IntelliJ IDEA 2023.2 Help

Tutorial: Your first RESTful web service

This tutorial describes how to create a simple RESTful web service in IntelliJ IDEA and deploy it to the GlassFishTomcat application server. The service will output Hello, World! when you access a specific URL through the web browser or otherwise send a GET request to this URL. Use the switcher at the top of this page for instructions for a different application server.

You will create a new Java Enterprise project, add the necessary Java code, tell IntelliJ IDEA where your GlassFishTomcat server is located, then use a run configuration to build the artifact, start the server, and deploy the artifact to it.

Here is what you will need:

IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate

Java Enterprise development is not supported in the free IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition. For more information, refer to IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate vs IntelliJ IDEA Community Edition

Relevant bundled plugins

By default, all necessary plugins are bundled and enabled in IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate. If something does not work, make sure that the following plugins are enabled:

  • Jakarta EE Platform

  • Jakarta EE: Application Servers

  • Jakarta EE: Web/Servlets

  • Jakarta EE: RESTful Web Services (JAX-RS)

  • GlassFish

  • Tomcat and TomEE

For more information, refer to Install plugins.

Java SE Development Kit (JDK) version 1.8 or later

You can get the JDK directly from IntelliJ IDEA as described in Java Development Kit (JDK) or download and install it manually, for example: Oracle JDK or OpenJDK.

GlassFish

The GlassFish application server version 4.0 or later. You can get the latest release from the official repository. The Web Profile subset should be enough for the purposes of this tutorial.

Tomcat

The Tomcat application server version 7 or later.

Web browser

You will need a web browser to view your web application.

Create a new Java Enterprise project

IntelliJ IDEA includes a dedicated wizard for creating Java Enterprise projects based on various Java EE and Jakarta EE implementations. In this tutorial, we will create a simple web application.

  1. Go to File | New | Project.

  2. In the New Project dialog, select Jakarta EE.

    New Java Enterprise project wizard
    New Java Enterprise project wizard

    Enter a name for your project: RestGlassfishHelloWorldRestTomcatHelloWorld. For this tutorial, use Oracle OpenJDK 17 as the project SDK and select the REST service template. Don't select or add an application server, we will do it later. Select Java and Maven. Click Next to continue.

  3. In the Version field, select Jakarta EE 10 because that's what Tomcat 10.1 used in this tutorial is compatible with.

    In the Version field, select Jakarta EE 9.1 because that's what GlassFish 6.2.5 used in this tutorial is compatible with.

    In the Dependencies list, select the following:

    • Contexts and Dependency Injection (CDI)

    • RESTful Web Services (JAX-RS)

    • Servlet

    • Eclipse Jersey Server

    • Weld SE

    New Java Enterprise project wizard
    New Java Enterprise project wizard

    Click Create.

Explore the default project structure

IntelliJ IDEA creates a project with some boilerplate code that you can build and deploy successfully.

  • pom.xml is the Project Object Model with Maven configuration information, including dependencies and plugins necessary for building the project.

