diff --git a/.github/renovate.json5 b/.github/renovate.json5
index 1b2281e927..8a7124746c 100644
--- a/.github/renovate.json5
+++ b/.github/renovate.json5
@@ -40,6 +40,15 @@
       "matchUpdateTypes": ["major"],
       "enabled": false
     },
+    {
+      // Spring starter doesn't support Spring Boot 4 yet
+      "matchPackageNames": ["org.springframework.boot"],
+      "matchFilePatterns": [
+        "spring-declarative-configuration/build.gradle.kts"
+      ],
+      "matchUpdateTypes": ["major"],
+      "enabled": false
+    },
     {
       // Skip locally built dice image used in logging-k8s-stdout-otlp-json
       "matchManagers": ["kubernetes"],
diff --git a/.github/workflows/oats-tests.yml b/.github/workflows/oats-tests.yml
index d8d84edb96..598a16351a 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/oats-tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/oats-tests.yml
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ on:
       - .mise/tasks/oats-tests.sh
       - 'logging-k8s-stdout-otlp-json/**'
       - 'javaagent-declarative-configuration/**'
+      - 'spring-declarative-configuration/**'
       - 'doc-snippets/extensions-minimal/**'
   workflow_dispatch:
 
diff --git a/.mise/tasks/oats-tests.sh b/.mise/tasks/oats-tests.sh
index 9b73e820d3..5a0507a246 100755
--- a/.mise/tasks/oats-tests.sh
+++ b/.mise/tasks/oats-tests.sh
@@ -11,5 +11,9 @@ pushd javaagent-declarative-configuration
 ../gradlew clean bootJar
 popd
 
-oats -timeout 5m logging-k8s-stdout-otlp-json/
-oats -timeout 5m javaagent-declarative-configuration/oats/
+pushd spring-declarative-configuration
+../gradlew clean bootJar
+popd
+
+# timeout for each test suite is 5 minutes
+oats -timeout 5m .
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 7a35020f0b..e44a7ed91c 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -86,6 +86,16 @@ To build the all of examples, run:
       OpenTelemetry SDK to use a Zipkin exporter and send spans to a
       Zipkin backend using the OpenTelemetry API.
     - Note: This example requires Docker to be installed.
+- [Declarative Configuration with the OpenTelemetry Java Agent](javaagent-declarative-configuration)
+    - This module demonstrates how to use declarative configuration with the
+      OpenTelemetry Java Agent to configure tracing behavior, including
+      excluding specific endpoints from tracing.
+    - Note: This example requires Java 17 or higher.
+- [Declarative Configuration with the OpenTelemetry Spring Boot Starter](spring-declarative-configuration)
+    - This module demonstrates how to use declarative configuration with the
+      OpenTelemetry Spring Boot Starter to configure tracing behavior,
+      including excluding specific endpoints from tracing.
+    - Note: This example requires Java 17 or higher.
 
 ## Contributing
 
diff --git a/settings.gradle.kts b/settings.gradle.kts
index cd6cd2eca4..bd0126598b 100644
--- a/settings.gradle.kts
+++ b/settings.gradle.kts
@@ -71,6 +71,7 @@ include(
     ":opentelemetry-examples-telemetry-testing",
     ":opentelemetry-examples-zipkin",
     ":opentelemetry-examples-spring-native",
+    ":opentelemetry-examples-spring-declarative-configuration",
     ":opentelemetry-examples-kotlin-extension",
     ":opentelemetry-examples-grpc",
     ":opentelemetry-examples-resource-detection-gcp",
diff --git a/spring-declarative-configuration/README.md b/spring-declarative-configuration/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..4642a625d7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spring-declarative-configuration/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,281 @@
+# Spring Boot Declarative Configuration Example
+
+This example demonstrates how to
+use [declarative configuration](https://opentelemetry.io/docs/specs/otel/configuration/#declarative-configuration)
+with the OpenTelemetry Spring Boot Starter to configure tracing, metrics, and logging for a Spring
+Boot application.
+
+Instead of using the OpenTelemetry Java Agent, this module uses the
+[OpenTelemetry Spring Boot Starter](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-java-instrumentation/tree/main/instrumentation/spring/spring-boot-autoconfigure)
+and configures declarative behavior via standard Spring Boot configuration in `application.yaml`.
+
+The main configuration file for this example is:
+
+- [`src/main/resources/application.yaml`](./src/main/resources/application.yaml)
+
+For the underlying declarative configuration schema and additional examples, see the
+[opentelemetry-configuration](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-configuration)
+repository.
