Jetpack Compose Audit

Jetpack Compose Audit

This skill audits Android Jetpack Compose repositories with a strict, evidence-based report.

Skill version: 4.3.2 — released 2026-07-07. Compose track: Kotlin 2.0.20+ / Compose Compiler 1.5.4+ (Strong Skipping Mode default). See the README changelog for what changed.

It is intentionally focused on four categories:

• Performance
• State management
• Side effects
• Composable API quality

This skill does not score design or Material 3 compliance in v1. If the audit surfaces likely design-system problems, recommend a follow-up audit with the material-3 skill (reference implementation: https://github.com/hamen/material-3-skill).

Testing, focus/keyboard navigation, and Compose Multiplatform are coverage notes, not score categories. Map those surfaces when present, flag obvious risk, and recommend the focused compose-agent references (testing, focus, kmp) as follow-up work. Do not fold them into the 0-100 score unless the same root cause clearly affects one of the four scored categories.

Android launch UX resources are also adjacent coverage, not a score category. Always scan splash-screen theme resources; if Android 12+ could render a static splash icon blurry, include it as an Android Launch UX finding and allow it into Critical Findings / Prioritized Fixes when the evidence is concrete.

Out Of Scope In v1

Owned and deliberate scope choices — call out the limitation in the report rather than silently producing thin coverage:

• Material 3 compliance, theming, color/typography tokens — defer to the material-3 skill.
• Accessibility scoring (semantics, content descriptions, touch-target sizing) — flag obvious gaps as a note, do not score.
• UI test coverage and Compose test rule patterns — note presence/absence, do not score; recommend compose-agent focus on testing for deeper review.
• Compose Multiplatform-specific rules (expect/actual, target-specific code paths) — note surface area and obvious platform-boundary risk; recommend compose-agent focus on kmp for deeper review.
• Wear OS / TV / Auto / Glance surfaces — note obvious focus / keyboard / D-pad risk; recommend compose-agent focus on focus for deeper review.
• Build performance (incremental compilation, KSP/KAPT choice).

If the user explicitly asks for any of these, narrow the scope and state it in the report.

When To Use

Use this skill when the user asks to:

• audit a Jetpack Compose repository
• review Compose architecture or quality
• rate a codebase with scores
• inspect recomposition, state, or effects issues
• identify Compose best-practice violations in an existing repo

Typical trigger phrases:

• "audit this Compose repo"
• "score this Jetpack Compose codebase"
• "review state hoisting and side effects"
• "check Compose performance"
• "rate this repository"

Expected Output

Produce both:

• a repository report file named COMPOSE-AUDIT-REPORT.md
• a short chat summary with the overall score, category scores, worst issues, and the top fixes

Audit Principles

• Be strict, but evidence-based.
• Do not score from search hits alone. Read representative files before judging a category.
• Cite concrete file paths in the report for every important deduction.
• Cite an official documentation URL for every deduction. No "trust me" findings — the rubric maps every rule to a canonical source in references/canonical-sources.md. The report template requires a References: line per finding.
• Prefer canonical Android guidance over folklore.
• Treat performance as important, but not as the only lens.
• Do not punish app code for failing public-library purity tests. Apply API-quality checks mainly to reusable internal components, design-system pieces, and shared UI building blocks.
• Reserve 0-3 scores for repeated or systemic problems, not isolated mistakes.
• Do not award 9-10 unless the repo is consistently strong across the category.

Process

1. Confirm Scope

Identify the target path:

• If the user passed an explicit path ([repo path or module path]), use it.
• If no path was passed, default to the current working directory.
• If the path does not exist, ask the user to clarify.

Before mapping modules, confirm Compose is actually present (fast-fail):

• grep for androidx.compose in any build.gradle* or libs.versions.toml
• grep for setContent { or @Composable under src/

If neither shows up, stop and report that the target is out of scope. Do not run a full module map first.

If Compose is present only in samples/, demos/, or test sources (no production usage), narrow the scope to those directories, set confidence to Low, and state in the report that the audit is over sample code rather than production paths. Do not score production-quality categories against demo code.

