spring-boot-scanner

Spring Boot Scanner

Smart pattern detection and skill routing for Spring Boot projects.

Core Behavior

Trigger Conditions:

• Editing .java or .kt files in a project with spring-boot-starter dependencies
• Working with pom.xml or build.gradle* containing Spring Boot
• User mentions "Spring Boot", "Spring Security", "Spring Data", etc.

Action: Scan code → Detect patterns → Route to appropriate skill

Detection Algorithm

Scans in 3 phases: (1) detect Spring Boot project via build files, (2) scan annotations against the map below, (3) route by risk level — LOW auto-invokes, HIGH confirms first. See [WORKFLOW.md](WORKFLOW.md) for the full step-by-step detection flow.

Annotation → Skill Map

| Annotation Pattern | Detected Skill | Risk Level | |-------------------|----------------|------------| | @RestController, @GetMapping, @PostMapping, @RequestMapping | spring-boot-web-api | LOW | | @Entity, @Repository, @Aggregate, @MappedSuperclass | spring-boot-data-ddd | LOW | | @Service in /domain/ or /service/ | domain-driven-design | LOW | | @ApplicationModule, @ApplicationModuleListener | spring-boot-modulith | LOW | | @Timed, @Counted, HealthIndicator, MeterRegistry | spring-boot-observability | LOW | | @EnableWebSecurity, @PreAuthorize, @Secured, SecurityFilterChain | spring-boot-security | HIGH | | @SpringBootTest, @WebMvcTest, @DataJpaTest, @MockitoBean | spring-boot-testing | HIGH | | @MockBean (deprecated) | spring-boot-testing | HIGH + WARNING | | Build file with version < 4.0 | spring-boot-verify | HIGH |

Use this script to detect patterns:

# Run from project root
python3 scripts/detect_patterns.py /path/to/file.java

Or use Grep directly:

# Web API detection
grep -l "@RestController\|@GetMapping\|@PostMapping" **/*.java

# Security detection
grep -l "@EnableWebSecurity\|@PreAuthorize\|SecurityFilterChain" **/*.java

# Testing detection
grep -l "@SpringBootTest\|@WebMvcTest\|@MockitoBean\|@MockBean" **/*.java

Escalation Triggers

Always confirm before proceeding when detecting:

| Pattern | Reason | Action | |---------|--------|--------| | @EnableGlobalMethodSecurity | Deprecated in Security 6+ | Confirm + Migration guidance | | @MockBean | Deprecated in Boot 3.4+ | Confirm + Show @MockitoBean | | spring-boot-starter-parent < 3.0 | Major migration needed | Confirm + Suggest verify-upgrade | | .and() in security config | Removed in Security 7 | Confirm + Lambda DSL guidance | | com.fasterxml.jackson | Jackson 3 migration | Confirm + Namespace change |

Integration with Existing Components

Delegates to Skills:

• spring-boot-web-api → REST patterns
• spring-boot-data-ddd → Repository/Entity patterns
• spring-boot-security → Security configuration
• spring-boot-testing → Test patterns
• spring-boot-modulith → Module structure
• spring-boot-observability → Metrics/Health
• spring-boot-verify → Dependencies/Config
• domain-driven-design → DDD architecture

Delegates to Agents (for comprehensive review):

• spring-boot-reviewer → Full codebase review
• spring-boot-upgrade-verifier → Migration analysis

When to delegate to agents:

• User asks for "review" or "scan" of entire project
• Multiple HIGH RISK patterns across many files
• Explicit /spring-review or /verify-upgrade command

Known Limitations

• Annotation-based only: Detects standard Spring annotations, not custom/meta-annotations or XML configuration
• Java and Kotlin only: Scans .java and .kt files; no Groovy/Scala support
• Spring Boot 3.x+ optimized: Escalation patterns focus on Boot 3.x → 4.x migration; older versions may have gaps
• No AST parsing: Uses regex matching, so patterns in comments/strings may cause false positives

Escape Hatch

If scanner guidance isn't helpful for the current context:

| Scenario | Action | |----------|--------| | Skip LOW RISK guidance | Ignore suggestions and continue working | | Skip HIGH RISK confirmation | Select "Continue without guidance" option | | Need comprehensive review | Use /spring-review command instead | | Disable temporarily | Remove spring-boot-scanner from active skills |

The scanner is advisory—it suggests skills but never blocks the workflow.

Related Skills

| Need | Skill | |------|-------| | DDD concepts | domain-driven-design | | Data layer | spring-boot-data-ddd | | REST APIs | spring-boot-web-api | | Security config | spring-boot-security | | Full codebase review | Use /spring-review command |

Detailed References

• Workflow: See [WORKFLOW.md](WORKFLOW.md) for step-by-step detection flow
• Examples: See [EXAMPLES.md](EXAMPLES.md) for trigger scenarios
• Troubleshooting: See [TROUBLESHOOTING.md](TROUBLESHOOTING.md) for common issues
• Detection Script: See [scripts/detect_patterns.py](scripts/detect_patterns.py) for programmatic detection

Critical Reminders

1. Always check project type first — Only activate for Spring Boot projects
2. Respect risk levels — Never auto-invoke security/testing/verify without confirmation
3. Batch notifications — Don't spam user with multiple skill suggestions
4. Delegate to agents for scale — Use reviewer agent for multi-file analysis
5. Preserve user flow — Guidance should assist, not interrupt