I'm curious about the popularity and relevancy of JHipster for creating production-grade applications in 2025. Do you or anyone you know actively use it? Also, have you used tools like JDL Studio or the JHipster IDE/UML? What technologies do you typically incorporate in your JHipster-generated applications?
4 Answers
I got roped into using JHipster by a client who clearly hadn't tested it themselves. It was useful for a brief period before turning into a headache. Code generation can speed things up, but it makes future changes a hassle. You can't just modify code when the tool locks you down. I don't see how it gets traction in any serious projects—perhaps only for small toy projects.
It feels like the tech world is too focused on rapid initial setups rather than long-term maintainability.
JHipster tends to generate a ton of unnecessary code, like Groovy/Grails. These days, I prefer Bootify.io for a more minimalist approach.
You can actually customize what you need when generating code, plus they have JHipster Lite for ultra customization.
Honestly, we started our business with JHipster and Spring Boot apps about 10 years ago. Back then, it was pretty chaotic, and I wouldn't recommend it now. Most of that initial code has been rewritten or ditched altogether! It's surprising to see people still bring it up.
What led you to choose it initially? A compelling article, perhaps?
What tech stack are you using now instead?
Inherited a project built with JHipster and Angular, and it was a configuration nightmare. There were times when the wrong Node version caused builds to fail. It's okay for quick MVPs, but for long-term projects, it gets tough to maintain. I suggest keeping your Spring Boot app and UI separate.
JHipster does allow separate frontend and backend apps if you set it up that way.
Yeah, I've seen people separate the SPA from the API from the get-go. The newer JHipster versions are looking decent!
I've heard similar things... easier to start, but not sustainable.