+Remember that when you copy examples from that repository into a Spring Boot app, you must nest them
+under the `otel:` root node (two-space indentation for all keys shown below).
+
+This Spring Boot application includes two endpoints:
+
+- `/actuator/health` – A health check endpoint (from Spring Boot Actuator) that is configured to be
+  **excluded** from tracing
+- `/api/example` – A simple API endpoint that **will be traced** normally
+
+## End-to-End Instructions
+
+### Prerequisites
+
+- Java 17 or higher
+- OpenTelemetry Spring Boot Starter **2.22.0+** on the classpath of this application (already
+  configured in this example’s [build file](./build.gradle.kts))
+
+### Step 1: Build the Application
+
+From this `spring-declarative-configuration` directory:
+
+```bash
+../gradlew bootJar
+```
+
+This builds the Spring Boot fat JAR for the example application.
+
+### Step 2: Run the Spring Boot Application
+
+Run the application as a normal Spring Boot JAR – no `-javaagent` flag and no separate
+`otel-agent-config.yaml` file
+are needed. Declarative configuration is picked up from `application.yaml` by the Spring Boot
+Starter.
+
+```bash
+java -jar build/libs/spring-declarative-configuration.jar
+```
+
+The Spring Boot Starter will automatically:
+
+- Initialize OpenTelemetry SDK
+- Read declarative configuration under the `otel:` root in `application.yaml`
+- Apply exporters, processors, and sampler rules defined there
+
+### Step 3: Test the Endpoints
+
+In a separate terminal, call both endpoints:
+
+```bash
+# This endpoint will NOT be traced (excluded by declarative configuration)
+curl http://localhost:8080/actuator/health
+
+# This endpoint WILL be traced normally
+curl http://localhost:8080/api/example
+```
+
+### Step 4: Verify Tracing, Metrics, and Logs
+
+By default, this example configures:
+
+- An OTLP HTTP exporter for traces, metrics, and logs
+- A console exporter for traces for easy local inspection
+
+Check the application logs to see that:
+
+- Health check requests (`/actuator/health`) **do not** generate spans (dropped by sampler rules)
+- Requests to `/api/example` **do** generate spans and are exported to console and/or OTLP
+
+If you have an OTLP-compatible backend (e.g., the OpenTelemetry Collector, Jaeger, Tempo, etc.)
+listening on
+`http://localhost:4318`, you can inspect the exported telemetry there as well.
+
+## Declarative Configuration with Spring Boot
+
+The declarative configuration used by this example lives in [`application.yaml`](./src/main/resources/application.yaml)
+under the `otel:` root key.
+
+```yaml
+otel:
+# ... see src/main/resources/application.yaml for the full configuration
+```
+
+This layout follows the declarative configuration schema defined in the
+[opentelemetry-configuration](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-configuration)
+repository, but adapted for Spring Boot:
+
+- All OpenTelemetry configuration keys live under the `otel:` root
+- Configuration blocks from the reference repo (such as `tracer_provider`, `meter_provider`,
+  `logger_provider`, etc.) are indented by **two spaces** beneath `otel:`
+- The configuration is loaded via the OpenTelemetry Spring Boot Starter instead of the Java Agent
+
+### Opting In with `file_format`
+
+Declarative configuration is **opt-in**. In this Spring Boot example, you enable declarative
+configuration by setting `file_format` under `otel:` in `application.yaml`:
+
+```yaml
+otel:
+  file_format: "1.0-rc.2"
+  # ... other configuration
+```
+
+The `file_format` value follows the versions defined in the
+[declarative configuration specification](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-configuration).
+If `file_format` is missing, declarative configuration is not applied.
+
+### Example: Exporters and Sampler Rules (Spring Style)
+
+Below is a simplified view of the configuration used in this module. All keys are indented under
+`otel:` as required by Spring Boot declarative configuration. Refer to the actual
+[`application.yaml`](./src/main/resources/application.yaml) for the complete version.
