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Add Spring Data JPA

Learn how to integrate Spring Data JPA into a Vaadin application.

Spring Data JPA provides repository abstractions for JPA, reducing boilerplate code for common data access patterns. It builds on Hibernate, the JPA implementation supported by Spring Boot.

This guide explains how to add Spring Data JPA to a Vaadin application based on Spring Boot.

If you are new to JPA, read the Accessing Data with JPA guide before continuing.

Dependencies

Add the Spring Data JPA starter to your pom.xml:

Source code
XML
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
    <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-data-jpa</artifactId>
</dependency>

You also need a JDBC driver for your database. For example, for PostgreSQL:

Source code
XML
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.postgresql</groupId>
    <artifactId>postgresql</artifactId>
    <scope>runtime</scope>
</dependency>

Spring Boot declares driver versions in its parent POM, so you don’t need to specify them.

Static Metamodel Generation

If you intend to use the JPA Criteria API for type-safe queries, enable the Hibernate Static Metamodel Generator. This annotation processor generates _ classes (e.g., Customer_) with static field references.

Add this to your pom.xml:

Source code
XML
<plugin>
    <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
    <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
    <configuration>
        <annotationProcessorPaths>
            <path>
                <groupId>org.hibernate.orm</groupId>
                <artifactId>hibernate-jpamodelgen</artifactId>
                <version>${hibernate.version}</version>
            </path>
        </annotationProcessorPaths>
    </configuration>
</plugin>

The hibernate.version property is inherited from the Spring Boot starter parent.

If you’re using a multi-module project, configure this only in modules containing JPA entities.

Spring Boot Configuration

Spring Boot auto-configures Hibernate and Spring Data JPA when the starter is on the classpath. It uses your application’s data source, which you configure in application.properties:

Source code
properties
spring.datasource.url=jdbc:postgresql://localhost:5432/mydb
spring.datasource.username=myuser
spring.datasource.password=mypassword

The spring.jpa.hibernate.ddl-auto property controls what Hibernate does with the database schema on startup. Spring Boot’s default is create-drop for an embedded database, such as H2, when no schema migration tool is in use. Otherwise, the default is none, which means that Hibernate neither checks nor modifies the schema.

If you’re using Flyway for migrations (recommended), set it to validate. Hibernate then checks on startup that the entities match the database schema, but doesn’t modify it:

Source code
properties
spring.jpa.hibernate.ddl-auto=validate
Caution
Don’t use ddl-auto in production
Avoid create, create-drop, or update in production. Use Flyway to manage schema changes explicitly.

Next Steps

See JPA & Spring Data for guidance on entities, repositories, queries, and integrating with Vaadin applications.

If you need complex queries, bulk operations, or reporting, consider combining Spring Data with jOOQ.