    <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 https://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd"> <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion> <groupId>com.example</groupId> <artifactId>RestGlassfishHelloWorld</artifactId> <version>1.0-SNAPSHOT</version> <name>RestGlassfishHelloWorld</name> <packaging>war</packaging> <properties> <project.build.sourceEncoding>UTF-8</project.build.sourceEncoding> <maven.compiler.target>11</maven.compiler.target> <maven.compiler.source>11</maven.compiler.source> <junit.version>5.9.2</junit.version> </properties> <dependencies> <dependency> <groupId>jakarta.enterprise</groupId> <artifactId>jakarta.enterprise.cdi-api</artifactId> <version>3.0.0</version> <scope>provided</scope> </dependency> <dependency> <groupId>jakarta.ws.rs</groupId> <artifactId>jakarta.ws.rs-api</artifactId> <version>3.0.0</version> <scope>provided</scope> </dependency> <dependency> <groupId>jakarta.servlet</groupId> <artifactId>jakarta.servlet-api</artifactId> <version>5.0.0</version> <scope>provided</scope> </dependency> <dependency> <groupId>org.junit.jupiter</groupId> <artifactId>junit-jupiter-api</artifactId> <version>${junit.version}</version> <scope>test</scope> </dependency> <dependency> <groupId>org.junit.jupiter</groupId> <artifactId>junit-jupiter-engine</artifactId> <version>${junit.version}</version> <scope>test</scope> </dependency> </dependencies> <build> <plugins> <plugin> <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId> <artifactId>maven-war-plugin</artifactId> <version>3.3.2</version> </plugin> </plugins> </build> </project>
    <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 https://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd"> <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion> <groupId>com.example</groupId> <artifactId>RestTomcatHelloWorld</artifactId> <version>1.0-SNAPSHOT</version> <name>RestTomcatHelloWorld</name> <packaging>war</packaging> <properties> <project.build.sourceEncoding>UTF-8</project.build.sourceEncoding> <maven.compiler.target>11</maven.compiler.target> <maven.compiler.source>11</maven.compiler.source> <junit.version>5.9.2</junit.version> </properties> <dependencies> <dependency> <groupId>jakarta.servlet</groupId> <artifactId>jakarta.servlet-api</artifactId> <version>5.0.0</version> <scope>provided</scope> </dependency> <dependency> <groupId>org.glassfish.jersey.containers</groupId> <artifactId>jersey-container-servlet</artifactId> <version>3.0.4</version> </dependency> <dependency> <groupId>org.glassfish.jersey.media</groupId> <artifactId>jersey-media-json-jackson</artifactId> <version>3.0.4</version> </dependency> <dependency> <groupId>org.glassfish.jersey.inject</groupId> <artifactId>jersey-cdi2-se</artifactId> <version>3.0.4</version> </dependency> <dependency> <groupId>org.jboss.weld.se</groupId> <artifactId>weld-se-core</artifactId> <version>4.0.3.Final</version> </dependency> <dependency> <groupId>org.junit.jupiter</groupId> <artifactId>junit-jupiter-api</artifactId> <version>${junit.version}</version> <scope>test</scope> </dependency> <dependency> <groupId>org.junit.jupiter</groupId> <artifactId>junit-jupiter-engine</artifactId> <version>${junit.version}</version> <scope>test</scope> </dependency> </dependencies> <build> <plugins> <plugin> <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId> <artifactId>maven-war-plugin</artifactId> <version>3.3.2</version> </plugin> </plugins> </build> </project>
  • HelloResource.java is a root resource class, which uses the following JAX-RS annotations to implement the RESTful web service:

    • The @Path annotation identifies the URI for accessing this resource, relative to the application root.

    • The @GET annotation indicates that the hello() method will process HTTP GET requests to the specified URI.

    • The @Produces annotation specifies the MIME media type that the method produces and returns.

    package com.example.restglassfishhelloworld; import jakarta.ws.rs.GET; import jakarta.ws.rs.Path; import jakarta.ws.rs.Produces; @Path("/hello-world") public class HelloResource { @GET @Produces("text/plain") public String hello() { return "Hello, World!"; } }
    package com.example.resttomcathelloworld; import jakarta.ws.rs.GET; import jakarta.ws.rs.Path; import jakarta.ws.rs.Produces; @Path("/hello-world") public class HelloResource { @GET @Produces("text/plain") public String hello() { return "Hello, World!"; } }
  • HelloApplication.java is a subclass of javax.ws.rs.core.Application, which is used to configure the environment where the application runs REST resources defined in your resource classes. The @ApplicationPath annotation identifies the URL mapping for the application root (by default, it is set to /api).

    package com.example.restglassfishhelloworld; import jakarta.ws.rs.ApplicationPath; import jakarta.ws.rs.core.Application; @ApplicationPath("/api") public class HelloApplication extends Application { }
    package com.example.resttomcathelloworld; import jakarta.ws.rs.ApplicationPath; import jakarta.ws.rs.core.Application; @ApplicationPath("/api") public class HelloApplication extends Application { }

Configure the application server

Let IntelliJ IDEA know where the GlassFishTomcat application server is located.

  1. Press Control+Alt+S to open the IDE settings and then select Build, Execution, Deployment | Application Servers.

  2. Click the Add button and select Glassfish ServerTomcat.

  3. Specify the path to the GlassFishTomcat server install location. IntelliJ IDEA detects and sets the name and version appropriately.

    GlassFish application server configuration
    Tomcat application server configuration

Create a run configuration

IntelliJ IDEA needs a run configuration to build the artifacts and deploy them to your application server.

