Spring Boot + React + PostgreSQL example: Build a CRUD App

In this tutorial, we will learn how to build a full stack Spring Boot + React.js + PostgreSQL example with a CRUD App. The back-end server uses Spring Boot with Spring Web MVC for REST APIs and Spring Data JPA for interacting with PostgreSQL database. Front-end side is made with React, React Router, Axios & Bootstrap.

Related Posts:
– Spring Boot + React Typescript example
– React + Spring Boot: Pagination example
– Spring Boot + React: Login example with JWT Authentication & Spring Security
– React Upload/Download Files to/from Spring Boot Rest Apis

Other databases:
– Spring Boot, React, MySQL: Build a CRUD Application
– Spring Boot, React & MongoDB example: Build a CRUD Application

Run both projects in one place:
How to integrate React.js with Spring Boot

Spring Boot React PostgreSQL example Overview

We will build a full-stack Tutorial CRUD Application in that:

• Each Tutorial has id, title, description, published status.
• We can create, retrieve, update, delete Tutorials.
• We can also find Tutorials by title.

The images below shows screenshots of our System.

– Create an item:

– Retrieve all items:

– Click on Edit button to retrieve an item:

On this Page, you can:

• change status to Published using Publish button
• remove the Tutorial from Database using Delete button
• update the Tutorial details on Database with Update button

– Search items by title:

Architecture of Spring Boot React CRUD example

This is the application architecture we’re gonna build:

– Spring Boot exports REST Apis using Spring Web MVC & interacts with PostgreSQL Database using Spring JPA.
– React Client sends HTTP Requests and retrieve HTTP Responses using axios, shows data on the components. We also use React Router for navigating to pages.

Video

This is our React + Spring Boot + PostgreSQL CRUD application demo and brief instruction:

Spring Boot Rest Apis Back-end

Overview

These are APIs that Spring Boot App will export:

– We make CRUD operations & finder methods with Spring Data JPA’s JpaRepository.
– The database will be PostgreSQL by configuring project dependency & datasource.

Technology

• Java 17 / 11 / 8
• Spring Boot 3 / 2 (with Spring Web MVC, Spring Data JPA)
• PostgreSQL/MySQL
• Maven

Project Structure

– Tutorial data model class corresponds to entity and table tutorials.
– TutorialRepository is an interface that extends JpaRepository for CRUD methods and custom finder methods. It will be autowired in TutorialController.
– TutorialController is a RestController which has request mapping methods for RESTful requests such as: getAllTutorials, createTutorial, updateTutorial, deleteTutorial, findByPublished…
– Configuration for Spring Datasource, JPA & Hibernate in application.properties.
– pom.xml contains dependencies for Spring Boot and PostgreSQL.

Implementation

Create & Setup Spring Boot project

Use Spring web tool or your development tool (Spring Tool Suite, Eclipse, Intellij) to create a Spring Boot Maven project.

Then open pom.xml and add these dependencies:

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

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

We also need to add one more dependency for PostgreSQL:

<dependency>
	<groupId>org.postgresql</groupId>
	<artifactId>postgresql</artifactId>
	<scope>runtime</scope>
</dependency>

Configure Spring Datasource, JPA, Hibernate

Under src/main/resources folder, open application.properties and write these lines.

spring.datasource.url= jdbc:postgresql://localhost:5432/testdb
spring.datasource.username= postgres
spring.datasource.password= 123

spring.jpa.properties.hibernate.jdbc.lob.non_contextual_creation= true
spring.jpa.properties.hibernate.dialect= org.hibernate.dialect.PostgreSQLDialect

# Hibernate ddl auto (create, create-drop, validate, update)
spring.jpa.hibernate.ddl-auto= update

• spring.datasource.username & spring.datasource.password properties are the same as your database installation.
• Spring Boot uses Hibernate for JPA implementation, we configure PostgreSQLDialect for PostgreSQL
• spring.jpa.hibernate.ddl-auto is used for database initialization. We set the value to update value so that a table will be created in the database automatically corresponding to defined data model. Any change to the model will also trigger an update to the table. For production, this property should be validate.

Define Data Model

Our Data model is Tutorial with four fields: id, title, description, published.
In model package, we define Tutorial class.

model/Tutorial.java

package com.bezkoder.spring.jpa.postgresql.model;

// import javax.persistence.*; // for Spring Boot 2
import jakarta.persistence.*; // for Spring Boot 3

@Entity
@Table(name = "tutorials")
public class Tutorial {

	@Id
	@GeneratedValue(strategy = GenerationType.AUTO)
	private long id;

	@Column(name = "title")
	private String title;

	@Column(name = "description")
	private String description;

	@Column(name = "published")
	private boolean published;
	...
}

– @Entity annotation indicates that the class is a persistent Java class.
– @Table annotation provides the table that maps this entity.
– @Id annotation is for the primary key.
– @GeneratedValue annotation is used to define generation strategy for the primary key. GenerationType.AUTO means Auto Increment field.
– @Column annotation is used to define the column in database that maps annotated field.