+
+```yaml
+otel:
+  file_format: "1.0-rc.2"
+
+  tracer_provider:
+    sampler:
+      rule_based_routing:
+        fallback_sampler:
+          always_on:
+        span_kind: SERVER
+        rules:
+          - action: DROP
+            attribute: url.path
+            pattern: /actuator.*
+```
+
+This configuration:
+- Uses the `rule_based_routing` sampler from the OpenTelemetry contrib extension
+- Excludes health check endpoints (`/actuator.*`) from tracing using the `DROP` action
+- Samples all other requests using the `always_on` fallback sampler
+- Only applies to `SERVER` span kinds
+
+## Spring Boot Starter–Specific Notes
+
+### Spring Boot Starter Version
+
+- Declarative configuration is supported by the OpenTelemetry Spring Boot Starter starting with
+  version **2.22.0**
+- Ensure your dependencies use at least this version; otherwise, `file_format` and other declarative
+  config features may be ignored
+
+### Property Metadata and IDE Auto-Completion
+
+Most IDEs derive auto-completion for Spring properties from Spring Boot configuration metadata. At
+the time of this example, that metadata is primarily based on the **non-declarative** configuration 
+schema.
+
+As a result:
+
+- Auto-suggested properties in IDEs may be incomplete or incorrect for declarative configuration
+  under `otel:`
+- Some declarative configuration keys may not appear in auto-completion at all
+
+When in doubt:
+
+- Prefer the official schema and examples in
+  [opentelemetry-configuration](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-configuration)
+- Then adapt those examples by nesting them under the `otel:` root in your `application.yaml`
+
+### Placeholder Default Values: `:` vs `:-`
+
+Spring Boot’s property placeholder syntax differs slightly from generic examples you might see in
+OpenTelemetry docs.
+
+- Generic examples sometimes use `${VAR_NAME:-default}` for default values
+- **Spring Boot uses `:` instead of `:-`**
+
+For example, in this module we configure the OTLP HTTP trace endpoint as:
+
+```yaml
+otel:
+  tracer_provider:
+    processors:
+      - batch:
+          exporter:
+            otlp_http:
+              endpoint: ${OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT:http://localhost:4318}/v1/traces
+```
+
+Here, `http://localhost:4318` is used as the default if the `OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT` 
+environment variable is not set.
+
+When copying configuration from non-Spring examples, always convert `:-` to `:` in placeholders.
+
+## Declarative vs Programmatic Configuration
+
+Declarative configuration, as used in this example, allows you to express routing and sampling rules
+entirely in configuration files. This is ideal for:
+
+- Operational teams that need to adjust sampling or filtering without changing code
+- Environments where configuration is managed externally (Kubernetes ConfigMaps, Spring Cloud
+  Config, etc.)
+
+For more advanced or dynamic scenarios, you can still use **programmatic** configuration. The
+`spring-native` module in
+this repository contains an example of this:
+
+- See `configureSampler` in
+  [`OpenTelemetryConfig`](../spring-native/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/example/graal/OpenTelemetryConfig.java)
+- It uses `RuleBasedRoutingSampler` programmatically to drop spans for actuator endpoints 
+  (`/actuator*`), replicating the behavior we achieve declaratively via YAML in this module
+
+In many cases, you can start with declarative configuration (as in this module) and only fall back
+to programmatic customization for highly dynamic or application-specific logic.
+
+## Troubleshooting and Tips
+
+If the behavior is not what you expect, here are a few things to check:
+
+- **Health checks are still traced**
+    - Verify the `rules` section under `otel.tracer_provider.sampler.rule_based_routing` in
+      `application.yaml`
+    - Ensure the `pattern` matches your actual actuator paths (e.g., `/actuator.*`)
+    - Confirm that `span_kind` is set to `SERVER` (or another correct span kind for your traffic)
+
+- **No spans are exported**
+    - Confirm that `otel.file_format` is set correctly (for example, `"1.0-rc.2"`)
+    - Check that at least one exporter is configured (e.g., `otlp_http` or `console`)
+    - Look for startup warnings or errors related to OpenTelemetry configuration
+
+- **Properties seem to be ignored**
+    - Make sure you are modifying the correct `application.yaml` for the active Spring profile
+    - Verify that all configuration keys are indented correctly under the `otel:` root
+    - Double-check that any placeholders use `:` for defaults (e.g.,
+      `${OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT:http://localhost:4318}`)
+
+If issues persist, compare your configuration to:
+
+- This module’s [`application.yaml`](./src/main/resources/application.yaml)
+- The Java Agent example in [`javaagent-declarative-configuration`](../javaagent-declarative-configuration)
+- The reference schemas and examples in
+  [opentelemetry-configuration](https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-configuration)
+
+## Follow-up: applying the same pattern to Spring Native
+
+As a follow-up, you can reuse the ideas from this module to extend the `spring-native` example
+with declarative configuration and a Collector running via Docker Compose:
+
+- Start from the `spring-native` module in this repository.
