Building one full-stack app in a weekend is already a challenge. I built three. The stack? Spring Boot for the backend and React for the frontend. It wasn't burnout — it was one of the most productive weekends I've ever had.

Here's how I pulled it off, what I built, and why this combo is still my favorite for rapid prototyping.

Why Spring Boot + React?

• Spring Boot → Production-ready backend in minutes, with REST APIs, security, and database integrations.
• React → Fast, reusable UI components. Perfect for quick prototypes.
• PostgreSQL → A reliable database that just works with Spring Data JPA.

Together, they let me focus on features, not boilerplate.

App #1: Task Manager

Every hackathon starts with a to-do list — I just gave mine superpowers.

Backend (Spring Boot):

@RestController
@RequestMapping("/tasks")
public class TaskController {

@Autowired
    private TaskRepository repo;
    @PostMapping
    public Task create(@RequestBody Task task) {
        return repo.save(task);
    }
    @GetMapping
    public List<Task> all() {
        return repo.findAll();
    }
}

Frontend (React + Axios):

import { useEffect, useState } from "react";
import axios from "axios";

export default function TaskList() {
  const [tasks, setTasks] = useState([]);
  useEffect(() => {
    axios.get("/tasks").then(res => setTasks(res.data));
  }, []);
  return (
    <ul>
      {tasks.map(t => <li key={t.id}>{t.title}</li>)}
    </ul>
  );
}

Time to build: 3 hours.

App #2: Expense Tracker

I wanted something practical. The expense tracker aggregated spending and showed monthly reports.

Backend (Spring Boot with Aggregation):

@Query("SELECT new com.example.Summary(MONTH(e.date), SUM(e.amount)) " +
       "FROM Expense e GROUP BY MONTH(e.date)")
List<Summary> findMonthlySummary();

Frontend (React + Recharts):

import { BarChart, Bar, XAxis, YAxis, Tooltip } from "recharts";

function ExpenseChart({ data }) {
  return (
    <BarChart width={400} height={300} data={data}>
      <XAxis dataKey="month" />
      <YAxis />
      <Tooltip />
      <Bar dataKey="total" fill="#82ca9d" />
    </BarChart>
  );
}

Now I could see where my money was going every month.

App #3: Real-Time Chat

The most fun — and the most challenging.

Backend (Spring Boot + WebSocket):

@Configuration
@EnableWebSocketMessageBroker
public class WebSocketConfig implements WebSocketMessageBrokerConfigurer {
    @Override
    public void configureMessageBroker(MessageBrokerRegistry config) {
        config.enableSimpleBroker("/topic");
        config.setApplicationDestinationPrefixes("/app");
    }

@Override
    public void registerStompEndpoints(StompEndpointRegistry registry) {
        registry.addEndpoint("/chat").withSockJS();
    }
}

Frontend (React + SockJS + StompJS):

import SockJS from "sockjs-client";
import Stomp from "stompjs";

const socket = new SockJS("/chat");
const stompClient = Stomp.over(socket);
stompClient.connect({}, () => {
  stompClient.subscribe("/topic/messages", (msg) => {
    console.log(JSON.parse(msg.body));
  });
  stompClient.send("/app/chat", {}, JSON.stringify({ text: "Hello World" }));
});

And just like that — real-time messaging with less than 150 lines of backend code.

Key Takeaways

1. Spring Boot cuts setup time → focus on features, not configs.
2. React is modular → reuse components across projects.
3. APIs-first mindset → clean separation of concerns
4. Three apps in one weekend is doable — if you scope each one carefully.

Final Thoughts

In 2025, speed to prototype is everything. Whether you're validating a startup idea or just sharpening your skills, Spring Boot + React is still one of the fastest paths from idea → working product.