Master Spring Boot Admin 3.2.3: Setup, Security, and Custom UI

1. Introduction

Spring Boot Admin is a monitoring tool that visualizes information provided by Spring Boot Actuators in a user‑friendly UI. It consists of a server that displays actuator data and a client that registers with the server.

2. Practical Example

2.1 Server Side

Add the starter dependency:

<code>&lt;dependency&gt;
  &lt;groupId&gt;de.codecentric&lt;/groupId&gt;
  &lt;artifactId&gt;spring-boot-admin-starter-server&lt;/artifactId&gt;
  &lt;version&gt;3.2.3&lt;/version&gt;
&lt;/dependency&gt;</code>

Enable the admin server:

<code>@SpringBootApplication
@EnableAdminServer
public class SpringbootAdminServerApplication {
  public static void main(String[] args) {
    SpringApplication.run(SpringbootAdminServerApplication.class, args);
  }
}</code>

After starting, the server UI is accessible.

2.2 Client Side

Add the client and required dependencies:

<code>&lt;dependency&gt;
  &lt;groupId&gt;de.codecentric&lt;/groupId&gt;
  &lt;artifactId&gt;spring-boot-admin-starter-client&lt;/artifactId&gt;
  &lt;version&gt;3.2.3&lt;/version&gt;
&lt;/dependency&gt;
&lt;dependency&gt;
  &lt;groupId&gt;org.springframework.boot&lt;/groupId&gt;
  &lt;artifactId&gt;spring-boot-starter-security&lt;/artifactId&gt;
&lt;/dependency&gt;
&lt;dependency&gt;
  &lt;groupId&gt;org.springframework.boot&lt;/groupId&gt;
  &lt;artifactId&gt;spring-boot-starter-actuator&lt;/artifactId&gt;
&lt;/dependency&gt;</code>

Configure the client to point to the server:

<code>server:
  port: 8081
---
management:
  endpoints:
    web:
      base-path: /ac
      exposure:
        include: '*'
  info:
    env:
      enabled: true
---
spring:
  boot:
    admin:
      client:
        url: http://localhost:8080
        instance:
          service-url: http://localhost:8081</code>

After registration, you can view the instance list and details:

2.3 Security Configuration

Spring Boot Admin does not provide a default authentication method; you need to add spring-boot-starter-security and configure it.

<code>@Configuration
public class SecurityConfig {
  private final AdminServerProperties adminServer;
  private final SecurityProperties security;

  public SecurityConfig(AdminServerProperties adminServer, SecurityProperties security) {
    this.adminServer = adminServer;
    this.security = security;
  }

  @Bean
  SecurityFilterChain filterChain(HttpSecurity http) throws Exception {
    http.csrf(configurer -> configurer.disable());
    SavedRequestAwareAuthenticationSuccessHandler successHandler = new SavedRequestAwareAuthenticationSuccessHandler();
    successHandler.setTargetUrlParameter("redirectTo");
    successHandler.setDefaultTargetUrl(this.adminServer.path("/"));
    http.authorizeHttpRequests(registry -> {
      registry.requestMatchers(new AntPathRequestMatcher(this.adminServer.path("/assets/**"))).permitAll();
      registry.requestMatchers(new AntPathRequestMatcher(this.adminServer.path("/actuator/info"))).permitAll();
      registry.requestMatchers(new AntPathRequestMatcher(adminServer.path("/actuator/health"))).permitAll();
      registry.requestMatchers(new AntPathRequestMatcher(this.adminServer.path("/login"))).permitAll();
      registry.anyRequest().authenticated();
    });
    http.formLogin(configurer -> {
      configurer.loginPage(this.adminServer.path("/login")).successHandler(successHandler);
    });
    http.logout(configurer -> {
      configurer.logoutUrl(this.adminServer.path("/logout"));
    });
    // used for client registration (basic auth)
    http.httpBasic(withDefaults());
    return http.build();
  }

  @Bean
  InMemoryUserDetailsManager userDetailsService() {
    org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.security.SecurityProperties.User u = this.security.getUser();
    UserDetails user = User.withUsername(u.getName())
        .password(u.getPassword())
        .roles(u.getRoles().toArray(new String[0]))
        .build();
    return new InMemoryUserDetailsManager(user);
  }

  @Bean
  PasswordEncoder passwordEncoder() {
    return NoOpPasswordEncoder.getInstance();
  }
}
</code>

Define default credentials:

<code>spring:
  security:
    user:
      name: admin
      password: xxxooo
      roles:
        - USER
        - MGR</code>

Now the server UI requires login.

2.4 Custom UI

External Links

<code>spring:
  boot:
    admin:
      ui:
        external-views:
          - label: "Spring全家桶实战案例源码"
            url: "http://www.pack.com"
            order: 2000</code>

Dropdown Menu

<code>spring:
  boot:
    admin:
      ui:
        - label: Spring导航
          children:
            - label: "📖 xg"
              url: http://www.xg.com
            - label: "📦 pack"
              url: http://www.pack.com
            - label: "🐙 Spring"
              url: https://www.spring.io
          order: 2000</code>

Logo and Title

<code>spring:
  boot:
    admin:
      ui:
        title: 项目实时监控
        brand: '<img src="/res/xg.svg">'
---
spring:
  mvc:
    static-path-pattern: /res/**</code>

For more UI customization details, refer to the official documentation.