Integrating Thymeleaf with Spring Boot is simple because Spring Boot provides automatic configuration for Thymeleaf when the dependency is included. Below is a clean, complete guide showing how to set up Thymeleaf, create templates, pass data from controllers, and use advanced features.
🚀 1. Add Thymeleaf Dependency
If you’re using Maven, add this to your pom.xml:
<dependency>
<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-thymeleaf</artifactId>
</dependency>
<dependency>
<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-web</artifactId>
</dependency>
For Gradle:
implementation 'org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-thymeleaf'
implementation 'org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-web'
Once this dependency is added, Spring Boot auto-configures Thymeleaf.
📁 2. Thymeleaf Template Directory Structure
Spring Boot looks for HTML templates under:
src/main/resources/templates/
Example:
src/main/resources/
└── templates/
├── index.html
└── users.html
Static resources like CSS, JS, and images go under:
src/main/resources/static/
🧭 3. Create a Simple Thymeleaf Template
Create src/main/resources/templates/index.html:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html xmlns:th="http://www.thymeleaf.org">
<head>
<title>Hello Page</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1 th:text="${message}">Placeholder</h1>
</body>
</html>
🎮 4. Create a Spring Boot Controller
@Controller
public class HomeController {
@GetMapping("/")
public String home(Model model) {
model.addAttribute("message", "Welcome to Thymeleaf with Spring Boot!");
return "index"; // Thymeleaf will render index.html
}
}
When user visits /, Thymeleaf renders index.html with the message.
🧱 5. Passing Objects and Lists
Controller:
@GetMapping("/users")
public String users(Model model) {
List<String> names = List.of("Alice", "Bob", "Charlie");
model.addAttribute("users", names);
return "users";
}
Thymeleaf template:
<ul>
<li th:each="user : ${users}"
th:text="${user}">
</li>
</ul>
🎛 6. Form Handling with Thymeleaf
Form Template (form.html):
<form action="/submit" th:object="${user}" method="post">
Name: <input type="text" th:field="*{name}"/>
Email: <input type="email" th:field="*{email}"/>
<button type="submit">Submit</button>
</form>
DTO:
public class User {
private String name;
private String email;
// getters/setters
}
Controller:
@GetMapping("/form")
public String showForm(Model model) {
model.addAttribute("user", new User());
return "form";
}
@PostMapping("/submit")
public String submitForm(@ModelAttribute User user, Model model) {
model.addAttribute("submittedUser", user);
return "result";
}
🏷 7. Spring Boot Thymeleaf Configuration (Optional)
Optional settings in application.properties:
spring.thymeleaf.cache=false # Disable caching during development
spring.thymeleaf.prefix=classpath:/templates/
spring.thymeleaf.suffix=.html
spring.thymeleaf.mode=HTML
🎨 8. Using Fragments (Reusable Components)
Useful for headers, navbars, footers.
fragments/header.html
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html xmlns:th="http://www.thymeleaf.org">
<head>
<title th:text="${title}"></title>
</head>
</html>
Include in another template:
<div th:replace="fragments/header :: header"></div>
🔐 9. Integrating Thymeleaf with Spring Security (Optional)
Add dependency:
<dependency>
<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-security</artifactId>
</dependency>
Enable security dialect:
<dependency>
<groupId>org.thymeleaf.extras</groupId>
<artifactId>thymeleaf-extras-springsecurity6</artifactId>
</dependency>
Use security tags in templates:
<div sec:authorize="isAuthenticated()">
Welcome, user!
</div>
🧪 10. Troubleshooting Common Issues
Problem Solution
Template not found Ensure file is in src/main/resources/templates/
Model attribute not showing Check variable name and ${} syntax
No Thymeleaf processing Ensure xmlns:th="http://www.thymeleaf.org" is added
CSS/JS not loading Place assets in src/main/resources/static/
⭐ Summary
Integrating Thymeleaf with Spring Boot involves:
Add Thymeleaf dependency
Place HTML templates in /templates
Create controllers returning view names
Use ${} to pass data to templates
Create forms and use th:field
Optionally use fragments, layouts, and security
Thymeleaf is clean, server-friendly, and integrates seamlessly with Spring Boot’s MVC approach.
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