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
• After adding a new dependency to confirm no OWASP CVEs were introduced
• Reviewing a diff for leftover debug logging, unchecked exceptions, or misconfigured CORS before merge

Phase 1: Build

mvn -T 4 clean verify -DskipTests
# or
./gradlew clean assemble -x test

If build fails, stop and fix.

Phase 2: Static Analysis

Maven (common plugins):

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

Gradle (if configured):

./gradlew checkstyleMain pmdMain spotbugsMain

Phase 3: Tests + Coverage

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

Report:

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

Unit Tests

Test service logic in isolation with mocked dependencies:

@ExtendWith(MockitoExtension.class)
class UserServiceTest {

  @Mock private UserRepository userRepository;
  @InjectMocks private UserService userService;

  @Test
  void createUser_validInput_returnsUser() {
    var dto = new CreateUserDto("Alice", "alice@example.com");
    var expected = new User(1L, "Alice", "alice@example.com");
    when(userRepository.save(any(User.class))).thenReturn(expected);

    var result = userService.create(dto);

    assertThat(result.name()).isEqualTo("Alice");
    verify(userRepository).save(any(User.class));
  }

  @Test
  void createUser_duplicateEmail_throwsException() {
    var dto = new CreateUserDto("Alice", "existing@example.com");
    when(userRepository.existsByEmail(dto.email())).thenReturn(true);

    assertThatThrownBy(() -> userService.create(dto))
        .isInstanceOf(DuplicateEmailException.class);
  }
}

Integration Tests with Testcontainers

Test against a real database instead of H2:

@SpringBootTest
@Testcontainers
class UserRepositoryIntegrationTest {

  @Container
  static PostgreSQLContainer<?> postgres = new PostgreSQLContainer<>("postgres:18-alpine")
      .withDatabaseName("testdb");

  @DynamicPropertySource
  static void configureProperties(DynamicPropertyRegistry registry) {
    registry.add("spring.datasource.url", postgres::getJdbcUrl);
    registry.add("spring.datasource.username", postgres::getUsername);
    registry.add("spring.datasource.password", postgres::getPassword);
  }

  @Autowired private UserRepository userRepository;

  @Test
  void findByEmail_existingUser_returnsUser() {
    userRepository.save(new User("Alice", "alice@example.com"));

    var found = userRepository.findByEmail("alice@example.com");

    assertThat(found).isPresent();
    assertThat(found.get().getName()).isEqualTo("Alice");
  }
}

API Tests with MockMvc

Test controller layer with full Spring context:

@WebMvcTest(UserController.class)
class UserControllerTest {

  @Autowired private MockMvc mockMvc;
  @MockBean private UserService userService;

  @Test
  void createUser_validInput_returns201() throws Exception {
    var user = new UserDto(1L, "Alice", "alice@example.com");
    when(userService.create(any())).thenReturn(user);

    mockMvc.perform(post("/api/users")
            .contentType(MediaType.APPLICATION_JSON)
            .content("""
                {"name": "Alice", "email": "alice@example.com"}
                """))
        .andExpect(status().isCreated())
        .andExpect(jsonPath("$.name").value("Alice"));
  }

  @Test
  void createUser_invalidEmail_returns400() throws Exception {
    mockMvc.perform(post("/api/users")
            .contentType(MediaType.APPLICATION_JSON)
            .content("""
                {"name": "Alice", "email": "not-an-email"}
                """))
        .andExpect(status().isBadRequest());
  }
}

Phase 4: Security Scan

# Dependency CVEs
mvn org.owasp:dependency-check-maven:check
# or
./gradlew dependencyCheckAnalyze

# Secrets in source
grep -rn "password\s*=\s*\"" src/ --include="*.java" --include="*.yml" --include="*.properties"
grep -rn "sk-\|api_key\|secret" src/ --include="*.java" --include="*.yml"

# Secrets (git history)
git 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)

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

Phase 6: Diff Review

git diff --stat
git 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.

Related Skills

This is the Spring Boot-specific verification loop. For other frameworks or general projects:

• verification-loop — General-purpose verification for any project type (TypeScript, Go, Python, etc.)
• django-verification — Django-specific: migration safety, pytest-django, Bandit/Safety security scans