How to Configure Spring Data REST to Return Plain JSON Instead of HAL Format?

Question

How can I configure Spring Data REST to output data in plain JSON format instead of the default HAL format?

@Bean
public HttpMessageConverter<Object> customJacksonHttpMessageConverter() {
    return new MappingJackson2HttpMessageConverter();
}

Answer

Spring Data REST is designed to expose REST APIs conforming to the HAL (Hypertext Application Language) standard. However, developers may prefer a simpler JSON format for their APIs. This guide explains how to configure Spring Data REST to return plain JSON instead of HAL format.

@Bean
public HttpMessageConverters customConverters() {
    HttpMessageConverter<?> additional = new MappingJackson2HttpMessageConverter();
    return new HttpMessageConverters(additional);
}

Causes

  • Spring Data REST defaults to HAL for media type 'application/hal+json'.
  • Configuration settings dictate the output format.

Solutions

  • Use a custom HttpMessageConverter to override the default HAL output.
  • Configuring Spring to accept only 'application/json' when responding to requests.

Common Mistakes

Mistake: Not configuring the MediaType correctly in controller methods.

Solution: Ensure that your controller methods respond with `@RequestMapping(produces = MediaType.APPLICATION_JSON_VALUE)`.

Mistake: Forgetting to add custom converters to the Spring context.

Solution: Make sure your custom converters bean is correctly declared in the application context.

Helpers

  • Spring Data REST
  • Plain JSON
  • HAL format
  • REST API
  • Spring Framework

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