Android Gradle Logic

Android Gradle Build Logic

Centralise build logic in reusable Convention Plugins instead of copy-pasting build.gradle.kts configuration across modules.

Project Structure

root/
├── build-logic/
│   ├── convention/
│   │   ├── src/main/kotlin/
│   │   │   ├── AndroidApplicationConventionPlugin.kt
│   │   │   ├── AndroidLibraryConventionPlugin.kt
│   │   │   └── AndroidComposeConventionPlugin.kt
│   │   └── build.gradle.kts
│   └── settings.gradle.kts
├── gradle/
│   └── libs.versions.toml
├── app/
│   └── build.gradle.kts          ← just: plugins { alias(libs.plugins.myapp.android.application) }
├── feature/home/
│   └── build.gradle.kts          ← just: plugins { alias(libs.plugins.myapp.android.library) }
└── settings.gradle.kts

---

Step 1: Include build-logic as a Composite Build

// settings.gradle.kts
pluginManagement {
    includeBuild("build-logic")
    repositories {
        google()
        mavenCentral()
        gradlePluginPortal()
    }
}

dependencyResolutionManagement {
    repositoriesMode.set(RepositoriesMode.FAIL_ON_PROJECT_REPOS)
    repositories {
        google()
        mavenCentral()
    }
}

---

Step 2: Configure build-logic/settings.gradle.kts

// build-logic/settings.gradle.kts
dependencyResolutionManagement {
    repositories {
        google()
        mavenCentral()
    }
    versionCatalogs {
        create("libs") {
            from(files("../gradle/libs.versions.toml"))
        }
    }
}

rootProject.name = "build-logic"
include(":convention")

---

Step 3: Configure build-logic/convention/build.gradle.kts

plugins {
    `kotlin-dsl`
}

dependencies {
    compileOnly(libs.android.gradlePlugin)
    compileOnly(libs.kotlin.gradlePlugin)
    compileOnly(libs.ksp.gradlePlugin)
}

gradlePlugin {
    plugins {
        register("androidApplication") {
            id = "myapp.android.application"
            implementationClass = "AndroidApplicationConventionPlugin"
        }
        register("androidLibrary") {
            id = "myapp.android.library"
            implementationClass = "AndroidLibraryConventionPlugin"
        }
        register("androidCompose") {
            id = "myapp.android.compose"
            implementationClass = "AndroidComposeConventionPlugin"
        }
    }
}

---

Step 4: Write Convention Plugins

Application Plugin

// AndroidApplicationConventionPlugin.kt
import com.android.build.api.dsl.ApplicationExtension
import org.gradle.api.Plugin
import org.gradle.api.Project
import org.gradle.kotlin.dsl.configure

class AndroidApplicationConventionPlugin : Plugin {
    override fun apply(target: Project) {
        with(target) {
            pluginManager.apply("com.android.application")
            pluginManager.apply("org.jetbrains.kotlin.android")

            extensions.configure {
                compileSdk = 35
                defaultConfig {
                    minSdk = 26
                    targetSdk = 35
                }
            }

            extensions.configure {
                jvmToolchain(21)
            }
        }
    }
}

Library Plugin

// AndroidLibraryConventionPlugin.kt
import com.android.build.api.dsl.LibraryExtension
import org.gradle.api.Plugin
import org.gradle.api.Project
import org.gradle.kotlin.dsl.configure

class AndroidLibraryConventionPlugin : Plugin {
    override fun apply(target: Project) {
        with(target) {
            pluginManager.apply("com.android.library")
            pluginManager.apply("org.jetbrains.kotlin.android")

            extensions.configure {
                compileSdk = 35
                defaultConfig.minSdk = 26
            }

            extensions.configure {
                jvmToolchain(21)
            }
        }
    }
}

Compose Plugin

// AndroidComposeConventionPlugin.kt
import com.android.build.api.dsl.CommonExtension
import org.gradle.api.Plugin
import org.gradle.api.Project
import org.gradle.kotlin.dsl.getByType

class AndroidComposeConventionPlugin : Plugin {
    override fun apply(target: Project) {
        with(target) {
            pluginManager.apply("org.jetbrains.kotlin.plugin.compose")

            val extension = extensions.getByType>()
            extension.buildFeatures.compose = true
        }
    }
}

---

Step 5: Declare Custom Plugins in Version Catalog

# gradle/libs.versions.toml
[plugins]
myapp-android-application = { id = "myapp.android.application", version = "unspecified" }
myapp-android-library     = { id = "myapp.android.library", version = "unspecified" }
myapp-android-compose     = { id = "myapp.android.compose", version = "unspecified" }

---

Step 6: Use in Module Build Files

// app/build.gradle.kts
plugins {
    alias(libs.plugins.myapp.android.application)
    alias(libs.plugins.myapp.android.compose)
    alias(libs.plugins.hilt)
    alias(libs.plugins.ksp)
}

android {
    namespace = "com.example.app"
    defaultConfig.applicationId = "com.example.app"
    defaultConfig.versionCode = 1
    defaultConfig.versionName = "1.0"
}

dependencies {
    implementation(projects.feature.home)
    implementation(libs.hilt.android)
    ksp(libs.hilt.compiler)
}

// feature/home/build.gradle.kts
plugins {
    alias(libs.plugins.myapp.android.library)
    alias(libs.plugins.myapp.android.compose)
}

android.namespace = "com.example.feature.home"

The feature module's build file is now just 5 lines. All common configuration lives in the convention plugins.

---

AGP 9 Implications

The convention plugin examples above target AGP 8. AGP 9 changes several things that hit build logic directly: it drops the standalone org.jetbrains.kotlin.android plugin (Kotlin is built into com.android.application / com.android.library), removes BaseExtension and the old variant APIs (applicationVariants → androidComponents { onVariants { … } }), moves kotlinOptions {} to a top-level kotlin { compilerOptions { … } }, and makes kapt incompatible (migrate to KSP). Any convention plugin that touches these needs updating.

Defer to the dedicated migration skills for the mechanics rather than duplicating the steps here: Google's agp-9-upgrade for pure-Android projects, JetBrains' kotlin-tooling-agp9-migration for KMP, and this repo's gradle-build-performance skill for the kapt → KSP step.

---

Checklist

• [ ] build-logic included as a composite build in root settings.gradle.kts
• [ ] Convention plugins registered with stable IDs and declared in version catalog
• [ ] compileSdk, minSdk, Java toolchain defined once in plugins — not in each module
• [ ] Compose plugin applied via convention — not copy-pasted into each feature module
• [ ] build-logic itself resolves dependencies from the root version catalog

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: rcosteira79
• Source: rcosteira79/android-skills
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.