Running Derby Embedded Mode with Spring Boot

September 18, 2025

This guide shows how to use Apache Derby in embedded mode with Spring Boot, where the database runs inside the application.

1. Add Dependency

In pom.xml:

<dependency>
  <groupId>org.apache.derby</groupId>
  <artifactId>derby</artifactId>
  <scope>runtime</scope>
</dependency>

2. Configure Database

In application.properties:

spring.datasource.url=jdbc:derby:memory:demoDB;create=true
spring.datasource.driver-class-name=org.apache.derby.jdbc.EmbeddedDriver
spring.datasource.username=sa
spring.datasource.password=
spring.jpa.hibernate.ddl-auto=create

jdbc:derby:memory:demoDB;create=true → creates an in-memory DB.
ddl-auto=create → generates schema on startup.

3. Create Entity

import jakarta.persistence.*;

@Entity
public class Product {
    @Id
    @GeneratedValue(strategy = GenerationType.IDENTITY)
    private Long id;
    private String name;
    private double price;

    // getters and setters
}

4. Repository

import org.springframework.data.jpa.repository.JpaRepository;

public interface ProductRepository extends JpaRepository<Product, Long> {
}

5. REST Controller

import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.*;
import java.util.List;

@RestController
@RequestMapping("/products")
public class ProductController {
    private final ProductRepository repo;

    public ProductController(ProductRepository repo) {
        this.repo = repo;
    }

    @PostMapping
    public Product add(@RequestBody Product product) {
        return repo.save(product);
    }

    @GetMapping
    public List<Product> all() {
        return repo.findAll();
    }
}

6. Test the App

Run Spring Boot:

mvn spring-boot:run

Test with curl:

curl -X POST http://localhost:8080/products -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{"name":"Laptop","price":1200}'
curl http://localhost:8080/products