Adding support for multiple health check strategies

Oct 13, 2025 by wbrum.org 81 views

Introduction

When working with Spring Boot applications in a Docker Compose environment, it's common to have multiple services that need to be connected and started automatically. However, there may be cases where certain services are not essential for the application to start, but are still required for other purposes, such as bootstrapping third-party dependencies. In this article, we'll explore how to ignore health checks for services labeled with org.springframework.boot.ignore in a Spring Boot Docker Compose setup.

Understanding the Problem

In a typical Spring Boot application, health checks are an essential part of the application's lifecycle. They ensure that the application is running correctly and that all dependencies are available. However, when working with Docker Compose, there may be cases where certain services are not essential for the application to start, but are still required for other purposes. For example, a third-party service database may be required for bootstrapping purposes, but is not essential for the application to start.

Current Workaround

Currently, the org.springframework.boot.ignore label is used to ignore auto-service connections for certain services. However, this label does not affect the health checks of the service. As a result, the service will still be checked for health, even if it's not essential for the application to start.

Proposed Solution

To address this issue, we propose introducing a new label, org.springframework.boot.ignore.health-check, which would ignore health checks for services labeled with org.springframework.boot.ignore. This would allow developers to ignore health checks for services that are not essential for the application to start, while still ensuring that the application is running correctly.

Example Use Case

Let's consider an example use case where we have a Spring Boot application that connects to a database service using Spring Data JDBC. We also have a third-party service database that is required for bootstrapping purposes, but is not essential for the application to start.

  # Database service where app will automatically connect using Spring Data JDBC
  postgres:
    image: postgres:17-alpine
    restart: always
    ports:
      - '5432:5432'
    environment:
      POSTGRES_USER: 'root'
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: 'postgres'
  # Third party service own database, ignored
  third_party_service_database:
    image: postgres:16-alpine
    restart: always
    ports:
      - '5433:5433'
    environment:
      PGPORT: '5433'
      POSTGRES_USER: 'root'
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: 'postgres'
    networks:
      - 'third_party_service_'
    volumes:
      - 'third_party_service_database_volume:/var/lib/postgresql/data:rw'
    labels:
      org.springframework.boot.ignore: true # Ignore third_party_service_database for application JDBC connection

In this example, we've labeled the third_party_service_database service with org.springframework.boot.ignore, which ignores auto-service connections for this service. However, we still want to ignore health checks for this service, as it's not essential for the application to start.

Implementation

To implement this feature, we would need to modify the Spring Boot application to ignore health checks for services labeled with org.springframework.boot.ignore.health-check. This would involve adding a new configuration property to the application's properties file, which would be used to determine whether health checks should be ignored for a particular service.

Here's an example of how this could be implemented:

@Configuration
public class HealthCheckConfiguration {
  
  @Value("${spring.boot.ignore.health-check}")
  private boolean ignoreHealthCheck;
  
  @Bean
  public HealthCheck healthCheck() {
    return new HealthCheck() {
      @Override
      public Health health() {
        if (ignoreHealthCheck) {
          return Health.up();
        } else {
          // Perform health check as usual
        }
      }
    };
  }
}

In this example, we've created a new configuration property, spring.boot.ignore.health-check, which determines whether health checks should be ignored for a particular service. We've also created a new bean, healthCheck, which checks whether health checks should be ignored for the service.

Conclusion

In conclusion, ignoring health checks for services labeled with org.springframework.boot.ignore is a useful feature that can help simplify the development and deployment of Spring Boot applications in a Docker Compose environment. By introducing a new label, org.springframework.boot.ignore.health-check, we can ignore health checks for services that are not essential for the application to start, while still ensuring that the application is running correctly. We hope that this feature will be implemented in future versions of Spring Boot and Docker Compose.

