--- title: Introducing CoilBase, an open-source Java application... description: CoilBase is an open-source Java application foundation that offers Spring-like structure without a heavyweight runtime. It keeps the... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/introducing-coilbase-an-open-source-java-application-foundation-y5ac6buyq twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Introducing CoilBase, an open-source Java application foundation | daily.dev og:description: CoilBase is an open-source Java application foundation that offers Spring-like structure without a heavyweight runtime. It keeps the... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/introducing-coilbase-an-open-source-java-application-foundation-y5ac6buyq og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/y5aC6Buyq.png og:image:alt: Introducing CoilBase, an open-source Java application foundation og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Introducing CoilBase, an open-source Java application foundation **[Daily Open Source Tools](https://daily.dev/sources/dailyopensourcetools)** · [@ejboy](https://daily.dev/ejboy) · 1 min read · 17 upvotes · 1 comments ## Summary CoilBase is an open-source Java application foundation that offers Spring-like structure without a heavyweight runtime. It keeps the controller-service-repository pattern, explicit transactions, and JDBC persistence. In tests on 512 MiB Linux VMs, complete CoilBase applications with Avaje Jex and GraalVM Native Image used 33 to 51 MiB RAM, versus 181 to 188 MiB for Spring Boot with Spring JDBC on HotSpot. Spring Boot with Spring JDBC used 84 to 85 MiB with Native Image. The project is still in preview and open to feedback and contributions. ## Content **Spring-like comfort, without the weight.** The idea is simple: keep the familiar controller → service → repository structure, explicit transactions, and JDBC persistence without requiring a heavyweight framework runtime. In recent experiments on 512 MiB Linux VMs, complete CoilBase applications running HTTP + database workloads used: - **33–51 MiB RAM** with Avaje Jex + GraalVM Native Image - **58–59 MiB RAM** with Javalin + GraalVM Native Image - **116 MiB RAM** with Avaje Jex + HotSpot JDK 27 For comparison, Spring Boot + Spring JDBC measured **181-188 MiB** on HotSpot and **84–85 MiB** with Native Image under the same test workload. These are median application RSS measurements, not minimum RAM requirements. The benchmarks are exploratory, but the results are encouraging for resource-constrained deployments. CoilBase is still in preview. Feedback and contributions are welcome. **GitHub:** [https://github.com/PVRLabs/coilbase](https://github.com/PVRLabs/coilbase) **Benchmarks and methodology:** [https://github.com/PVRLabs/coilbase/blob/main/docs/benchmarks.md](https://github.com/PVRLabs/coilbase/blob/main/docs/benchmarks.md) ## Community discussion Top comments from developers on daily.dev. **@ejboy** · 0 upvotes > Thanks for the interest in CoilBase! It's still experimental, and I'm exploring where to take it next. > > It grew out of my Java performance experiments. I wanted a consistent way to build lean applications, switch between HTTP frameworks without rewriting business logic, and retain the familiar Spring Boot-style architecture without the heavier runtime footprint. > > I've also documented how CoilBase compares with Spring Boot, including what stays familiar and what works... ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [A Smaller, Faster Java Server with a Spring-Style API](https://daily.dev/posts/a-smaller-faster-java-server-with-a-spring-style-api-hgpirdk2i) · Foojay.io · 40 upvotes · 1 comments - [GraalVM: Fast Java, Fine Print](https://daily.dev/posts/graalvm-fast-java-fine-print-fgozwvxtr) · Medium · 11 upvotes · 0 comments - [Java Weekly, Issue 635](https://daily.dev/posts/java-weekly-issue-635-69kj2fura) · Baeldung · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [Spring, Quarkus,Jooby, or Vert.x: Java Framework Comparison](https://daily.dev/posts/spring-quarkus-jooby-or-vert-x-java-framework-comparison-xbdsfwtwa) · Foojay.io · 15 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#java](https://daily.dev/tags/java), [#spring-boot](https://daily.dev/tags/spring-boot) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/introducing-coilbase-an-open-source-java-application-foundation-y5ac6buyq) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"DiscussionForumPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https://daily.dev/posts/introducing-coilbase-an-open-source-java-application-foundation-y5ac6buyq","headline":"Introducing CoilBase, an open-source Java application foundation","text":"CoilBase is an open-source Java application foundation that offers Spring-like structure without a heavyweight runtime. It keeps the controller-service-repository pattern, explicit transactions, and JDBC persistence. In tests on 512 MiB Linux VMs, complete CoilBase applications with Avaje Jex and GraalVM Native Image used 33 to 51 MiB RAM, versus 181 to 188 MiB for Spring Boot with Spring JDBC on HotSpot. Spring Boot with Spring JDBC used 84 to 85 MiB with Native Image. 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It’s still experimental, and I’m exploring where to take it next.\nIt grew out of my Java performance experiments. I wanted a consistent way to build lean applications, switch between HTTP frameworks without rewriting business logic, and retain the familiar Spring Boot-style architecture without the heavier runtime footprint.\nI’ve also documented how CoilBase compares with Spring Boot, including what stays familiar and what works differently:\nhttps://github.com/PVRLabs/coilbase/blob/main/docs/comparison-with-spring-boot.md\nI’m particularly interested in what people would find useful next: more Spring Boot compatibility, additional framework integrations, or keeping the core as small and focused as possible.\nThoughts and suggestions are welcome!","datePublished":"2026-11-08T14:54:25.371Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/y5aC6Buyq#c-7Vg1gdYDv","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Ted K","url":"https://daily.dev/ejboy","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--PzSRqJKu--/f_auto/v1787843390/avatars/avatar_Szw3t3q8eJYj5aTperuyF?_a=BAMAMicg0"}}],"isPartOf":{"@type":"WebPage","url":"https://daily.dev/squads/dailyopensourcetools","name":"Daily Open Source Tools"}} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Daily Open Source Tools","item":"https://daily.dev/squads/dailyopensourcetools"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Introducing CoilBase, an open-source Java application foundation"}]} ```