[[running-your-application]]
== Running your application with Gradle

To run your application without first building an archive use the `bootRun` task:

[source,bash,indent=0,subs="verbatim"]
----
	$ ./gradlew bootRun
----

The `bootRun` task is an instance of
{boot-run-javadoc}[`BootRun`] which is a `JavaExec` subclass. As such, all of the
{gradle-dsl}/org.gradle.api.tasks.JavaExec.html[usual configuration options] for executing
a Java process in Gradle are available to you. The task is automatically configured to use
the runtime classpath of the main source set.

By default, the main class will be configured automatically by looking for a class with a
`public static void main(String[])` method in directories on the task's classpath.

The main class can also be configured explicitly using the task's `main` property:

[source,groovy,indent=0,subs="verbatim"]
----
include::../gradle/running/boot-run-main.gradle[tags=main]
----

Alternatively, the main class name can be configured project-wide using the
`mainClassName` property of the Spring Boot DSL:

[source,groovy,indent=0,subs="verbatim"]
----
include::../gradle/running/spring-boot-dsl-main-class-name.gradle[tags=main-class]
----

If the {application-plugin}[`application` plugin] has been applied, its `mainClassName`
project property can be used for the same purpose:

[source,groovy,indent=0,subs="verbatim"]
----
include::../gradle/running/application-plugin-main-class-name.gradle[tags=main-class]
----



[[running-your-application-passing-arguments]]
=== Passing arguments to your application
Like all `JavaExec` tasks, arguments can be passed into `bootRun` from the command line
using `--args='<arguments>'` when using Gradle 4.9 or later. For example, to run your
application with a profile named `dev` active the following command can be used:

[source,bash,indent=0,subs="verbatim"]
----
	$ ./gradlew bootRun --args='--spring.profiles.active=dev'
----

See {gradle-api}/org/gradle/api/tasks/JavaExec.html#setArgsString-java.lang.String-[the
javadoc for `JavaExec.setArgsString`] for further details.



[[running-your-application-reloading-resources]]
=== Reloading resources
If devtools has been added to your project it will automatically monitor your
application for changes. Alternatively, you can configure `bootRun` such that your
application's static resources are loaded from their source location:

[source,groovy,indent=0,subs="verbatim"]
----
include::../gradle/running/boot-run-source-resources.gradle[tags=source-resources]
----

This makes them reloadable in the live application which can be helpful at development
time.
