Spring Boot 4.x Project Verification

Analyzes Spring Boot projects for dependency compatibility, configuration correctness, and migration readiness.

Verification Workflow

1. Detect Build System → Find pom.xml or build.gradle, extract Spring Boot version
2. Analyze Dependencies → Check versions, find deprecated libraries, validate compatibility
3. Validate Configuration → Check application.yml/properties, security config, actuator settings
4. Generate Report → Structured markdown with severity levels and remediation code
5. Lookup Docs → Use Exa MCP to fetch latest Spring Boot 4.x documentation when needed

Dependency Quick Reference

com.fasterxml

tools.jackson

javax.*

jakarta.*

@MockBean

@MockitoBean

spring-boot-starter-web

spring-boot-starter-webmvc

spring.threads.virtual.enabled=true

Configuration Quick Reference

and()

antMatchers()

requestMatchers()

authorizeRequests()

authorizeHttpRequests()

Jakarta Namespace Migration

Critical for Spring Boot 3+: All

javax.*

jakarta.*

javax.persistence.*

jakarta.persistence.*

javax.servlet.*

jakarta.servlet.*

javax.validation.*

jakarta.validation.*

javax.inject.*

jakarta.inject.*

javax.annotation.*

jakarta.annotation.*

Use Grep to find:

import\s+javax\.

Spring Boot 4 New Features

spring.threads.virtual.enabled=true

@NullMarked

JSpecify Annotations

Spring Framework 7 uses JSpecify for null-safety:

@NullMarked  // Package or class level - all parameters/returns non-null by default
package com.example.myapp;

import org.jspecify.annotations.Nullable;

public class UserService {
    // @Nullable for parameters/returns that can be null
    public @Nullable User findById(Long id) { ... }
}

Tools to Use

1. Glob → Find

   **/pom.xml

   ,

   **/build.gradle*

   ,

   **/application.{yml,properties}

2. Grep → Search for deprecated patterns (

   @MockBean

   ,

   com.fasterxml

   ,

   .and()

   ,

   import javax.

   )
3. Read → Inspect build files and configuration
4. Exa MCP → Fetch latest Spring Boot 4.x docs:

   mcp__exa__web_search_exa

Output Format

Generate verification reports with this structure:

## Spring Boot 4.x Verification Report

### Summary
- **Project**: {name}
- **Boot Version**: {detected version}
- **Issues Found**: {n} Critical, {n} Errors, {n} Warnings

### Critical Issues / Errors / Warnings
[Issue details with code remediation]

Detailed References

• Workflow: See WORKFLOW.md for step-by-step verification process
• Migration Guide: See MIGRATION_GUIDE.md for step-by-step migration from Boot 3.x to 4.0 (also referenced from WORKFLOW.md)
• Examples: See EXAMPLES.md for sample verification outputs
• Troubleshooting: See TROUBLESHOOTING.md for detection issues
• Dependencies: See references/DEPENDENCIES.md for complete version matrix
• Configuration: See references/CONFIGURATION.md for validation rules

Critical Reminders

1. Check Spring Boot version first — Many issues are version-specific
2. Jakarta namespace migration —

   javax.*

   to

   jakarta.*

   (required for Boot 3+)
3. Jackson 3 namespace change —

   com.fasterxml.jackson

   to

   tools.jackson

4. Security 7 Lambda DSL —

   and()

   method removed, closures required
5. Testing annotations changed —

   @MockBean

   to

   @MockitoBean

6. Virtual Threads — Enable with

   spring.threads.virtual.enabled=true

   for Java 21+
7. Gradle 8.14+ — Required for Kotlin 2.2 and Spring Boot 4 support
8. Use official docs — https://docs.spring.io/spring-boot/documentation.html

Related Skills

• spring-boot-security

  — Deep security configuration verification

• spring-boot-testing

  — Testing patterns and coverage analysis

• spring-boot-observability

  — Actuator, metrics, and tracing setup

• spring-boot-modulith

  — Module structure verification

• domain-driven-design

  — DDD architecture patterns