Create Repository Interface

Let’s create a repository to interact with Tutorials from the database.
In repository package, create TutorialRepository interface that extends JpaRepository.

repository/TutorialRepository.java

package com.bezkoder.spring.jpa.postgresql.repository;
...

public interface TutorialRepository extends JpaRepository<Tutorial, Long> {
  List<Tutorial> findByPublished(boolean published);

  List<Tutorial> findByTitleContaining(String title);
}

Now we can use JpaRepository’s methods: save(), findOne(), findById(), findAll(), count(), delete(), deleteById()… without implementing these methods.

We also define custom finder methods:
– findByPublished(): returns all Tutorials with published having value as input published.
– findByTitleContaining(): returns all Tutorials which title contains input title.

The implementation is plugged in by Spring Data JPA automatically.

You can modify this Repository:
– to work with Pagination, the instruction can be found at:
Spring Boot Pagination & Filter example | Spring JPA, Pageable
– or to sort/order by multiple fields with the tutorial:
Spring Data JPA Sort/Order by multiple Columns | Spring Boot

You also find way to write Unit Test for this JPA Repository at:
Spring Boot Unit Test for JPA Repositiory with @DataJpaTest

Create Spring Rest APIs Controller

Finally, we create a controller that provides APIs for creating, retrieving, updating, deleting and finding Tutorials.

controller/TutorialController.java

package com.bezkoder.spring.jpa.postgresql.controller;
...

@CrossOrigin(origins = "http://localhost:8081")
@RestController
@RequestMapping("/api")
public class TutorialController {

	@Autowired
	TutorialRepository tutorialRepository;

	@GetMapping("/tutorials")
	public ResponseEntity<List<Tutorial>> getAllTutorials(@RequestParam(required = false) String title) {
		...
	}

	@GetMapping("/tutorials/{id}")
	public ResponseEntity<Tutorial> getTutorialById(@PathVariable("id") long id) {
		...
	}

	@PostMapping("/tutorials")
	public ResponseEntity<Tutorial> createTutorial(@RequestBody Tutorial tutorial) {
		...
	}

	@PutMapping("/tutorials/{id}")
	public ResponseEntity<Tutorial> updateTutorial(@PathVariable("id") long id, @RequestBody Tutorial tutorial) {
		...
	}

	@DeleteMapping("/tutorials/{id}")
	public ResponseEntity<HttpStatus> deleteTutorial(@PathVariable("id") long id) {
		...
	}

	@DeleteMapping("/tutorials")
	public ResponseEntity<HttpStatus> deleteAllTutorials() {
		...
	}

	@GetMapping("/tutorials/published")
	public ResponseEntity<List<Tutorial>> findByPublished() {
		...
	}
}

– @CrossOrigin is for configuring allowed origins.
– @RestController annotation is used to define a controller and to indicate that the return value of the methods should be be bound to the web response body.
– @RequestMapping("/api") declares that all Apis’ url in the controller will start with /api.
– We use @Autowired to inject TutorialRepository bean to local variable.

You can continue with step by step to implement this Spring Boot Server in the post:
Spring Boot, PostgreSQL: Build Rest CRUD Apis example with Maven & Spring JPA

Or Reactive Rest API: Spring Boot R2DBC + PostgreSQL example

Run Spring Boot Server

Run Spring Boot application with command: mvn spring-boot:run.

React.js Front-end

Overview

– The App component is a container with React Router. It has navbar that links to routes paths.

– TutorialsList component gets and displays Tutorials.
– Tutorial component has form for editing Tutorial’s details based on :id.
– AddTutorial component has form for submission new Tutorial.

– These Components call TutorialDataService methods which use axios to make HTTP requests and receive responses.

Or you can use React with Redux:

More details at: React Redux CRUD App example with Rest API

Technology

• React 18/17
• react-router-dom 6
• axios 0.27.2
• bootstrap 4

Project Structure

– package.json contains 4 main modules: react, react-router-dom, axios & bootstrap.
– App is the container that has Router & navbar.
– There are 3 components: TutorialsList, Tutorial, AddTutorial.
– http-common.js initializes axios with HTTP base Url and headers.
– TutorialDataService has methods for sending HTTP requests to the Apis.
– .env configures port for this React CRUD App.

