Configuring a Global Date and Time Format

By default, date and time fields not annotated with @DateTimeFormat are converted from strings by using the DateFormat.SHORT style. If you prefer, you can change this by defining your own global format.

To do that, ensure that Spring does not register default formatters. Instead, register formatters manually with the help of:

org.springframework.format.datetime.standard.DateTimeFormatterRegistrar
org.springframework.format.datetime.DateFormatterRegistrar

For example, the following Java configuration registers a global yyyyMMdd format:

Java
Kotlin

@Configuration
public class AppConfig {

	@Bean
	public FormattingConversionService conversionService() {

		// Use the DefaultFormattingConversionService but do not register defaults
		DefaultFormattingConversionService conversionService =
			new DefaultFormattingConversionService(false);

		// Ensure @NumberFormat is still supported
		conversionService.addFormatterForFieldAnnotation(
			new NumberFormatAnnotationFormatterFactory());

		// Register JSR-310 date conversion with a specific global format
		DateTimeFormatterRegistrar dateTimeRegistrar = new DateTimeFormatterRegistrar();
		dateTimeRegistrar.setDateFormatter(DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("yyyyMMdd"));
		dateTimeRegistrar.registerFormatters(conversionService);

		// Register date conversion with a specific global format
		DateFormatterRegistrar dateRegistrar = new DateFormatterRegistrar();
		dateRegistrar.setFormatter(new DateFormatter("yyyyMMdd"));
		dateRegistrar.registerFormatters(conversionService);

		return conversionService;
	}
}

@Configuration
class AppConfig {

	@Bean
	fun conversionService(): FormattingConversionService {
		// Use the DefaultFormattingConversionService but do not register defaults
		return DefaultFormattingConversionService(false).apply {

			// Ensure @NumberFormat is still supported
			addFormatterForFieldAnnotation(NumberFormatAnnotationFormatterFactory())

			// Register JSR-310 date conversion with a specific global format
			val dateTimeRegistrar = DateTimeFormatterRegistrar()
			dateTimeRegistrar.setDateFormatter(DateTimeFormatter.ofPattern("yyyyMMdd"))
			dateTimeRegistrar.registerFormatters(this)

			// Register date conversion with a specific global format
			val dateRegistrar = DateFormatterRegistrar()
			dateRegistrar.setFormatter(DateFormatter("yyyyMMdd"))
			dateRegistrar.registerFormatters(this)
		}
	}
}

If you prefer XML-based configuration, you can use a FormattingConversionServiceFactoryBean. The following example shows how to do so:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<beans xmlns="http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans"
	xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
	xsi:schemaLocation="
		http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans
		https://www.springframework.org/schema/beans/spring-beans.xsd">

	<bean id="conversionService" class="org.springframework.format.support.FormattingConversionServiceFactoryBean">
		<property name="registerDefaultFormatters" value="false" />
		<property name="formatters">
			<set>
				<bean class="org.springframework.format.number.NumberFormatAnnotationFormatterFactory" />
			</set>
		</property>
		<property name="formatterRegistrars">
			<set>
				<bean class="org.springframework.format.datetime.standard.DateTimeFormatterRegistrar">
					<property name="dateFormatter">
						<bean class="org.springframework.format.datetime.standard.DateTimeFormatterFactoryBean">
							<property name="pattern" value="yyyyMMdd"/>
						</bean>
					</property>
				</bean>
			</set>
		</property>
	</bean>
</beans>

Note there are extra considerations when configuring date and time formats in web applications. Please see WebMVC Conversion and Formatting or WebFlux Conversion and Formatting.