Future Work

There are several potential future work items that could be explored to further improve the functionality of ignoring health checks for services labeled with org.springframework.boot.ignore. Some potential ideas include:

Adding support for multiple health check strategies: Currently, the org.springframework.boot.ignore.health-check label only supports a single health check strategy. In the future, we could add support for multiple health check strategies, allowing developers to choose the strategy that best fits their needs.
Introducing a new configuration property for health check timeout: Currently, the org.springframework.boot.ignore.health-check label only ignores health checks for a service. In the future, we could introduce a new configuration property that allows developers to specify a timeout for health checks, ensuring that the application does not wait indefinitely for a service to become available.
Adding support for health check metrics: Currently, the org.springframework.boot.ignore.health-check label only ignores health checks for a service. In the future, we could add support for health check metrics, allowing developers to track the health of their services and identify potential issues before they become critical.

Introduction

In our previous article, we explored how to ignore health checks for services labeled with org.springframework.boot.ignore in a Spring Boot Docker Compose setup. In this article, we'll answer some frequently asked questions (FAQs) about this feature, providing more insight into how it works and how it can be used in real-world scenarios.

Q: What is the purpose of ignoring health checks for services labeled with org.springframework.boot.ignore?

A: The purpose of ignoring health checks for services labeled with org.springframework.boot.ignore is to simplify the development and deployment of Spring Boot applications in a Docker Compose environment. By ignoring health checks for services that are not essential for the application to start, developers can reduce the complexity of their application and improve its overall reliability.

Q: How does the org.springframework.boot.ignore label work?

A: The org.springframework.boot.ignore label is a configuration property that is used to determine whether a service should be ignored for health checks. When a service is labeled with org.springframework.boot.ignore, the Spring Boot application will ignore health checks for that service, ensuring that the application does not wait indefinitely for the service to become available.

Q: What is the difference between org.springframework.boot.ignore and org.springframework.boot.ignore.health-check?

A: The org.springframework.boot.ignore label is used to ignore auto-service connections for a service, while the org.springframework.boot.ignore.health-check label is used to ignore health checks for a service. While both labels can be used to simplify the development and deployment of Spring Boot applications, they serve different purposes and should be used accordingly.

Q: How do I configure the org.springframework.boot.ignore label in my Spring Boot application?

A: To configure the org.springframework.boot.ignore label in your Spring Boot application, you'll need to add the following configuration property to your application's properties file:

spring.boot.ignore=true

You can also use the org.springframework.boot.ignore.health-check label to ignore health checks for a service:

spring.boot.ignore.health-check=true

Q: Can I use the org.springframework.boot.ignore label with other configuration properties?

A: Yes, you can use the org.springframework.boot.ignore label with other configuration properties. For example, you can use the spring.boot.ignore label in conjunction with the spring.boot.ignore.health-check label to ignore both auto-service connections and health checks for a service.

spring.boot.ignore=true
spring.boot.ignore.health-check=true

Q: Are there any limitations to using the org.springframework.boot.ignore label?

A: Yes, there are some limitations to using the org.springframework.boot.ignore label. For example, if you're using a service that requires health checks to be performed, ignoring health checks for that service may cause issues with the application's overall reliability. Additionally, using the org.springframework.boot.ignore label may require additional configuration and testing to ensure that the application is working correctly.

Q: Can I use the org.springframework.boot.ignore label with other container orchestration tools?

A: Yes, you can use the org.springframework.boot.ignore label with other container orchestration tools, such as Kubernetes. However, you may need to modify the configuration properties and labels to work with the specific tooling and environment.

Conclusion

In conclusion, ignoring health checks for services labeled with org.springframework.boot.ignore is a useful feature that can help simplify the development and deployment of Spring Boot applications in a Docker Compose environment. By understanding how the org.springframework.boot.ignore label works and how it can be used in real-world scenarios, developers can improve the reliability and maintainability of their applications. We hope that this Q&A article has provided more insight into this feature and has helped to answer some of the most frequently asked questions about it.