Software⏱️ 3 min read📅 2026-06-03

How to Fix: Spring Boot REST service exception handling

Configure Spring Boot to handle exceptions differently than the default /error endpoint.

Quick Answer: Use @ExceptionHandler and @RestControllerAdvice annotations to create custom exception handling logic.

The issue you're experiencing is related to Spring Boot's default error handling mechanism, which redirects controller exceptions to /error. This can be frustrating for developers and users alike, especially when working with large-scale REST services.

To address this issue, we'll explore the root causes of the problem and provide a step-by-step guide on how to disable or customize the default error handling behavior in your Spring Boot application.

💡 Why You Are Getting This Error

  • The primary reason for this issue is that Spring Boot sets up a global error page mapping by default. This mapping is registered as a servlet container configuration, which applies to all controllers and exceptions in the application.
  • An alternative cause could be related to your controller implementation or configuration, such as using @RestController and @RequestMapping annotations incorrectly.

🔧 Proven Troubleshooting Steps

Customize or disable the default error handling mechanism

  1. Step 1: Add the following configuration to your Spring Boot application.properties file: spring.web.error.page=/{exception} (this will disable the default /error mapping)
  2. Step 2: Alternatively, you can use @ExceptionHandler annotations on individual controller methods to handle exceptions in a custom manner.
  3. Step 3: To do this, add an @ExceptionHandler method above or below the affected controller method, like so: @ExceptionHandler(HttpException.class) public ResponseEntity handleHttpError(HttpException ex)

Configure error handling using global exception handler

  1. Step 1: Create a new class that extends ExceptionHandlerExceptionResolver and overrides the resolveExceptions method. This will allow you to customize the default error handling behavior.
  2. Step 2: In this class, use @Override public void resolveExceptions(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response, Exception ex) to handle exceptions in a custom manner.

🎯 Final Words

By following these steps, you should be able to disable or customize the default error handling mechanism in your Spring Boot application. This will provide more control over how exceptions are handled and displayed to users.

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