How do I configure my Spring Boot application so that when I run unit tests it will use in-memory database such as H2
/HSQL
but when I run Spring Boot application it will use production database PostgreSQL
/MySQL
?

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8 Answers
Spring profiles can be used for this. This would be a specific way:
Have environment specific properties files:
application.properties:
spring.profiles.active: dev
application-dev.properties
spring.jpa.database: MYSQL
spring.jpa.hibernate.ddl-auto: update
spring.datasource.url: jdbc:mysql://localhost:3306/dbname
spring.datasource.username: username
spring.datasource.password: password
application-test.properties
spring.jpa.database: HSQL
Have both MySQL and H2 drivers in pom.xml
, like this:
<dependency>
<groupId>mysql</groupId>
<artifactId>mysql-connector-java</artifactId>
<scope>runtime</scope>
</dependency>
<dependency>
<groupId>org.hsqldb</groupId>
<artifactId>hsqldb</artifactId>
<scope>test</scope>
</dependency>
Last but not the least, annotate Test classes with @ActiveProfiles("test")
.

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The `dev` profile seems weird to me. Isn't that supposed to be the "production" one? In this case, just put that info in `application.properties`, no need for `spring.profiles.active` either. – Stephane Nicoll Aug 14 '15 at 06:26
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I have a separate `prod` profile. If we put the `dev` info in *application.properties*, wouldn't that info leak to the `test` profile? – Sanjay Aug 14 '15 at 06:29
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All I am saying is that you're not answering the question. Dev/test is confusing in your answer. I'd expect a prod profile and then a test profile but not a "Dev" one. You could just as well have a "prod" profile with the production and leave the default for the test. Since Spring Boot does not find any specific information it'll use the embedded container. – Stephane Nicoll Aug 14 '15 at 06:33
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Do I put application-test.properties on src/main/resources ? My tests unfortunately still pointing to the production database – IllSc Aug 14 '15 at 07:27
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Yes, you should be putting that right beside application.properties. Where have you put these? – Sanjay Aug 14 '15 at 07:30
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1Isn't the use of colons for yml files? Should that be `=` instead? – justin Jun 16 '17 at 17:35
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@Sanjay is the best – Mohammad Najar Oct 20 '18 at 02:05
Another approach is to add the annotation @AutoConfigureTestDatabase
to you test class.
My tests usually look like this:
@RunWith(SpringRunner.class)
@DataJpaTest
@AutoConfigureTestDatabase(connection = EmbeddedDatabaseConnection.H2)
public class MyRepositoryTest {
@Autowired
MyRepository repository;
@Test
public void test() throws Exception {
// Tests...
}
}
Note that the embedded database dependency needs to be added in the pom.xml file. For embedded database this annotation is not necessary it will work even if only the dependency is added in pom file.
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1This is the best approach. No need to configure anything through properties, because you need H2 only in testing scenario. – Dragoslav Petrovic Jan 10 '22 at 08:53
With @SpringBootTest magic, you just need to do following two changes.
- Add 'h2' test dependency in pom.xml
<dependency> <groupId>com.h2database</groupId> <artifactId>h2</artifactId> <scope>test</scope> </dependency>
@RunWith(SpringRunner.class) @SpringBootTest(classes = MySpringBootApplication.class) @AutoConfigureTestDatabase public class SpringBootTest{ @Autowired private RequestRepository requestRepository; }
Now all the spring jpa bean/repositories used in test will use h2 as backing database.
2019-04-26 13:13:34.198 INFO 28627 --- [ main] beddedDataSourceBeanFactoryPostProcessor : Replacing 'dataSource' DataSource bean with embedded version
2019-04-26 13:13:34.199 INFO 28627 --- [ main] o.s.b.f.s.DefaultListableBeanFactory : Overriding bean definition for bean 'dataSource'
2019-04-26 13:13:36.194 INFO 28627 --- [ main] o.s.j.d.e.EmbeddedDatabaseFactory : Starting embedded database: url='jdbc:h2:mem:2784768e-f053-4bb3-ab88-edda34956893;DB_CLOSE_DELAY=-1;DB_CLOSE_ON_EXIT=false', username='sa'
Note: I still have 'spring-jpa' properties defined in 'application.properties' and I don't use any profiles. @AutoConfigureTestDatabase will override existing jpa configurations with test defaults AutoConfigureTestDatabase.Replace.

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Simplest solution:
1) in src/main/resources have application.properties (production config):
spring.datasource.url=jdbc:mysql://localhost:3306/somedb
spring.datasource.username=root
spring.datasource.password=password
spring.datasource.driverClassName=com.mysql.jdbc.Driver
spring.jpa.database-platform = org.hibernate.dialect.MySQL5Dialect
and application-test.properties with HSQL config like:
spring.jpa.hibernate.ddl-auto = create-drop
spring.jpa.database = HSQL
spring.jpa.properties.hibernate.dialect = org.hibernate.dialect.HSQLDialect
spring.datasource.driverClassName = org.hsqldb.jdbcDriver
spring.datasource.url= jdbc:hsqldb:mem:scratchdb
spring.datasource.username = sa
spring.datasource.password =
2) Add HSQL dependency in pom.xml if you don't have it already.
3) Annotate your test class with @ActiveProfiles("test").
Worked like charm in my case.
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Hi @AlexBondar. You can use the sample before it but you can use replace=Replace.NONE inside AutoConfigureTestDatabase – bpedroso Feb 15 '18 at 16:50
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spring.datasource.driverClassName = org.hsqldb.jdbcDriver should be spring.datasource.driver-class-name = org.hsqldb.jdbcDriver – Ranjan Kumar Sep 04 '22 at 06:43
@Sanjay has one way to put it but I find it confusing. You could just as well have only a production
profile that you enable when you're in production, something like:
spring.jpa.hibernate.ddl-auto: update
spring.datasource.url: jdbc:mysql://localhost:3306/dbname
spring.datasource.username: username
spring.datasource.password: password
And don't specify anything else. If you add an embedded database in test
scope, it will be available in your tests. If you run your tests with the default profile (no customization whatsoever), it won't find any database information (since these are stored in the production
profile). In that case, it will try to find an embedded database and start it for you. If you need more customization for some reason, you can have a application-test.properties
for those (you'll need to add ActiveProfiles("test")
to your test(s).

