Toggle Spring Boot RestController via Properties

Enable/Disable Spring Boot @RestController via Properties

Yes, you can enable/disable a Spring Boot @RestController using properties. Avoid directly manipulating annotations; instead, use conditional logic within your controller or a surrounding configuration.

Method 1: Conditional on Property

@Component
public class MyRestController {

    @Autowired
    private Environment environment;

    @GetMapping("/api/data")
    public String getData() {
        if (environment.getProperty("my.rest.controller.enabled", Boolean.class, false)) {
            return "Data";
        } else {
            return "Controller disabled";
        }
    }
}

Set my.rest.controller.enabled=true (or false) in your application.properties or application.yml.

Method 2: Conditional on Profile

@Profile("!disabled") // active unless profile 'disabled' is set
@RestController
public class MyRestController {
    // ...Controller Methods
}

Activate the profile using --spring.profiles.active=myprofile (replace myprofile as needed) during application startup.

Method 3: Custom Bean Definition

@Configuration
public class RestControllerConfig {
    @Bean
    @ConditionalOnProperty(value = "my.rest.controller.enabled", havingValue = "true")
    public MyRestController myRestController(){
        return new MyRestController();
    }
}

This creates the bean only if the property is true.

Choose the method best suited to your application's complexity. Method 2 offers cleaner profile management; Method 3 provides more fine-grained control; Method 1 offers simple conditional logic. Remember to handle potential exceptions appropriately in production code.