Backend Development Setup

Prerequisites

• Java 21
• Docker and Docker Compose
• Gradle wrapper included in the project
• IDE: IntelliJ IDEA recommended

Setup

Clone the repository and navigate to the backend directory:

cd sprintstart-backend

Environment Files

The backend uses two different local environment files:

.env            -> used by Docker Compose
run.local.env   -> used when running the backend locally

The real environment files must not be committed!!!

Docker Compose Environment

Create a local .env file based on .env.example:

cp .env.example .env

Example .env:

POSTGRES_DB=sprintstart
POSTGRES_USER=sprintstart
POSTGRES_PASSWORD=change-me

Docker Compose reads .env automatically when running commands.

Local Backend Environment

Create a local run.local.env file based on run.local.env.example:

cp run.local.env.example run.local.env

This file is used when running the backend locally

The application uses these variables in application.yml:

Run Database in Docker and Backend Locally

Use this option during normal development when running the Spring Boot backend separately from the database.

Start only the database:

docker compose up -d database

Stop the database

docker compose down -v database

The local backend should use these values from run.local.env:

Run the backend locally:

./gradlew bootRun

Run Database and Backend in Docker

Use this option to run the complete backend setup inside Docker Compose.

Start database and backend:

docker compose up -d

Remove -d if you want to have the outputs of docker in the terminal you are using

To stop the database and backend:

docker compose down -v

Warning: docker compose down -v deletes the local PostgreSQL data. Remove -v if you don't want the database volume to persist

Useful Commands

Show running containers:

docker ps

Show logs:

docker compose logs -f

Show backend logs only:

docker compose logs -f backend

Show database logs only:

docker compose logs -f database

Remove the -f to only get the outputs once and immediately close the terminal to the compose again.

Build Manually

Build the backend:

./gradlew build

Build the bootable Spring Boot JAR:

./gradlew bootJar

Run the JAR:

java -jar build/libs/*.jar

Build the Docker image manually:

docker build -t sprintstart-backend .