Start a Project

The Vaadin Start on-line interface allows you to configure and download the core of a functional Vaadin project. At a minimum, you can then use that project as a starting point to create your own Vaadin application. Even more so, it allows you easily to do several fundamental things.

First, Vaadin Start allows you to add several views to an application. You can select the initial content of each view from a list of more than fifteen templates. For example, you can include views based on the Master-Detail template, which can be used to manage an entity’s data.

Next, you can add and modify JPA entities. These entities are downloaded with the generated project, along with their corresponding Spring Data classes, such as the Repository and Service.

You can also set up security and configure access control. This can be configured for a specific view, or for the entire application.

Vaadin Start lets you easily change the look and feel of the application. Specifically, you can adjust the application’s colors, typography, style, sizing, and spacing.

Plus, you can add helpful project settings. For example, you can generate the deployment files for Docker and Kubernetes, or you can select between H2 and PostgreSQL as the database to use for the project.

Applications created using Vaadin Start are based on Spring Boot. You can find Vaadin Flow starters, if you’d prefer, for other technology stacks:

Once you’ve downloaded a starter project and have extracted it in a local folder, you can then import it into your favorite integrated development environment (IDE) to develop it further.

If you create a project outside an IDE, you’ll have to import it into one. During development, you can run the project with a Maven target, depending on the technology stack you’re using. After you have the project in your IDE, you can then develop, run, or debug it.