[[repositories.namespace-reference]]
[appendix]
= Namespace reference

[[populator.namespace-dao-config]]
== The <repositories /> element
The `<repositories />` element triggers the setup of the Spring Data repository infrastructure. The most important attribute is `base-package` which defines the package to scan for Spring Data repository interfaces.footnote:[see <<repositories.create-instances.spring>>]

.Attributes
[options="header", cols="1,3"]
|===============
|Name|Description
|`base-package`|Defines the package to be used to be scanned for repository interfaces extending *Repository (actual interface is determined by specific Spring Data module) in auto detection mode. All packages below the configured package will be scanned, too. Wildcards are allowed.
|`repository-impl-postfix`|Defines the postfix to autodetect custom repository implementations. Classes whose names end with the configured postfix will be considered as candidates. Defaults to `Impl`.
|`query-lookup-strategy`|Determines the strategy to be used to create finder queries. See <<repositories.query-methods.query-lookup-strategies>> for details. Defaults to `create-if-not-found`.
|`named-queries-location`|Defines the location to look for a Properties file containing externally defined queries.
|`consider-nested-repositories`|Controls whether nested repository interface definitions should be considered. Defaults to `false`.
|===============

