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How to install spring boot, deploy spring boot, and host spring boot application on Ubuntu 22.04 VPS

This guide will show you step by step how to install spring boot, deploy spring boot applications, and reliably host spring boot application on an Ubuntu 22.04 VPS.

1. Prerequisites

Make sure you have:

• An Ubuntu 22.04 VPS with SSH access.
• Your domain pointing to the VPS (A record → IP).
• A user with sudo privileges, e.g., administrator.

2. Connect to Your VPS

Open your terminal and log in via SSH:

ssh administrator@your_vps_ip

• Replace your_vps_ip with your server IP.
• To switch to root if needed for installation:

sudo -i

Tip: Run Spring Boot as a normal user in production; root is only for installation steps.

3. Update the System

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade -y

4. Install Java

To install spring boot, Java 17 or higher is required:

sudo apt install openjdk-17-jdk -y
java -version

• Confirm it shows openjdk version "17.x.x".

5. Upload or Build Your Spring Boot Application

You can either:

Option A – Upload a pre-built JAR:

scp target/your-app.jar administrator@your_vps_ip:/home/administrator/

Option B – Build on VPS:

sudo apt install git -y
git clone https://github.com/your-repo.git
cd your-repo
./mvnw clean package   # Maven project
# or
./gradlew clean build  # Gradle project

• The JAR will appear in target/ (Maven) or build/libs/ (Gradle).

This step is necessary to deploy spring boot to your VPS.

6. Run and Host the Spring Boot Application

Test run your app:

java -jar your-app.jar

• Default port: 8080
• Visit http://your_vps_ip:8080 to confirm the app works.

For persistent hosting:

nohup java -jar your-app.jar > app.log 2>&1 &

• Logs will go to app.log.
• Check running process:

ps aux | grep java

This ensures your VPS can host spring boot application continuously.

7. Configure systemd for Production

Create a systemd service:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/springboot-app.service

Example:

[Unit]
Description=Spring Boot Application
After=network.target

[Service]
User=administrator
WorkingDirectory=/home/administrator
ExecStart=/usr/bin/java -jar /home/administrator/your-app.jar
SuccessExitStatus=143
Restart=always
RestartSec=10

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Start and enable the service:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable springboot-app
sudo systemctl start springboot-app
sudo systemctl status springboot-app

• Now your VPS is ready to host spring boot application automatically after reboot.

8. Optional: Configure Nginx as a Reverse Proxy

sudo apt install nginx -y
sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/springboot

Example configuration:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name yourdomain.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8080;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
    }
}

Enable and restart Nginx:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/springboot /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl restart nginx

9. Recommended VPS Specs

• RAM: ≥4 GB (for multithreaded Spring Boot apps)
• CPU: ≥2 cores (increase for high concurrency)
• Disk: ≥20–30 GB (for JAR and logs)
• Ports: 22 (SSH), 80/443 (HTTP/HTTPS)