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Spring MVC - HandlerMapping setInterceptors() Example

[Last Updated: Sep 26, 2026]

In this example, we will see how to set interceptors on a HandlerMapping by using the method AbstractHandlerMapping#setInterceptors().

Example

Creating an interceptor

package com.logicbig.example;

import org.springframework.web.servlet.ModelAndView;
import org.springframework.web.servlet.HandlerInterceptor;

import jakarta.servlet.http.HttpServletRequest;
import jakarta.servlet.http.HttpServletResponse;

public class MyInterceptor implements HandlerInterceptor {

    @Override
    public boolean preHandle (HttpServletRequest request,
                              HttpServletResponse response,
                              Object handler) throws Exception {

        System.out.println("preHandle, URI: " + request.getRequestURI());
        return true;
    }

    @Override
    public void postHandle (HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response,
                            Object handler, ModelAndView modelAndView) throws Exception {
        System.out.println("postHandle, URI: " + request.getRequestURI());
    }
}

Registering the interceptor

In this example, we are going to use SimpleUrlHandlerMapping:

package com.logicbig.example;

import org.springframework.context.annotation.Bean;
import org.springframework.context.annotation.Configuration;
import org.springframework.web.HttpRequestHandler;
import org.springframework.web.servlet.config.annotation.EnableWebMvc;
import org.springframework.web.servlet.handler.SimpleUrlHandlerMapping;

import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.Map;

@EnableWebMvc
@Configuration
public class AppConfig {

    @Bean
    public SimpleUrlHandlerMapping simpleUrlHandlerMapping () {
        SimpleUrlHandlerMapping mapping = new SimpleUrlHandlerMapping();
        Map<String, Object> map = new HashMap<>();
        map.put("/app", httpRequestHandler());
        mapping.setUrlMap(map);
        mapping.setInterceptors(new Object[]{new MyInterceptor()});
        return mapping;
    }
    .............
    @Bean
    HttpRequestHandler httpRequestHandler () {
        return new MyHttpRequestHandler();
    }
}

The handler

package com.logicbig.example;

import org.springframework.web.HttpRequestHandler;

import jakarta.servlet.ServletException;
import jakarta.servlet.http.HttpServletRequest;
import jakarta.servlet.http.HttpServletResponse;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.PrintWriter;

public class MyHttpRequestHandler implements HttpRequestHandler {

    @Override
    public void handleRequest (HttpServletRequest request,
                               HttpServletResponse response)
              throws ServletException, IOException {
        System.out.println("handling request in MyHttpRequestHandler");
        PrintWriter writer = response.getWriter();
        writer.write("response from MyHttpRequestHandler, uri: " + request.getRequestURI());
    }
}

To try examples, run embedded Jetty (configured in pom.xml of example project below):

mvn jetty:run

Output

$ curl -s "http://localhost:8080/app"
response from MyHttpRequestHandler, uri: /app

Server Output


preHandle, URI: /app
handling request in MyHttpRequestHandler
postHandle, URI: /app

In the next tutorial, we will understand the difference between registering a HandlerInterceptor with HandlerMapping#setInterceptors() and with InterceptorRegistry#addInterceptor() (by implementing WebMvcConfigurer and overriding its addInterceptors() method).

Example Project

Dependencies and Technologies Used:

  • spring-webmvc 7.0.6 (Spring Web MVC)
     Version Compatibility: 3.2.9.RELEASE - 7.0.6Version List
    ×

    Version compatibilities of spring-webmvc with this example:

      javax.servlet-api:3.x
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      jakarta.servlet-api:6.x
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    Versions in green have been tested.

  • jakarta.servlet-api 6.1.0 (Jakarta Servlet API documentation)
  • JDK 25
  • Maven 3.9.11

Handler Interceptors Example Project Select All Download
  • handler-interceptors-example
    • src
      • main
        • java
          • com
            • logicbig
              • example
                • AppConfig.java

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