[appendix]
[[appendix.configuration-metadata]]
= Configuration Metadata

Spring Boot jars include metadata files that provide details of all supported configuration properties.
The files are designed to let IDE developers offer contextual help and "`code completion`" as users are working with `application.properties` or `application.yaml` files.

The majority of the metadata file is generated automatically at compile time by processing all items annotated with javadoc:org.springframework.boot.context.properties.ConfigurationProperties[format=annotation].
However, it is possible to xref:configuration-metadata/annotation-processor.adoc#appendix.configuration-metadata.annotation-processor.adding-additional-metadata[write part of the metadata manually] for corner cases or more advanced use cases.
