Spring Boot Admin gives you one dashboard for viewing Actuator information from multiple Spring Boot applications. Build the server as a Spring Boot web application, enable it with @EnableAdminServer, then register applications either with the Spring Boot Admin client or through an existing Spring Cloud Discovery registry.
The 2019 tutorial behind this topic used Spring Boot Admin 2.1.0, Spring Boot 2.0.7.RELEASE, and port 9090. Treat those versions as historical examples, not current defaults; check the project’s compatibility guidance before selecting versions for a new deployment.
What Spring Boot Admin does
Spring Boot Actuator exposes operational endpoints for an individual application. As the number of services grows, visiting each application separately becomes cumbersome. Spring Boot Admin collects Actuator information in a central UI so operators can inspect registered applications from one place. The project describes it as a tool for visualizing information provided by Spring Boot Actuators in an accessible way: Spring Boot Admin project.
The Admin Server is a separate application; it does not replace Actuator in the services being monitored. Each monitored service must expose suitable Actuator endpoints and be reachable by the server.
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Create and enable the Admin Server
Create a Spring Boot application with a web starter and the Spring Boot Admin server starter. The original tutorial used Spring Initializr and added server, Web, and Actuator modules, but for the server itself the essential pieces are the Admin Server dependency and a web runtime. Choose the servlet or WebFlux stack to suit the application; the official quick start notes that the server can run with either: Spring Boot Admin quick start and documentation.
Add the server dependencies
Add de.codecentric:spring-boot-admin-starter-server to the build, together with the appropriate Spring Boot web starter. Pin versions that are compatible with your Spring Boot generation rather than copying the 2019 tutorial’s dependency versions unchanged. The project publishes compatibility guidance for server and client versions: Spring Boot Admin repository and compatibility information.
Enable the server
Annotate the application class with @EnableAdminServer:
@SpringBootApplication
@EnableAdminServer
public class SpringBootAdminApplication {
public static void main(String[] args) {
SpringApplication.run(SpringBootAdminApplication.class, args);
}
}Set a recognizable application name and, if desired, a dedicated port in src/main/resources/application.properties:
spring.application.name=admin-server
server.port=9090Port 9090 is the sample port in the January 2019 tutorial, not a required Spring Boot Admin port. If you use it, the UI is served from the Admin Server’s base URL, such as http://localhost:9090 in a local development setup.
Register applications with the server
There are two common registration patterns. Use direct client registration for a small or static group of services; use Spring Cloud Discovery when the environment already maintains a service registry or dynamic inventory.
| Approach | Operational overhead | Best fit | Registry required | Key configuration concern |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Admin Client | Configure the client dependency and Admin Server URL in each monitored application. | Small or relatively static deployments. | No. | Each client must be able to reach the server, and the server must be able to reach the client’s Actuator endpoints. |
| Spring Cloud Discovery | Connect the Admin Server to the discovery system already used by the services. | Dynamic fleets and deployments already using discovery. | Yes. Supported DiscoveryClient implementations include Eureka, Zookeeper, Consul, and Kubernetes. | Discovery records must provide correct management endpoint information; security and registry setup must also be coordinated. |
Option 1: Register each application with the Admin Client
Add the Spring Boot Admin client starter to each application you want to monitor. Configure its URL to point to the Admin Server; for example:
spring.boot.admin.client.url=http://localhost:9090This is a direct registration model: each client contacts the server. Use the actual server address reachable from the client environment, not necessarily localhost. Ensure Actuator is enabled and that the server can access the client’s management endpoints. The relevant client configuration options are documented in the Spring Boot Admin documentation.
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If your environment already uses Spring Cloud Discovery, configure the Admin Server to use the corresponding DiscoveryClient implementation. Current Spring Boot Admin documentation lists Eureka, Zookeeper, Consul, and Kubernetes among supported integrations. This avoids configuring a separate Admin Client URL in every service, but it depends on a correctly operating registry and accurate endpoint metadata.
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Spring Cloud’s SimpleDiscoveryClient can also define static instances in configuration. Include management-context metadata when required so the Admin Server knows where an application’s management endpoints live. For an Actuator base path of /actuator, the discovered management URL must resolve to that path rather than merely to the application’s ordinary service URL. Consult the server discovery documentation for the configuration supported by the chosen discovery implementation.
Make production URLs and discovery metadata correct
Reverse proxies
When the dashboard is served behind a reverse proxy, configure spring.boot.admin.ui.public-url to the externally accessible UI address. If the proxy terminates HTTPS, server.forward-headers-strategy=native may also be needed so generated links respect forwarded request information. Follow the current deployment guidance in the Spring Boot Admin documentation and verify the actual external scheme and host in the dashboard.
Management endpoint addresses
Discovery registration is only useful when the Admin Server can reach the management endpoints. Check that the registry’s instance data includes the management context path and, where relevant, a distinct management address or port. A service may appear in discovery yet remain unusable in the dashboard if its Actuator URL is missing, incorrect, or inaccessible from the server.
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For Cloud Foundry deployments, the Admin Server documentation calls out the need for vcap.application.application_id and vcap.application.instance_index metadata for proper registration. Check that these values are available to the registration configuration in that environment.
Secure the dashboard and Actuator endpoints
A dashboard that can read Actuator data exposes operational information. Do not publish the Admin Server or management endpoints openly simply because a quick-start example omits security for brevity. Configure authentication and authorization for the dashboard, restrict network access where appropriate, and secure the Actuator endpoints on each client. Confirm that credentials and access rules permit the server to retrieve only the information and endpoints intended for monitoring. The official quick start and security documentation should be used alongside your Spring Security and Actuator configuration.
Do not confuse the dashboard with Spring Boot’s admin MXBean
The property spring.application.admin.enabled enables a separate Spring Boot feature that exposes SpringApplicationAdminMXBean. It does not install or enable the Spring Boot Admin dashboard. Spring Boot documents this property under its application administration features: Spring Boot application features.
Version note for the original tutorial
The January 15, 2019 tutorial used Spring Boot Admin 2.1.0 and Spring Boot 2.0.7.RELEASE. Those exact dependency versions describe that historical example only; they should not be assumed compatible with a current Spring Boot release. Select and pin a server version, then check the project’s published compatibility information before using the same generation for clients. Supported server and client generations may differ, so validate the combination rather than assuming all versions must match.
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