[[actuator.enabling]]
== Enabling Production-ready Features
The {spring-boot-code}/spring-boot-project/spring-boot-actuator[`spring-boot-actuator`] module provides all of Spring Boot's production-ready features.
The recommended way to enable the features is to add a dependency on the `spring-boot-starter-actuator` "`Starter`".

.Definition of Actuator
****
An actuator is a manufacturing term that refers to a mechanical device for moving or controlling something.
Actuators can generate a large amount of motion from a small change.
****

To add the actuator to a Maven-based project, add the following '`Starter`' dependency:

[source,xml,indent=0,subs="verbatim"]
----
	<dependencies>
		<dependency>
			<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
			<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-actuator</artifactId>
		</dependency>
	</dependencies>
----

For Gradle, use the following declaration:

[source,gradle,indent=0,subs="verbatim"]
----
	dependencies {
		implementation 'org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-actuator'
	}
----