Spring Boot Quickstart

If you haven't yet got your first Spring Boot request working, start here.

1. The shortest success path

This page verifies exactly four things:

Pull in ai4j-spring-boot-starter
Configure ai.* in application.yml
Inject AiService
Issue your first ChatCompletion

If these four steps hold, it means:

The starter is in your project
Auto-configuration has taken effect
Configuration binding is working
A usable AI4J Bean is already sitting in the container

2. Minimum dependency

The minimum dependency is just:

ai4j-spring-boot-starter

This path assumes the Core SDK has already been brought into the container by the starter; you don't need to manually reassemble the lower-level entry points.

3. Minimum configuration

ai:
  openai:
    api-key: ${OPENAI_API_KEY}

If your network environment requires a proxy, add ai.okhttp.* as well.

The core judgment at this step is not "have you memorized every field", but rather:

Whether the configuration actually enters the Spring environment
Whether the provider's minimum required fields are in place

4. Minimum invocation

@Autowired
private AiService aiService;

public String chatOnce(String userInput) throws Exception {
    IChatService chatService = aiService.getChatService(PlatformType.OPENAI);
    ChatCompletion req = ChatCompletion.builder()
            .model("gpt-4o-mini")
            .message(ChatMessage.withUser(userInput))
            .build();
    return chatService.chatCompletion(req)
            .getChoices().get(0).getMessage().getContent().getText();
}

What this code actually verifies is:

Spring has injected AiService
AiService can resolve a service by PlatformType
The first model request already runs inside a business Bean

5. Where to go next once it works

Continue in this order:

If you're not yet clear on the underlying capability boundaries, go back and fill in:

6. What to check first when it doesn't work

Check in this order:

Whether the starter was actually pulled in
Whether the ai.* configuration is being read by Spring
Whether the API Key / network / proxy are working
Whether you can't get the Bean at all, or you can get the Bean but the request fails

If it's a wiring-stage problem, revisit:

1. The shortest success path​

2. Minimum dependency​

3. Minimum configuration​

4. Minimum invocation​

5. Where to go next once it works​

6. What to check first when it doesn't work​