autowired;
import org.springframework.stereotype.Service;

import java.util.List;

@Service
public class StudentService {

    @Autowired
    private StudentRepository studentRepository;

    public List<Student> getAllStudents() {
        return studentRepository.findAll();
    }

    public Student saveStudent(Student student) {
        return studentRepository.save(student);
    }
}

1.5 REST Controller

Create a StudentController class in the com.example.demo.controller package.

package com.example.demo.controller;

import com.example.demo.entity.Student;
import com.example.demo.service.StudentService;
import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Autowired;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.GetMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.PostMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RequestBody;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RestController;

import java.util.List;

@RestController
public class StudentController {

    @Autowired
    private StudentService studentService;

    @GetMapping("/students")
    public List<Student> getAllStudents() {
        return studentService.getAllStudents();
    }

    @PostMapping("/students")
    public Student saveStudent(@RequestBody Student student) {
        return studentService.saveStudent(student);
    }
}

1.6 application.properties Configuration

Configure your application to use MongoDB. In the src/main/resources directory, create or update the application.properties file.

# src/main/resources/application.properties

spring.data.mongodb.host=localhost
spring.data.mongodb.port=27017
spring.data.mongodb.database=testdb

Step 2: Create Docker Compose Configuration

Docker Compose allows you to define and run multi-container Docker applications. You will create a docker-compose.yml file to define the services for your Spring Boot application and MongoDB database.

2.1 Create docker-compose.yml

Create a docker-compose.yml file in the root directory of your project.

version: '3.8'

services:
  mongodb:
    image: mongo:latest
    ports:
      - "27017:27017"
    volumes:
      - mongo_data:/data/db

  app:
    image: demo-app
    build:
      context: .
      dockerfile: Dockerfile
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"
    environment:
      SPRING_DATA_MONGODB_HOST: mongodb
      SPRING_DATA_MONGODB_PORT: 27017
      SPRING_DATA_MONGODB_DATABASE: testdb
    depends_on:
      - mongodb

volumes:
  mongo_data:

Explanation:

• mongodb: Defines the MongoDB service.
  • image: Specifies the Docker image to use.
  • ports: Maps the container port to the host port.
  • volumes: Persists the MongoDB data.
• app: Defines the Spring Boot application service.
  • depends_on: Ensures the MongoDB service is started before the Spring Boot application.
  • environment: Sets the MongoDB host, port, and database for the Spring Boot application.

2.2 Create a Dockerfile

Create a Dockerfile in the root directory of your project.

# Use the official OpenJDK base image
FROM openjdk:17-jdk-alpine

# Set the working directory inside the container
WORKDIR /app

# Copy the built jar file into the container
COPY target/demo-0.0.1-SNAPSHOT.jar app.jar

# Expose port 8080
EXPOSE 8080

# Run the application
ENTRYPOINT ["java", "-jar", "app.jar"]

Step 3: Build and Run the Application

3.1 Build the Jar File

Run the following command to build the jar file of your Spring Boot application:

./mvnw clean package

3.2 Build and Run Docker Compose

Run the following command to build and start the Docker Compose services:

docker-compose up --build

3.3 Verify the Application

Open a web browser or a tool like Postman and navigate to the following URL to test the endpoints:

1. Retrieve all students:

   • URL: http://localhost:8080/students
   • Method: GET

2. Create a new student:

   • URL: http://localhost:8080/students
   • Method: POST
   • Body:

     {
       "name": "Ramesh Fadatare",
       "email": "ramesh.fadatare@example.com"
     }
     

Conclusion

In this tutorial, you have learned how to set up and run a Spring Boot application with MongoDB using Docker Compose. We covered:

• Setting up a Spring Boot project with MongoDB.
• Creating a Dockerfile for the Spring Boot application.
• Creating a docker-compose.yml file to define the services.
• Building and running the application using Docker Compose.

By following these steps, you can easily manage and deploy your Spring Boot application and its dependencies using Docker Compose, enabling seamless interaction with MongoDB.