  1. Go to Run | Edit Configurations.

  2. In the Run/Debug Configurations dialog, click the Add button, expand the Glassfish ServerTomcat Server node, and select Local.

  3. Fix any warnings that appear at the bottom of the run configuration settings dialog.

    Run configuration warning

    Most likely, you will need to fix the following:

    • On the Server tab, set the Server Domain to domain1.

    • On the Deployment tab, add the artifact that you want to deploy: RestGlassfishHelloWorld:war exploded RestTomcatHelloWorld:war exploded

  4. On the Server tab, set the URL to point to the root resource:

    http://localhost:8080/RestGlassfishHelloWorld-1.0-SNAPSHOT/api/hello-world
    http://localhost:8080/RestTomcatHelloWorld_war_exploded/api/hello-world
    GlassFish run configuration done
    Tomcat run configuration done
  5. Click OK to save the run configuration.

  6. To run the configuration, press Alt+Shift+F10 and select the created application server configuration.

    Alternatively, if you have your run configuration selected in the main toolbar at the top, you can press Shift+F10 to run it.

This run configuration builds the artifacts, then starts the GlassFishTomcat server, and deploys the artifacts to the server. You should see the corresponding output in the Run tool window.

Started GlassFish server and deployed application in the Run tool window
Started Tomcat server and deployed application in the Run tool window

Once this is done, IntelliJ IDEA opens the specified URL in your web browser.

Deployed application output in the web browser
Deployed application output in the web browser

If not, try opening the URL yourself: http://localhost:8080/RestGlassfishHelloWorld-1.0-SNAPSHOT/api/hello-world

If not, try opening the URL yourself: http://localhost:8080/RestTomcatHelloWorld_war_exploded/api/hello-world

Troubleshooting

Compatibility with Jakarta EE

If you get a 404 error, make sure you have selected the Jakarta EE specification version that is compatible with your version of GlassFish when creating the project.

For more information, refer to the GlassFish version compatibility.

Older IntelliJ IDEA versions

If you are using IntelliJ IDEA version 2020.2.2 or earlier, the New Project wizard will not add all of the necessary dependencies required for Tomcat. In this case, open pom.xml and add the following dependencies:

<dependency> <groupId>org.glassfish.jersey.media</groupId> <artifactId>jersey-media-json-jackson</artifactId> <version>2.31</version> </dependency> <dependency> <groupId>org.glassfish.jersey.inject</groupId> <artifactId>jersey-hk2</artifactId> <version>2.31</version> </dependency>

For example, in version 2020.2.3, the generated pom.xml looks like this:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd"> <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion> <groupId>com.example</groupId> <artifactId>RestTomcatHelloWorld</artifactId> <version>1.0-SNAPSHOT</version> <name>RestTomcatHelloWorld</name> <packaging>war</packaging> <properties> <maven.compiler.target>1.8</maven.compiler.target> <maven.compiler.source>1.8</maven.compiler.source> <junit.version>5.6.2</junit.version> </properties> <dependencies> <dependency> <groupId>javax.ws.rs</groupId> <artifactId>javax.ws.rs-api</artifactId> <version>2.1.1</version> <scope>provided</scope> </dependency> <dependency> <groupId>org.glassfish.jersey.containers</groupId> <artifactId>jersey-container-servlet</artifactId> <version>2.31</version> </dependency> <dependency> <groupId>org.glassfish.jersey.media</groupId> <artifactId>jersey-media-json-jackson</artifactId> <version>2.31</version> </dependency> <dependency> <groupId>org.glassfish.jersey.inject</groupId> <artifactId>jersey-hk2</artifactId> <version>2.31</version> </dependency> <dependency> <groupId>org.glassfish.jersey.core</groupId> <artifactId>jersey-client</artifactId> <version>2.31</version> </dependency> <dependency> <groupId>org.junit.jupiter</groupId> <artifactId>junit-jupiter-api</artifactId> <version>${junit.version}</version> <scope>test</scope> </dependency> <dependency> <groupId>org.junit.jupiter</groupId> <artifactId>junit-jupiter-engine</artifactId> <version>${junit.version}</version> <scope>test</scope> </dependency> </dependencies> <build> <plugins> <plugin> <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId> <artifactId>maven-war-plugin</artifactId> <version>3.3.0</version> </plugin> </plugins> </build> </project>
Last modified: 07 September 2023