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1In my scenarios, I would have a MySQL database in my PC, which would be used when running the app locally while developing. That's why I thought we needed a `dev` profile to run the app, and a `test` profile to run the tests through my IDE. Any simplification could be done in this case? – Sanjay Aug 14 '15 at 07:42
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Just add `application-dev.properties` with your MySQL DB and enable the `dev` profile when you run the app from your IDE. – Stephane Nicoll Aug 14 '15 at 09:02
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Okay, what I understand then is that my answer above looks suiting this case, except that I could have skipped having the `test` profile and the `@ActiveProfile` if the `test` profile had nothing except just the DB. Let me know if this sounds wrong. – Sanjay Aug 14 '15 at 09:20
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I don't think your answer suits this case. Nobody asked for a `dev` profile; I am not denying it is useful but that's not what the question is all about. The `dev` profile is always enabled in your answer. That feels wrong as well. Anyway, no need to discuss it any further IMO :) - – Stephane Nicoll Aug 14 '15 at 09:29
Simple solution if building with maven
: just place an application.properties
file under src/test/resources
and edit as appropriate for testing.
The Spring (Boot) Profile mechanism is a pretty powerful tool that, in scope, goes way beyond "swapping settings between test time and run time". Although, clearly, as demonstrated, it can do that also :)

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This solution enables common settings for develop and test. Is based on this solution: Override default Spring-Boot application.properties settings in Junit Test
- application.properties in src/main/resources/application.properties
#common settings for DEVELOPMENT and TEST:
......
......
## Spring DATASOURCE (DataSourceAutoConfiguration & DataSourceProperties)
spring.datasource.url=jdbc:postgresql://localhost:5432/databasename
spring.datasource.username=postgres
spring.datasource.password=somepassword
# The SQL dialect makes Hibernate generate better SQL for the chosen database
spring.jpa.properties.hibernate.dialect = org.hibernate.dialect.PostgreSQLDialect
spring.jpa.properties.hibernate.jdbc.time_zone=UTC
# Hibernate ddl auto (create, create-drop, validate, update)
spring.jpa.hibernate.ddl-auto = none
spring.jpa.properties.hibernate.jdbc.lob.non_contextual_creation=true
- test.properties (src/main/resources/application.properties) which overrides and adds properties in application.properties:
spring.datasource.url=jdbc:h2:mem:testdb;MODE=PostgreSQL
spring.datasource.driverClassName=org.h2.Driver
spring.datasource.username=sa
spring.datasource.password=
spring.jpa.hibernate.ddl-auto=update
spring.h2.console.enabled=false
- settings in pom.xml for H2 and Postgre databases
<!-- h2 -->
<dependency>
<groupId>com.h2database</groupId>
<artifactId>h2</artifactId>
</dependency>
<!-- postgress -->
<dependency>
<groupId>org.postgresql</groupId>
<artifactId>postgresql</artifactId>
</dependency>
- In test class:
@RunWith(SpringRunner.class)
@SpringBootTest
@TestPropertySource(locations = "classpath:test.properties")
public class ModelTest {
}

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I have a multi-module Gradle SpringBootApplication with below Modules
- employeemanagerApp - Where my SpringApplication main class
- employeemanagerIntTests - Where i have my cucumber tests
My requirement was to use MySQL DB when the application boots up and H2 during my Cucumber Integration testing
Solution: In my employeemanagerApp module, src/main/resources i placed the application.properties with below content
#My SQL Configuration
spring.datasource.url=jdbc:mysql://localhost:3306/employeemanager
spring.datasource.username=root
spring.datasource.password=password
spring.jpa.show-sql=true
spring.jpa.hibernate.ddl-auto=update spring.jpa.properties.hibernate.dialect=org.hibernate.dialect.MySQL5Dialect
And in the Integration Test Module (employeemanagerIntTests) src/test/resources I placed the application.properties with below content
#H2 In-Memory DB Configuration
spring.datasource.url=jdbc:h2://mem:db;DB_CLOSE_DELAY=-1
spring.datasource.username=sa
spring.datasource.password=sa
spring.datasource.driver-class-name=org.h2.Driver
spring.jpa.show-sql=true
spring.jpa.hibernate.ddl-auto=create-drop
spring.jpa.properties.hibernate.dialect=org.hibernate.dialect.MySQL5Dialect
spring.jpa.properties.hibernate.format_sql=true
And in my Step Definition Class i added only these annotations
@CucumberContextConfiguration
@SpringBootTest(classes = SpringBootApplicationMainClass.class, webEnvironment = SpringBootTest.WebEnvironment.RANDOM_PORT)
In the build.gradle file i added H2 dependency
testImplementation 'com.h2database:h2:1.4.200'
So when I ran my tests, H2 was active and all tests with Create, Update, Read and Delete were successful

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