Spring Boot Verification Loop

Run before PRs, after major changes, and pre-deploy.

When to Activate

• Before opening a pull request for a Spring Boot service
• After major refactoring or dependency upgrades
• Pre-deployment verification for staging or production
• Running full build → lint → test → security scan pipeline
• Validating test coverage meets thresholds

Phase 1: Build

bash
1mvn -T 4 clean verify -DskipTests
2# or
3./gradlew clean assemble -x test

If build fails, stop and fix.

Phase 2: Static Analysis

Maven (common plugins):

bash
1mvn -T 4 spotbugs:check pmd:check checkstyle:check

Gradle (if configured):

bash
1./gradlew checkstyleMain pmdMain spotbugsMain

Phase 3: Tests + Coverage

bash
1mvn -T 4 test
2mvn jacoco:report   # verify 80%+ coverage
3# or
4./gradlew test jacocoTestReport

Report:

• Total tests, passed/failed
• Coverage % (lines/branches)

Unit Tests

Test service logic in isolation with mocked dependencies:

java
1@ExtendWith(MockitoExtension.class)
2class UserServiceTest {
3
4  @Mock private UserRepository userRepository;
5  @InjectMocks private UserService userService;
6
7  @Test
8  void createUser_validInput_returnsUser() {
9    var dto = new CreateUserDto("Alice", "alice@example.com");
10    var expected = new User(1L, "Alice", "alice@example.com");
11    when(userRepository.save(any(User.class))).thenReturn(expected);
12
13    var result = userService.create(dto);
14
15    assertThat(result.name()).isEqualTo("Alice");
16    verify(userRepository).save(any(User.class));
17  }
18
19  @Test
20  void createUser_duplicateEmail_throwsException() {
21    var dto = new CreateUserDto("Alice", "existing@example.com");
22    when(userRepository.existsByEmail(dto.email())).thenReturn(true);
23
24    assertThatThrownBy(() -> userService.create(dto))
25        .isInstanceOf(DuplicateEmailException.class);
26  }
27}

Integration Tests with Testcontainers

Test against a real database instead of H2:

java
1@SpringBootTest
2@Testcontainers
3class UserRepositoryIntegrationTest {
4
5  @Container
6  static PostgreSQLContainer<?> postgres = new PostgreSQLContainer<>("postgres:16-alpine")
7      .withDatabaseName("testdb");
8
9  @DynamicPropertySource
10  static void configureProperties(DynamicPropertyRegistry registry) {
11    registry.add("spring.datasource.url", postgres::getJdbcUrl);
12    registry.add("spring.datasource.username", postgres::getUsername);
13    registry.add("spring.datasource.password", postgres::getPassword);
14  }
15
16  @Autowired private UserRepository userRepository;
17
18  @Test
19  void findByEmail_existingUser_returnsUser() {
20    userRepository.save(new User("Alice", "alice@example.com"));
21
22    var found = userRepository.findByEmail("alice@example.com");
23
24    assertThat(found).isPresent();
25    assertThat(found.get().getName()).isEqualTo("Alice");
26  }
27}

API Tests with MockMvc

Test controller layer with full Spring context:

java
1@WebMvcTest(UserController.class)
2class UserControllerTest {
3
4  @Autowired private MockMvc mockMvc;
5  @MockBean private UserService userService;
6
7  @Test
8  void createUser_validInput_returns201() throws Exception {
9    var user = new UserDto(1L, "Alice", "alice@example.com");
10    when(userService.create(any())).thenReturn(user);
11
12    mockMvc.perform(post("/api/users")
13            .contentType(MediaType.APPLICATION_JSON)
14            .content("""
15                {"name": "Alice", "email": "alice@example.com"}
16                """))
17        .andExpect(status().isCreated())
18        .andExpect(jsonPath("$.name").value("Alice"));
19  }
20
21  @Test
22  void createUser_invalidEmail_returns400() throws Exception {
23    mockMvc.perform(post("/api/users")
24            .contentType(MediaType.APPLICATION_JSON)
25            .content("""
26                {"name": "Alice", "email": "not-an-email"}
27                """))
28        .andExpect(status().isBadRequest());
29  }
30}

Phase 4: Security Scan

bash
1# Dependency CVEs
2mvn org.owasp:dependency-check-maven:check
3# or
4./gradlew dependencyCheckAnalyze
5
6# Secrets in source
7grep -rn "password\s*=\s*\"" src/ --include="*.java" --include="*.yml" --include="*.properties"
8grep -rn "sk-\|api_key\|secret" src/ --include="*.java" --include="*.yml"
9
10# Secrets (git history)
11git secrets --scan  # if configured

Common Security Findings

# Check for System.out.println (use logger instead)
grep -rn "System\.out\.print" src/main/ --include="*.java"

# Check for raw exception messages in responses
grep -rn "e\.getMessage()" src/main/ --include="*.java"

# Check for wildcard CORS
grep -rn "allowedOrigins.*\*" src/main/ --include="*.java"

Phase 5: Lint/Format (optional gate)

bash
1mvn spotless:apply   # if using Spotless plugin
2./gradlew spotlessApply

Phase 6: Diff Review

bash
1git diff --stat
2git diff

Checklist:

• No debugging logs left (System.out, log.debug without guards)
• Meaningful errors and HTTP statuses
• Transactions and validation present where needed
• Config changes documented

Output Template

VERIFICATION REPORT
===================
Build:     [PASS/FAIL]
Static:    [PASS/FAIL] (spotbugs/pmd/checkstyle)
Tests:     [PASS/FAIL] (X/Y passed, Z% coverage)
Security:  [PASS/FAIL] (CVE findings: N)
Diff:      [X files changed]

Overall:   [READY / NOT READY]

Issues to Fix:
1. ...
2. ...

Continuous Mode

• Re-run phases on significant changes or every 30–60 minutes in long sessions
• Keep a short loop: mvn -T 4 test + spotbugs for quick feedback

Remember: Fast feedback beats late surprises. Keep the gate strict—treat warnings as defects in production systems.