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Marcin Parśniak
Marcin Parśniak

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Deploying Finovara on Docker and fixing a critical bug.

#devops #docker #java #programming

I recently decided to move my Spring Boot app Finovara to Docker.

At first it was just supposed to be a small improvement to the setup.
In reality, it turned into a debugging session that took way longer than I expected.

Why I even bothered with Docker

There were a few reasons behind this:

  • I wanted more control over the environment
  • I needed a separate database (finovara-test) for automated tests
  • I was tired of manually setting everything up locally
  • and I wanted something closer to a real production setup

Initial setup

I started with a simple PostgreSQL container and connected my app to it.

Here’s a simplified version of what I used:

services:
  finovara-db:
    image: postgres:15
    container_name: finovara-db
    restart: always
    environment:
      POSTGRES_DB: finovara
      POSTGRES_USER: postgres
      POSTGRES_PASSWORD: ${DB_PASSWORD}
    ports:
      - "5432:5432"
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD-SHELL", "pg_isready -U postgres"]
      interval: 5s
      retries: 10
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Dockerfile:

FROM eclipse-temurin:21-jdk
WORKDIR /app
COPY target/*.jar app.jar
ENTRYPOINT ["java", "-jar", "app.jar"]
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Everything started without issues.
Database was running, app connected, no errors.

So I thought I was done.

The moment things got weird

I made some changes in the app, rebuilt everything, ran it again and nothing changed.

  • same responses
  • same data
  • same behavior

At this point I was pretty sure I messed something up.

What I thought vs what it actually was

My first guess was Docker caching.
Seemed like the obvious explanation.

But after digging a bit more, it turned out to be something else entirely.

The app was connecting to a completely different database than I expected.

Everything looked correct:

  • same DB name
  • same user
  • same config

So from the outside it looked like everything was fine, but I was basically working on one database and checking another.

Fixing it

The fix wasn’t one single thing, more like a combination of small adjustments:

  • I changed the password in my .env file
  • I changed the port, because something else was already using 5432
  • I cleaned up and adjusted the docker-compose config
  • and most importantly, I actually verified which database the app connects to

After that, everything finally made sense again and changes started showing up immediately.

Thanks for reading and visit my github!

GitHub logo M4rc1nek / finovara-backend

Backend service for a personal finance management application

Finovara

Finovara is a financial management platform designed to help users effectively track analyze, and optimize their income, expenses, and savings The application provides a secure, bank-like experience focused on transparency, financial awareness, and long-term money planning.

🎯 Purpose of the Application

Finovara aims to support users in making better financial decisions by offering clear insights into their financial activity and helping them maintain control over their budgets and savings.

The platform focuses on:

  • organizing income and expenses in a structured way
  • visualizing financial data through charts and statistics
  • supporting saving goals and spending limits
  • providing a virtual wallet concept for daily financial management

🚀 Key Features

  • Secure user authentication and authorization
  • Income and expense tracking
  • Categorization of financial operations
  • Interactive charts and financial statistics
  • Reports summarizing spending and income trends
  • Virtual wallet management
  • Savings goals (e.g. piggy banks)
  • Spending limits and budget control
  • Scalable architecture prepared for future financial…
View on GitHub

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