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Spring - Adding user properties by using @PropertySource

[Last Updated: Feb 9, 2026]

In this tutorial we will see how to add user properties to Spring Environment using @PropertySource.

@PropertySource annotation is used on @Configuration classes.

Definition of PropertySource

Version: 7.0.3
 package org.springframework.context.annotation;
 @Target(ElementType.TYPE)
 @Retention(RetentionPolicy.RUNTIME)
 @Documented
 @Repeatable(PropertySources.class)
 public @interface PropertySource {
     String name() default ""; 1
     String[] value(); 2
     boolean ignoreResourceNotFound() default false; 3
     String encoding() default ""; 4
     Class<? extends PropertySourceFactory> factory()
                                    default PropertySourceFactory.class; 5
 }
1Indicate the unique name of this property source.
2Indicate the resource locations of the properties files to be loaded.
3Indicate if a failure to find a #value should be ignored. (Since 4.0)
4A specific character encoding for the given resources, for example, "UTF-8". (Since 4.3)
5Specify a custom PropertySourceFactory, if any. (Since 4.3)

Example

User property file

src/main/resources/app.properties

contact-person=Monica J. Pace

Using @PropertySource

package com.logicbig.example;

import org.springframework.context.annotation.AnnotationConfigApplicationContext;
import org.springframework.context.annotation.Configuration;
import org.springframework.context.annotation.PropertySource;
import org.springframework.core.env.ConfigurableEnvironment;

@Configuration
@PropertySource("classpath:app.properties")
public class UserPropertySourceExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        AnnotationConfigApplicationContext context =
                new AnnotationConfigApplicationContext(UserPropertySourceExample.class);
        ConfigurableEnvironment env = context.getEnvironment();
        System.out.println("property sources:" + env.getPropertySources());
        String contactPerson = env.getProperty("contact-person");
        System.out.println("contact-person: " + contactPerson);
    }
}

Output

property sources:[PropertiesPropertySource {name='systemProperties'}, SystemEnvironmentPropertySource {name='systemEnvironment'}, ResourcePropertySource {name='class path resource [app.properties]'}]
contact-person: Monica J. Pace

Example Project

Dependencies and Technologies Used:

  • spring-context 7.0.3 (Spring Context)
     Version Compatibility: 3.2.3.RELEASE - 7.0.3Version List
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    Version compatibilities of spring-context with this example:

    • 3.2.3.RELEASE
    • 3.2.4.RELEASE
    • 3.2.5.RELEASE
    • 3.2.6.RELEASE
    • 3.2.7.RELEASE
    • 3.2.8.RELEASE
    • 3.2.9.RELEASE
    • 3.2.10.RELEASE
    • 3.2.11.RELEASE
    • 3.2.12.RELEASE
    • 3.2.13.RELEASE
    • 3.2.14.RELEASE
    • 3.2.15.RELEASE
    • 3.2.16.RELEASE
    • 3.2.17.RELEASE
    • 3.2.18.RELEASE
    • 4.0.0.RELEASE
    • 4.0.1.RELEASE
    • 4.0.2.RELEASE
    • 4.0.3.RELEASE
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    • 4.1.0.RELEASE
    • 4.1.1.RELEASE
    • 4.1.2.RELEASE
    • 4.1.3.RELEASE
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    • 4.1.5.RELEASE
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    • 5.1.9.RELEASE
    • 5.1.10.RELEASE
    • 5.1.11.RELEASE
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    • 5.2.11.RELEASE
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    • 5.2.14.RELEASE
    • 5.2.15.RELEASE
    • 5.2.16.RELEASE
    • 5.2.17.RELEASE
    • 5.2.18.RELEASE
    • 5.2.19.RELEASE
    • 5.2.20.RELEASE
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    • 5.3.0
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    • Compatible Java Version: 17+
    • 6.0.0
    • 6.0.1
    • 6.0.2
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    • 6.1.0
    • 6.1.1
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    • 6.1.3
    • 6.1.4
    • 6.1.5
    • 6.1.6
    • 6.1.7
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    • 6.1.10
    • 6.1.11
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    • 6.1.13
    • 6.1.14
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    • 6.1.16
    • 6.1.17
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    • 6.2.0
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    • 6.2.14
    • 6.2.15
    • 7.0.0
    • 7.0.1
    • 7.0.2
    • 7.0.3

    Versions in green have been tested.

  • JDK 25
  • Maven 3.9.11

@PropertySource annotation example Select All Download
  • spring-property-source-annotation
    • src
      • main
        • java
          • com
            • logicbig
              • example
                • UserPropertySourceExample.java
          • resources

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