[appendix]
[[appendix.configuration-metadata]]
= Configuration Metadata
include::attributes.adoc[]



Spring Boot jars include metadata files that provide details of all supported configuration properties.
The files are designed to let IDE developers offer contextual help and "`code completion`" as users are working with `application.properties` or `application.yml` files.

The majority of the metadata file is generated automatically at compile time by processing all items annotated with `@ConfigurationProperties`.
However, it is possible to <<configuration-metadata#appendix.configuration-metadata.annotation-processor.adding-additional-metadata,write part of the metadata manually>> for corner cases or more advanced use cases.



include::configuration-metadata/format.adoc[]

include::configuration-metadata/manual-hints.adoc[]

include::configuration-metadata/annotation-processor.adoc[]
