How to Deploy a Spring Boot .jar on a VPS (with SSL)

Short answer: build an executable jar (mvn package or gradle bootJar), copy it to the server, run it as a systemd service under its own user so it restarts on crashes and reboots, and put Nginx in front to handle the domain and HTTPS. Keep passwords and database URLs in environment variables, not inside the jar.

1. Build the jar

# Maven
./mvnw clean package -DskipTests
# Gradle
./gradlew bootJar

# the result, e.g. target/app-1.0.0.jar, runs with
java -jar app-1.0.0.jar

Install the same major Java version on the server that you build with. A jar built for Java 21 will not start on Java 17.

2. Run it as a service

# /etc/systemd/system/myapp.service
[Unit]
Description=My Spring Boot app
After=network.target

[Service]
User=myapp
WorkingDirectory=/opt/myapp
EnvironmentFile=/opt/myapp/.env
ExecStart=/usr/bin/java -Xmx512m -jar /opt/myapp/app.jar --server.port=8080
Restart=always
RestartSec=5

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now myapp
journalctl -u myapp -f   # follow the logs

3. Put Nginx and HTTPS in front

server {
    server_name app.example.com;
    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:8080;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;
        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
    }
}
# then: sudo certbot --nginx -d app.example.com

Set server.forward-headers-strategy=framework in Spring Boot so the app knows the original request was HTTPS and builds correct redirect URLs.

Checklist

On GHP Cloud

Create the site as the Java (.jar) type and GHP sets up the Java runtime, an isolated process and the reverse proxy before you upload anything. Drop the jar in through the File Manager and it starts on its own. Environment variables are set in the panel without re-uploading the jar, and the site gets SSL, a custom domain and uptime monitoring like any other site.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to install Tomcat to run Spring Boot?

No. An executable Spring Boot jar includes its own embedded Tomcat, Jetty or Undertow.

How much RAM does a Spring Boot app need?

Small apps run in 256–512 MB of heap; measure yours under load and leave room for the JVM's overhead beyond -Xmx.

Can I host a WAR file the same way?

A WAR needs a separate servlet container. Rebuilding it as an executable jar is usually simpler.