How to use Spring Boot profiles for different environments?

Question

I need to configure different database settings for dev, test, and production environments in my Spring Boot application.

What's the best way to use profiles? Should I use separate YAML files or profiles within one file?

Also, how do I set the active profile when running the application?

java_master · Accepted Answer

Spring Boot profiles are perfect for environment-specific configurations. Here's the recommended approach:

**Option 1: Separate files (Recommended)**
```
application.yml         (common config)
application-dev.yml     (development)
application-prod.yml    (production)
application-test.yml    (test)
```

**application.yml:**
```yaml
spring:
  profiles:
    active: dev  # default profile

---
spring:
  config:
    activate:
      on-profile: dev
  datasource:
    url: jdbc:mysql://localhost:3306/devdb
    username: devuser
    password: devpass

---
spring:
  config:
    activate:
      on-profile: prod
  datasource:
    url: jdbc:mysql://prod-server:3306/proddb
    username: ${DB_USER}
    password: ${DB_PASS}
```

**Activating profiles:**

1. **application.properties:**
```properties
spring.profiles.active=prod
```

2. **Command line:**
```bash
java -jar app.jar --spring.profiles.active=prod
```

3. **Environment variable:**
```bash
export SPRING_PROFILES_ACTIVE=prod
```

4. **In code (for testing):**
```java
@SpringBootTest
@TestPropertySource(properties = "spring.profiles.active=test")
class MyTest { }
```

**Best Practice:** Use environment variables for sensitive data in production, never commit secrets to git!

1 Answer