[[mvc-ann-sessionattribute]]
= `@SessionAttribute`

[.small]#xref:web/webflux/controller/ann-methods/sessionattribute.adoc[See equivalent in the Reactive stack]#

If you need access to pre-existing session attributes that are managed globally
(that is, outside the controller -- for example, by a filter) and may or may not be present,
you can use the `@SessionAttribute` annotation on a method parameter,
as the following example shows:

[tabs]
======
Java::
+
[source,java,indent=0,subs="verbatim,quotes"]
----
	@RequestMapping("/")
	public String handle(@SessionAttribute User user) { <1>
		// ...
	}
----
<1> Using a `@SessionAttribute` annotation.

Kotlin::
+
[source,kotlin,indent=0,subs="verbatim,quotes"]
----
	@RequestMapping("/")
	fun handle(@SessionAttribute user: User): String { // <1>
		// ...
	}
----
<1> Using a `@SessionAttribute` annotation.======
======

For use cases that require adding or removing session attributes, consider injecting
`org.springframework.web.context.request.WebRequest` or
`jakarta.servlet.http.HttpSession` into the controller method.

For temporary storage of model attributes in the session as part of a controller
workflow, consider using `@SessionAttributes` as described in
xref:web/webmvc/mvc-controller/ann-methods/sessionattributes.adoc[`@SessionAttributes`].
