How to Fix the 'server.servlet.session.timeout' Property Not Working in Spring Boot

Why is the 'server.servlet.session.timeout' property not working in my Spring Boot application?

In Spring Boot, the property 'server.servlet.session.timeout' is used to define the session timeout duration for web applications. If you're facing issues with this property not applying as expected, several factors might contribute to the problem. This guide will help you identify the causes and fix them effectively.

# Example configuration in application.properties
server.servlet.session.timeout=15m
# Example configuration in application.yml
server:
  servlet:
    session:
      timeout: 15m

Causes

• The property might be incorrectly set in the application.properties or application.yml file.
• There could be a conflicting configuration in other Spring Boot properties or within the web application context.
• Session management may be overridden in your application code, ignoring the specified timeout settings.

Solutions

• Ensure that the 'server.servlet.session.timeout' property is correctly defined in your application.properties or application.yml file. For example: ```yaml server: servlet: session: timeout: 15m ```
• Verify that there are no overlapping session management configurations in your code that could conflict with the application timeout settings.
• Check for any configurations in your web.xml file or similar that may override the Spring Boot settings.

Mistake: Setting the timeout with incorrect syntax in the properties file.

Solution: Ensure the timeout is set in a valid format such as '15m' for 15 minutes.

Mistake: Ignoring the importance of context path or servlet configurations that might affect session management.

Solution: Check for servlet configurations that might contradict the session properties.