The @Configuration annotation in Spring Boot is used to indicate that a class contains Spring bean definitions and can be used by the Spring container to configure the application context. It marks the class as a source of bean definitions for the application.

  • Role:
    • It tells Spring to treat the class as a configuration class, similar to an XML configuration file in traditional Spring.
    • It is typically used with methods annotated with @Bean to define individual beans in the context.
    • It allows you to configure settings or integrate third-party libraries within the application.

In summary, @Configuration is essential for defining and managing beans in Spring Boot, providing a Java-based alternative to XML configuration.