Getting Started with Spring Boot WebClient

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Getting Started with Spring Boot WebClient

Introduction

Spring WebClient is a non-blocking, reactive web client introduced in Spring WebFlux. It is designed to perform HTTP requests and consume RESTful services efficiently. In this tutorial, we’ll explore the basics of using WebClient in a Spring Boot application with practical examples.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have the following:

  • Java installed (version 8 or higher)
  • Maven or Gradle installed
  • Your favorite Integrated Development Environment (IDE)

Step 1: Create a Spring Boot Project

You can create a Spring Boot project using Spring Initializr or your preferred method. Include the “Spring Web” dependency in your project.

Using Spring Initializr

Visit Spring Initializr and generate a project with the following settings:

  • Project: Gradle or Maven
  • Language: Java
  • Spring Boot: 2.x
  • Dependencies: Add “Spring Web”

Download the generated project and import it into your IDE.

Step 2: Add WebClient Dependency

If you haven’t added the WebClient dependency in your project, include it in your build.gradle (for Gradle) or pom.xml (for Maven).

Gradle

dependencies {
    implementation 'org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-webflux'
}

Maven

<dependencies>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
        <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-webflux</artifactId>
    </dependency>
</dependencies>

Step 3: Create a WebClient Bean

In your main application class or a configuration class, create a WebClient bean.

This bean allows you to inject WebClient instances into your components.

Step 4: Using WebClient for GET Request

Now, let’s create a simple example to perform a GET request using WebClient.

In this example, we inject the WebClient.Builder and create a WebClient instance with a base URL. The fetchData method sends a GET request to “/data” and retrieves the response body as a Mono<String>.

Step 5: Run the Application

Now, you can run your Spring Boot application and test the WebClient functionality. You can create a REST controller to expose the API service or call the service from the main method for simplicity.

Conclusion

WebClient is a powerful tool for reactive communication with external services, and you can explore more features and capabilities as your project grows.

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