Spring Boot Property Sorter
There are two types of Spring Boot developers in this world.
The first type opens an application.properties file and just adds a new line at the bottom. It doesn’t matter if the new config is related to the database and the bottom line is currently defining a logging level. They just append it. server.port is on line 1, server.servlet.context-path is on line 500. Chaos reigns.
The second type of developer opens that file and feels a physical twitch. They need the database configs with the database configs. They need the security settings grouped together. They need alphabetical order.
If you are the second type (or you want to be), this guide is for you.
Managing configuration files in large Microservices can get messy fast. When you have hundreds of keys controlling everything from HikariCP pool sizes to OAuth2 scopes, a disordered file isn’t just ugly—it’s a productivity killer.
In this post, we’ll look at why spring properties ordering matters more than you think, the best practices for organizing your config, and how to use a spring boot property sorter to clean up the mess instantly.
Why Does Property Ordering Even Matter?
You might argue that Spring Boot doesn’t care. And you’d be right. Spring Boot loads spring.datasource.url the same way whether it’s at the top of the file or buried in the middle.
But humans care. And Git cares.
1. The “Git Merge” Nightmare
Imagine Developer A adds a new feature flag at the bottom of the file. Developer B adds a database timeout at the bottom of the file.
When they try to merge, Git sees a conflict on the last line. If you had a sorted file, Developer A’s key would be under f (for feature) and Developer B’s key would be under d (for database). No conflict. Sorting your properties significantly reduces merge conflicts in team environments.
2. The “3 AM Debugging” Scenario
When production is down and you are scanning a config file to see if the timeout is set to 5 seconds or 50 seconds, you don’t want to use Ctrl+F and hope you typed the key correctly. You want to scroll to the spring.datasource section and see everything in one block. Logical grouping saves brain cycles.
Best Practices for Ordering Spring Properties
Before we automate it, let’s define what “good” looks like.
1. Group by Prefix (The Golden Rule) This is non-negotiable. All spring.* keys should be together. All server.* keys should be together. Never interleave them.
server.port=8080
spring.datasource.url=jdbc:mysql://...
server.servlet.context-path=/apiGood:
server.port=8080
server.servlet.context-path=/api
spring.datasource.url=jdbc:mysql://...2. Alphabetical Sorting (The “Strict” Approach) This is where automation helps. Within a group (like spring.jpa.*), sort the keys alphabetically. spring.jpa.database comes before spring.jpa.show-sql.
It sounds pedantic, but it makes the file predictable. If you know the alphabet, you know exactly where to look.
3. Standard vs. Custom Keep standard Framework properties at the top, and your custom application properties (e.g., myapp.custom.feature) at the bottom. This separates “Configuration of the container” from “Configuration of the business logic.”
The Problem with Doing It Manually
The problem with these best practices is that they require discipline.
Every time you paste a snippet from StackOverflow, you have to carefully insert it in the right place. If you are migrating a legacy project with a 1,000-line application.properties file, manually sorting it is a task you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy.
Most IDEs have “Sort Lines” features, but they are dumb. They sort strictly by text. This breaks comments.
If you have:
# Database Settings
spring.datasource.url=...And you run a standard text sort, the comment # Database Settings will float away to the top of the file near other hashtags, leaving your property orphaned.
How to Sort Spring Boot Properties Automatically
The fastest way to clean up a messy configuration file without breaking the logical structure (or losing your mind) is to use a dedicated tool.
We have built a specific feature for this in our online converter.
Using the Toolshref Spring Boot Property Sorter
While our tool is famous for converting between Properties and YAML, it has a hidden superpower: Structure Normalization.
Here is how to use it to clean your code:
- Paste your messy code: Take your entire unsorted
application.propertiesfile. - Check the “Sort Keys” Box: This tells the engine to re-order the output.
- Convert:
- If you want to switch to YAML (which enforces structure by design), just hit convert. The result will be perfectly indented and alphabetically sorted.
- If you want to stay in
.properties, you can convert to YAML and then swap back to Properties. The tool reconstructs the dot-notation keys (spring.datasource.x) based on the sorted hierarchy.
Why this is safer than a text editor sort: Because the tool parses the structure, not just the text lines. It understands that spring.datasource.password belongs to the spring.datasource family. It groups them logically first, and then sorts them alphabetically.
YAML: The Ultimate Sorting Hack
If you are struggling with ordering, the nuclear option is to switch to YAML.
YAML forces you to be organized. You physically cannot have server.port on line 1 and server.servlet on line 50 without duplicating the root server: key (which is invalid or just messy YAML).
By running your properties through our converter, you get a visual audit of your configuration. You will often spot duplicate keys you didn’t know existed (where line 100 overwrites line 10) because the parser will merge them into a single block.
Summary | Spring Boot Property Sorter
A clean configuration file is a sign of a healthy project. It reduces merge conflicts, speeds up debugging, and just looks professional.
Don’t waste hours manually cutting and pasting lines to get them in ABC order.
- Follow the Group by Prefix rule.
- Use a spring boot property sorter to instantly alphabetize and group your keys.
- Consider moving to YAML if properties files are becoming unmanageable.
Your future self (debugging at 3 AM) will thank you.
Frequently Asked Questions | Spring Boot Property Sorter
How do I sort keys in application.properties efficiently? Doing this manually is a nightmare. The best way is to use a Spring Boot Property Sorter. Unlike a simple text sorter, a dedicated tool understands the dot-notation hierarchy of Spring Boot. It groups related keys (like spring.jpa) together and then alphabetizes them, giving you a clean, standardized file in seconds.
Should properties be ordered alphabetically or logically? The industry standard is Logical Grouping first, then Alphabetical. You should group top-level prefixes together (e.g., all logging.* configs in one block). Inside that block, sort the keys alphabetically. This gives you the predictability of A-Z sorting without scattering related configurations across the file.
Can I just use the “Sort Lines” feature in IntelliJ or VS Code? You can, but be careful. Standard line sorting is “dumb”—it looks at the first letter of the line. This often breaks comments (sending # Database to the top of the file) and can separate keys that logically belong together if their prefixes differ slightly. Using a parser-based tool avoids these issues.