How to Fix 'Failed to Start Bean Documentation Plugins Bootstrapper' Error in Spring Boot 2.6.0 with Springfox 3?

What causes the 'Failed to start bean documentationPluginsBootstrapper' error when using Spring Boot 2.6.0 and Springfox 3?

N/A

The 'Failed to start bean documentationPluginsBootstrapper' error typically occurs due to configuration issues when integrating Springfox with Spring Boot 2.6.0 and Jetty server. This is often a result of classpath conflicts or misconfigurations in the Spring context.

dependencies {
    implementation 'org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-web'
    implementation 'org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-jetty'
    implementation 'org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-webflux'
    implementation 'io.springfox:springfox-boot-starter:3.0.0'
    testImplementation 'org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-test'
}

Causes

• Incompatible versions of Springfox and Spring Boot.
• Not properly excluding deprecated dependencies from the project.
• Missing or misconfigured Spring MVC components.

Solutions

• Ensure compatibility between Springfox 3 and Spring Boot 2.6.0. Consider using Springfox 3.0.0 or later versions.
• Verify that your dependencies in `build.gradle` do not contain unnecessary exclusions or conflicting libraries.
• Since you are using Jetty instead of Tomcat, ensure that Jetty is properly set up and initialized within your Spring context.

Mistake: Not excluding the correct servlet starter for Jetty.

Solution: Ensure to replace `spring-boot-starter-tomcat` with `spring-boot-starter-jetty` in your dependencies.

Mistake: Using conflicting versions of libraries.

Solution: Verify that all dependencies, including Spring Boot and Springfox, are compatible. Use the same version number or higher as specified in the Springfox documentation.