+- delete the `application.properties` file in `spring-native/src/main/resources/`
+- copy `application.yaml` from this module to `spring-native/src/main/resources/`
+- add the settings from `application.properties` back into that `application.yaml`
+- follow the instructions in [spring-native/README.md](../spring-native/README.md) to run with 
+  Docker Compose
+
+Note that `OpenTelemetryConfig.otelCustomizer` is being ignored in this case, since we are using
+declarative configuration now, which uses `DeclarativeConfigurationCustomizerProvider` instead of
+`AutoConfigurationCustomizerProvider`.
+
+```shell
+rm ../spring-native/src/main/resources/application.properties
+cp src/main/resources/application.yaml ../spring-native/src/main/resources/
+echo "spring:
+  datasource:
+    url: jdbc:h2:mem:db
+management:
+  endpoints:
+    web:
+      exposure:
+        include: '*'" >> ../spring-native/src/main/resources/application.yaml
+```
diff --git a/spring-declarative-configuration/build.gradle.kts b/spring-declarative-configuration/build.gradle.kts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..7d3529034e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spring-declarative-configuration/build.gradle.kts
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+import org.gradle.kotlin.dsl.named
+import org.springframework.boot.gradle.plugin.SpringBootPlugin
+import org.springframework.boot.gradle.tasks.bundling.BootJar
+
+plugins {
+    id("java")
+    id("org.springframework.boot") version "3.5.7"
+}
+
+description = "OpenTelemetry Example for Spring Boot with Declarative Configuration"
+
+java {
+    toolchain {
+        languageVersion.set(JavaLanguageVersion.of(17))
+    }
+}
+
+dependencies {
+    implementation(platform(SpringBootPlugin.BOM_COORDINATES))
+    implementation(platform("io.opentelemetry.instrumentation:opentelemetry-instrumentation-bom:2.22.0"))
+    implementation("org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-actuator")
+    implementation("org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-web")
+    implementation("io.opentelemetry.instrumentation:opentelemetry-spring-boot-starter")
+}
+
+tasks.named<BootJar>("bootJar") {
+    archiveFileName = "spring-declarative-configuration.jar"
+}
+
diff --git a/spring-declarative-configuration/oats/Dockerfile b/spring-declarative-configuration/oats/Dockerfile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..aa69c95f7d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spring-declarative-configuration/oats/Dockerfile
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+FROM eclipse-temurin:21.0.9_10-jre@sha256:4332b7939ba5b7fabde48f4da21ebe45a4f8943d5b3319720c321ac577e65fb1
+
+WORKDIR /usr/src/app/
+
+ADD ./build/libs/spring-declarative-configuration.jar ./app.jar
+
+EXPOSE 8080
+ENTRYPOINT [ "java", "-jar", "./app.jar" ]
diff --git a/spring-declarative-configuration/oats/docker-compose.yml b/spring-declarative-configuration/oats/docker-compose.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2191ba601f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spring-declarative-configuration/oats/docker-compose.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+version: '3'
+services:
+  app:
+    build:
+      context: ../
+      dockerfile: oats/Dockerfile
+    environment:
+      OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT: http://lgtm:4318
+    ports:
+      - "8080:8080"
+    healthcheck:
+      test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost:8080/actuator/health"]
+      interval: 10s
+      timeout: 5s
+      retries: 3
diff --git a/spring-declarative-configuration/oats/oats.yaml b/spring-declarative-configuration/oats/oats.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..3be11e39ed
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spring-declarative-configuration/oats/oats.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+# OATS is an acceptance testing framework for OpenTelemetry - https://github.com/grafana/oats
+
+docker-compose:
+  files:
+    - ./docker-compose.yml
+  app-service: app
+  app-docker-tag: javaagent-declarative-config:latest
+  app-docker-port: 8080
+
+input:
+  # This endpoint should be traced normally
+  - path: /api/example
+  # This endpoint should NOT be traced (excluded by declarative config)
+  # We send the request but don't assert spans for it - the absence of spans
+  # for /actuator/health demonstrates the sampling rule is working
+  - path: /actuator/health
+
+expected:
+  traces:
+    # Verify that /api/example creates a trace with SERVER span
+    - traceql: '{ span.http.route = "/api/example" }'
+      spans:
+        - name: "GET /api/example"
+          attributes:
+            http.request.method: "GET"
+            http.route: "/api/example"
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/spring-declarative-configuration/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/examples/fileconfig/ApiController.java b/spring-declarative-configuration/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/examples/fileconfig/ApiController.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e9c3d43c15
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spring-declarative-configuration/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/examples/fileconfig/ApiController.java
