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Spring @ResponseBody Annotation with Example

Last Updated : 10 Jun, 2026

The @ResponseBody annotation in Spring is used to directly send the return value of a controller method as an HTTP response, instead of resolving it to a view. It helps in building RESTful web services where data is returned in JSON or XML format.

  • Automatically converts Java objects into JSON/XML using message converters.
  • Eliminates the need for view pages like JSP or Thymeleaf in REST APIs.
  • Commonly used in REST controllers to send data to frontend or client applications.
👁 dispatcher

Real-World Uses

  • Building RESTful web services
  • Sending data to frontend (Angular/React/JS apps)
  • Mobile app backend APIs
  • Microservices communication

Prerequisites

Steps to implements @ResponseBody Annotation in Spring MVC

Follow these steps to create @ResponseBody Annotation in Spring MVC.

Step 1: Create Dynamic Web Project

  • Open Eclipse IDE
  • Create a Dynamic Web Project
  • Give project name (e.g., myfirst-mvc-project)

Step 2: Add Spring JAR Files

  • Download Spring JARs
  • Go to - src - main - webapp - WEB-INF - lib
  • Paste all Spring JAR files here

Step 3: Configure Tomcat Server

Refer to this article Configuration of Apache Tomcat Server and configure the tomcat server with your application. Now we are ready to go.

Step 4: Configure DispatcherServlet (web.xml)

Configuring Dispatcher Servlet: Go to the src > main > webapp > WEB-INF > web.xml file and  the complete code for web.xml file is given below:

Step 5: Create Spring Configuration File

Now go to the  src > main > webapp > WEB-INF and create an XML file. Actually, this is a Spring Configuration file like beans.xml file and the name of the file must be in this format -> frontcontroller-dispatcher-servlet.xml.

Step 6: Configure Component Scanning

Add component scan in XML file:

<context:component-scan base-package="com.student.controllers"></context:component-scan>

Step 7: Create Controller Class

In this step, the class is marked as a Spring MVC controller using @Controller to handle incoming HTTP requests. The method mapped with @RequestMapping returns data directly in the HTTP response using @ResponseBody instead of rendering a view.

Modern Approach (@RestController): In this modern approach, @RestController is used which combines @Controller and @ResponseBody into a single annotation. It directly returns the method response as HTTP output, making it ideal for building RESTful web services.

Step 8: Run Application on Server

To run your Spring MVC Application right-click on your project > Run As > Run on Server and run your application as shown in the below image. 

👁 Image

After that use the following URL to run your controller as shown in the below image. All other details are mentioned in the image.

http://localhost:8080/myfirst-mvc-project/student.com/hello

Output:

👁 Image

Explanation: When a client hits the /hello URL, the request is processed by DispatcherServlet, which maps it to the corresponding controller method. The method returns a string value, and because of @ResponseBody, Spring directly writes this return value into the HTTP response body instead of resolving a view. The client receives the output as plain text in the browser or API response.

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