title: Get a spring boot configurable application context without running the server
body: <p>For a spring boot application, I can get a <code>ConfigurableApplicationContext</code> using:</p>
  
  <pre><code>@SpringBootApplication
  public class MyApplication {
      public static void main(String[] args) {
          ConfigurableApplicationContext ctx = 
              SpringApplication.run(MyApplication.class, args);
      }
  }
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>However, this also launches a server. I need to perform some instrumentation on the spring-context setup, and would like an instance of <code>ApplicationContext</code>, but without launching the server. Is it possible?</p>