Hackforge Academy

Category: React • Beginner

Published on 06 Apr 2026

Explanation

Thymeleaf is a Java-based server-side template engine used in Spring Boot to create dynamic web pages. It allows developers to combine HTML with backend data and render views before sending them to the browser.

Code Example

// Example Controller returning 
//Thymeleaf view
@GetMapping("/home")
public String home() {
    return "home";
}

Explanation

Thymeleaf templates are stored inside the templates folder in Spring Boot and usually have .html extension.

Code Example

src/main/resources/templates/home.html

Explanation

Dynamic values from the controller can be passed to Thymeleaf templates using the Model object.

Code Example

@GetMapping("/welcome")
public String welcome(Model model) {
    model.addAttribute("name", "Praveen");
    return "welcome";
}

Explanation

Inside the Thymeleaf HTML file, values passed from the controller can be displayed using th:text attribute.

Code Example

<h1 th:text="${name}"></h1>

Explanation

Thymeleaf supports conditions, loops, and dynamic rendering similar to frontend frameworks but executed on the server side.

Code Example

<ul>
  <li th:each="student : ${students}" 
th:text="${student}"></li>
</ul>

Explanation

Thymeleaf is commonly used in Spring Boot MVC applications to build login forms, dashboards, and admin panels where server-side rendering is required instead of REST APIs with React or Angular 🚀.

Code Example

@GetMapping("/students")
public String students(Model model) {
    model.addAttribute("students", 
List.of("Arun", "Divya", "Rahul"));
    return "students";
}