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright The OpenTelemetry Authors
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+ */
+
+package io.opentelemetry.examples.fileconfig;
+
+import org.springframework.http.ResponseEntity;
+import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.GetMapping;
+import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RequestMapping;
+import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RestController;
+
+@RestController
+@RequestMapping("/api")
+public class ApiController {
+
+  @GetMapping("/example")
+  public ResponseEntity<String> example() {
+    return ResponseEntity.ok("Hello from OpenTelemetry example API!");
+  }
+}
diff --git a/spring-declarative-configuration/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/examples/fileconfig/Application.java b/spring-declarative-configuration/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/examples/fileconfig/Application.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..7987bb5c71
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spring-declarative-configuration/src/main/java/io/opentelemetry/examples/fileconfig/Application.java
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright The OpenTelemetry Authors
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+ */
+
+package io.opentelemetry.examples.fileconfig;
+
+import org.springframework.boot.SpringApplication;
+import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.SpringBootApplication;
+
+@SpringBootApplication
+public class Application {
+
+  public static void main(String[] args) {
+    SpringApplication.run(Application.class, args);
+  }
+}
diff --git a/spring-declarative-configuration/src/main/resources/application.yaml b/spring-declarative-configuration/src/main/resources/application.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c94b08843a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spring-declarative-configuration/src/main/resources/application.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+otel:
+  # IMPORTANT:
+  # 1. The auto-suggested properties are not correct, because they are based on the non-declarative config schema.
+  # 2. Use https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-configuration for details on schema and examples, but
+  #    indent all examples by two spaces to fit under the "otel:" root node (for Spring Boot declarative config).
+
+  file_format: "1.0-rc.2" # "file_format" serves as opt-in to declarative config
+
+  resource:
+    attributes:
+      - name: service.name
+        value: spring-boot-declarative-config-example
+
+  propagator:
+    composite:
+      - tracecontext:
+      - baggage:
+
+  tracer_provider:
+    processors:
+      - batch:
+          exporter:
+            otlp_http:
+              # Note: Spring uses : instead of :- as separator for the default value
+              endpoint: ${OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT:http://localhost:4318}/v1/traces
+
+      # Configure a console exporter for exploring without a collector/backend
+      - batch:
+          exporter:
+            console:
+
+    # Configure sampling to exclude health check endpoints
+    sampler:
+      rule_based_routing:
+        fallback_sampler:
+          always_on:
+        # Filter to spans of this span_kind. Must be one of: SERVER, CLIENT, INTERNAL, CONSUMER, PRODUCER.
+        span_kind: SERVER   # only apply to server spans
+        # List of rules describing spans to drop. Spans are dropped if they match one of the rules.
+        rules:
+          # The action to take when the rule is matches. Must be of: DROP, RECORD_AND_SAMPLE.
+          - action: DROP
+            # The span attribute to match against.
+            attribute: url.path
+            # The pattern to compare the span attribute to.
+            pattern: /actuator.*
+
+  meter_provider:
+    readers:
+      - periodic:
+          exporter:
+            otlp_http:
+              # Note: Spring uses : instead of :- as separator for the default value
+              endpoint: ${OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT:http://localhost:4318}/v1/metrics
+
+  logger_provider:
+    processors:
+      - batch:
+          exporter:
+            otlp_http:
+              # Note: Spring uses : instead of :- as separator for the default value
+              endpoint: ${OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT:http://localhost:4318}/v1/logs
diff --git a/spring-native/build.gradle.kts b/spring-native/build.gradle.kts
index 467ab5359b..9666f3dd08 100644
--- a/spring-native/build.gradle.kts
+++ b/spring-native/build.gradle.kts
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import org.springframework.boot.gradle.plugin.SpringBootPlugin
 
 plugins {
     id("java")
-    id("org.springframework.boot") version "3.5.7"
+    id("org.springframework.boot") version "3.5.8"
     id("org.graalvm.buildtools.native") version "0.11.3"
 }
 
diff --git a/spring-native/docker-compose.yml b/spring-native/docker-compose.yml
index 6de788142b..fb8ff56c4d 100644
--- a/spring-native/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/spring-native/docker-compose.yml
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-version: '3.8'
 services:
   app:
     image: otel-native-graalvm