For Typescript version:

Please visit:
React Typescript CRUD example with Web API

Implementation

Setup React.js Project

Open cmd at the folder you want to save Project folder, run command:
npx create-react-app react-crud

After the process is done. We create additional folders and files like the following tree:

---

public

src

components

add-tutorial.component.js

tutorial.component.js

tutorials-list.component.js

services

tutorial.service.js

App.css

App.js

index.js

package.json

---

Import Bootstrap to React CRUD App

Run command: npm install bootstrap.

Open src/App.js and modify the code inside it as following-

import React, { Component } from "react";
import "bootstrap/dist/css/bootstrap.min.css";

class App extends Component {
  render() {
    // ...
  }
}

export default App;

Add React Router to React CRUD App

– Run the command: npm install react-router-dom.
– Open src/index.js and wrap App component by BrowserRouter object.

import React from "react";
import { createRoot } from "react-dom/client";
import { BrowserRouter } from "react-router-dom";

import App from "./App";

const container = document.getElementById("root");
const root = createRoot(container);

root.render(
  <BrowserRouter>
    <App />
  </BrowserRouter>
);

Add Navbar to React CRUD App

Open src/App.js, this App component is the root container for our application, it will contain a navbar, and also, a Routes object with several Route. Each Route points to a React Component.

import React, { Component } from "react";
...

class App extends Component {
  render() {
    return (
      <div>
        <nav className="navbar navbar-expand navbar-dark bg-dark">
          <a href="/tutorials" className="navbar-brand">
            bezKoder
          </a>
          <div className="navbar-nav mr-auto">
            <li className="nav-item">
              <Link to={"/tutorials"} className="nav-link">
                Tutorials
              </Link>
            </li>
            <li className="nav-item">
              <Link to={"/add"} className="nav-link">
                Add
              </Link>
            </li>
          </div>
        </nav>

        <div className="container mt-3">
          <Routes>
            <Route path="/" element={<TutorialsList/>} />
            <Route path="/tutorials" element={<TutorialsList/>} />
            <Route path="/add" element={<AddTutorial/>} />
            <Route path="/tutorials/:id" element={<Tutorial/>} />
          </Routes>
        </div>
      </div>
    );
  }
}

export default App;

Initialize Axios for React CRUD HTTP Client

Let’s install axios with command: npm install axios.
Under src folder, we create http-common.js file with following code:

import axios from "axios";

export default axios.create({
  baseURL: "http://localhost:8080/api",
  headers: {
    "Content-type": "application/json"
  }
});

You can change the baseURL that depends on REST APIs url that your Server configures.

Create Data Service

In this step, we’re gonna create a service that uses axios object above to send HTTP requests.

services/tutorial.service.js

import http from "../http-common";

class TutorialDataService {
  getAll() {
    return http.get("/tutorials");
  }

  get(id) {
    return http.get(`/tutorials/${id}`);
  }

  create(data) {
    return http.post("/tutorials", data);
  }

  update(id, data) {
    return http.put(`/tutorials/${id}`, data);
  }

  delete(id) {
    return http.delete(`/tutorials/${id}`);
  }

  deleteAll() {
    return http.delete(`/tutorials`);
  }

  findByTitle(title) {
    return http.get(`/tutorials?title=${title}`);
  }
}

export default new TutorialDataService();

We call axios get, post, put, delete method corresponding to HTTP Requests: GET, POST, PUT, DELETE to make CRUD Operations.

Create React Components

Now we’re gonna build 3 components corresponding to 3 Routes defined before:

• Add Tutorial
• Tutorial Details
• List of Tutorials

You can continue with step by step to implement this React App in the post:
– React.js CRUD example to consume Web API
– or React Hooks CRUD example to consume Web API

Using React with Redux:
– React Redux CRUD example with Rest API
– React Hooks + Redux: CRUD example with Rest API

For Typescript version:
React Typescript CRUD example to consume Web API

Run React CRUD App

You can run our App with command: npm start.
If the process is successful, open Browser with Url: http://localhost:8081/ and check it.

Source Code

You can find Github source code for this tutorial at: Spring Boot and React Project Github

Conclusion

Now we have an overview of Spring Boot React CRUD example when building a CRUD App that interact with PostgreSQL database.

We also take a look at client-server architecture for REST API using Spring Web MVC & Spring Data JPA, as well as React project structure for building a front-end app to make HTTP requests and consume responses.

Next tutorials show you more details about how to implement the system (including source code):
– Back-end / Back-end with Reactive Rest API
– Front-end:

• Using React Components
• Using React Typescript Components
• Using React Redux
• Using React Hooks
• Using React Hooks + Redux
• Using React with Material UI

With Pagination:
React + Spring Boot: Pagination example

Using Typescript:
Spring Boot + React Typescript example

You will want to know how to run both projects in one place:
How to integrate React.js with Spring Boot

Happy learning, see you again!