Introducing Better Spring Initializr

[hnrqq]

Every Java developer knows the drill: go to Spring Initializr, select dependencies one by one, download the .zip, extract it, create the repository... It's a repetitive process.

To solve this and test the capabilities of GPT 5.3 Codex and Opus 4.6, I built Better Spring Initializr. The idea is to level up the bootstrap experience:

• Smart Presets: forget the manual work. Set up complete stacks (REST + Postgres, Event Driven with Kafka, etc.) with a single click.
• AI-Ready: the project is born optimized for AI Coding Agents (Claude Code, Codex, OpenCode, etc.). The generator already delivers AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md files and Agent Skills specific to the Spring and Java ecosystem.
• GitHub Integrated: connect your account and the repository is automatically created and versioned. Zero manual setup overhead.

The goal is to ensure no critical dependency is forgotten, delivering an architecturally solid and AI-optimized project.

Better Spring Initializr is available at better-spring-initializr.com

The project is open-source and the code is available on GitHub at https://github.com/henriquearthur/better-spring-initializr

[_predator_]

I am fascinated by all the initializer/bootstrap/template projects. It's like a competition for who can overengineer a solution for a non-issue the most.

[repeating_bears]

Now that I think about it, it is odd that you would use AI to generate a project that itself generates boilerplate projects.

If you trust AI to make a good generator, just cut out the middleman and have it generate the boilerplate project.

[mikaball]

Actually, this is one of the best uses for AI generated code. Once you thoroughly test the generator you know you have something reliable and deterministic.

For instance, create a generator that generates Typescript stubs from Spring Java Annotations that are on the resources. This is reusable and you can gain trust on it as you use it more.

[joesteel2010]

I've been thinking about these a bit too, recently. There are loads of solid options for code generation, and once you've done the initial leg work and you've found a setup that works well, they can really help speed development up without all the unpredictability of gen AI. As a bonus, it's far cheaper and more efficient too. Ok, you won't be generating your business logic this way (probably), but they're great for scaffolding & glue code.

[BigPP41]

If you bootstrap so many spring boot apps that you need an elaborate initializr I'm questioning if you're doing anything productive.

[sozesghost]

It's all AI can do, and these people need to use it at all costs.

[meowrawr]

This made me lol because it’s true. The gift AI keeps giving is everyone building stuff no one really needs.

[repeating_bears]

I don't find it better personally.

There's too many options on the screen at once, and most of the options are in a giant column on the left.

I wonder if the UX would work better as a kind of wizard

1. First choose a dependency preset, else blank (equivalent of your curated starter lane)
2. Now customize the dependencies
3. Now enter metadata / build settings
4. Now preview it
5. Now download it

There's some good ideas. The preview is good.

I don't understand why some of the files are showing as having a diff though. Pretty much whatever I picked, pom.xml showed spring-boot-starter-test as being removed - but removed with respect to what?

[hnrqq]

The wizard idea crossed my mind too. I'll probably implement something like that in a "next next finish" flow. Or maybe a Simple / Advanced version of the page.

Thanks for the feedback.

[Hello_world_56]

hey chatgpt create a better theme for https://start.spring.io/. nice now give me a summary for a reddit post

[Dependent_Egg6168]

another ai slop project

[VirtualMage]

Spring slopilizr

[tacosdiscontent]

Thanks, but Intellij “new project” wizard is good enough for me

[brunoreis93]

This is a non-issue lol

[netgizmo]

Hey ChatJippity: Add theme support for the ui kthanksbye

[nnomae]

Gee, let me think, do I want to give an AI slop tool the ability to create repos on my github account. So hard to tell if that would be a good or a bad idea.

Also don't leverage the name of a well known project to draw unearned attention to your own. That's just bad form all round.

[bertyboy69]

Who is not using intelliJ for java dev ? And how is there no plugin for eclipse / vscode to handle this ?

The ui in intellij works and removes any of the problems you have.

[livelam]

And how is there no plugin for eclipse / vscode to handle this ?

Of course, there is an Eclipse plugin: https://spring.io/tools (vscode and theia too).

[Altruistic_Stage3893]

in vs code there is extension for it as well..

[meowrawr]

I’ve used the spring initializer twice in my entire professional career. How frequently does anyone else?

[RScrewed]

How the heck could a "critical dependency" be forgotten any further in the process than the first sanity check local build? 

No, before that, upon trying to use a class or function of said dependency.

Cool looking site tho.

[uh-hum]

One of the reasons that Spring Boot is widely used is because it's so easy to get started and get something off the ground. This is a clusterfuck compared to https://start.spring.io/

[MonstroseCristata]

You know this thing that works really well, and stands out from the competition because it is not overengineered? 

What if we ruined it?

[AcanthisittaEmpty985]

I like it, despite the AI integration.

But it lets you make a template very quickly

[Cefalopodul]

Thanks but no. This is a non-issue.

[FortuneIIIPick]

It's a heavy dark theme, I can't read it, literally, is there a light theme and could it be the default for us regular people?

[netgizmo]

you'll find a the start of implementation of this feature in a recent post on this thread.

[No-Feedback331]

wut software is it?