Fixing 404 Errors in Spring Boot API When Changing Endpoint Names

Discover how to resolve `404 errors` in your Spring Boot API when modifying endpoint names! Learn the correct file path strategies for serving HTML files seamlessly.
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Fixing 404 Errors in Spring Boot API When Changing Endpoint Names

When working with a Spring Boot application, developers occasionally encounter frustrating 404 errors, especially when altering the names of API endpoints. This issue can be perplexing, particularly when your code seems correct, but the web server isn't responding as expected. In this post, we'll explore a common scenario where changing your endpoint path leads to a 404 error, and we'll provide you with practical strategies to resolve it.

The Problem at Hand

You have an API endpoint set up to serve an HTML page from your resources/static folder, which works well when requested with a simple path. For example, using a basic endpoint like /api-documentation successfully returns your HTML content. However, when you attempt to modify the endpoint to include additional slashes and path segments (e.g., /api-documentation/some/more/value), you receive a frustrating 404 error.

Here's a snippet of the code that serves the page:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Attempting to change it to this:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Results in a 404 error. This issue can occur even if you set it up with @ RequestMapping alone, indicating a deeper issue with how Spring Boot expects file locations to be structured.

Understanding the Solution

To resolve this issue, we need to understand how Spring Boot handles serving static resources and HTML files. Here's a breakdown of your options:

Move Your HTML File to the Correct Directory

Default Location for HTML Files:

The standard location for HTML files in a Spring Boot application is resources/templates.

For example:

Simplified Code:
Once the HTML file is in the correct location, you can maintain your controller like this:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Alternative Path Handling

If you prefer or need to keep the file in resources/static, you can still serve it properly by providing a relative path:

Return a Relative Path:

Modify your controller to include the correct relative path from resources/templates.

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Further Considerations

Ensure that your web server's configurations (such as port and context path, if any) are correctly set up to access the desired endpoint.

It's essential to test different paths methodically to ensure that your API behaves as expected.

Conclusion

By making sure your HTML files are in the right directory or using the appropriate relative path, you can effectively eliminate 404 errors when changing endpoint names in your Spring Boot application. Always ensure you follow the best practices for resource management to avoid similar issues in the future. Troubleshooting path-related issues can often feel tedious, but having a good understanding of Spring Boot’s conventions makes the process smoother.

By following the strategies outlined in this post, you should be well-equipped to handle and resolve 404 errors in your Spring Boot API effectively!