2. Map The Repository

Before scoring, identify:

• Gradle modules
• Android app and feature modules
• likely Compose source roots
• shared UI/component packages
• theme or design-system packages
• state holder or ViewModel areas
• test and preview locations
• UI test, screenshot test, focus/keyboard test, and semantics-test locations
• baseline-profile related modules or config if present
• KMP / Compose Multiplatform source sets (commonMain, androidMain, iosMain, desktopMain, wasmJsMain) if present
• Android splash-screen themes and drawable resources (res/values*/themes.xml, styles.xml, drawable-v31) if present

3. Build A Compose Surface Map

Look for:

• @Composable functions
• reusable UI components
• screens and routes
• ViewModel usage
• remember, rememberSaveable, mutableStateOf
• collectAsStateWithLifecycle, collectAsState
• LaunchedEffect, DisposableEffect, SideEffect, rememberUpdatedState, produceState
• LazyColumn, LazyRow, items, itemsIndexed
• animation APIs: animate*AsState, Animatable, updateTransition, rememberInfiniteTransition, AnimatedVisibility, AnimatedContent, Crossfade
• focus APIs: FocusRequester, focusRequester, focusProperties, focusable, onFocusChanged, onPreviewKeyEvent, onKeyEvent
• UI testing APIs: createComposeRule, createAndroidComposeRule, onNodeWithText, assertIsDisplayed, assertIsFocused, screenshot test rules
• KMP/CMP indicators: commonMain, expect, actual, AndroidView, UIKitView, platform services passed into common UI
• Android launch resources: windowSplashScreenAnimatedIcon, android:windowSplashScreenAnimatedIcon, drawable-v31, animated-vector

If the repo is large, audit by category or by module. If subagents are available, parallelize category scans by spawning Explore-type subagents (no write tools) and merge the findings.

3a. Audit Android Launch UX Resources

This is non-scored adjacent coverage, but it should run on every normal audit because the failure is user-visible and cheap to miss in Kotlin-only scans.

Look for:

• windowSplashScreenAnimatedIcon and android:windowSplashScreenAnimatedIcon in res/values*/themes.xml and res/values*/styles.xml
• referenced drawables such as @drawable/ic_splash
• API-qualified overrides in res/drawable-v31/
• drawable XML roots: <animated-vector>, <vector>, <adaptive-icon>, <bitmap>, <layer-list>

An AnimatedVectorDrawable is Animatable, so the platform draws it on a SurfaceView at full size; a static icon instead falls onto the internal ImmobileIconDrawable path (pre-rendered at 108 dp, upscaled into the 160/192 dp icon), which is what looks blurry on XHDPI+ devices. Flag a finding when all of these are true:

1. A theme sets windowSplashScreenAnimatedIcon for an Android app.
2. The API 31+ resource resolution points to a static icon (<vector>, <adaptive-icon>, bitmap, or a layer-list around those), or there is no drawable-v31 override for the referenced splash icon.
3. The resource is not already an <animated-vector> on API 31+.

Report it as Android Launch UX: Android 12+ static splash icon may render blurry, not as a Compose score deduction. Evidence should include the theme item, the resolved drawable file, and whether the res/drawable-v31 animated-vector override is missing. The fix direction is to keep the theme's @drawable/<name> stable and have it resolve to an <animated-vector> on API 31+ that wraps the real vector — no animators are required; an empty <animated-vector> is enough, because being an AVD is what changes the render path. One correctness caveat worth carrying into the report: the wrapper must reference a separately-named vector (a wrapper that references its own theme name re-resolves to itself on API 31+ and loops). Cite the Android splash-screen docs, the AndroidX SplashScreen reference, and the platform issue https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/520672537 (which quotes the AOSP source). The bug dates to Android 12 (API 31) on XHDPI+ devices and was open when this skill shipped; confirm the live status against the issue rather than asserting it open-endedly.

4. Generate Compose Compiler Reports (Automatic)

Do not ask the user to edit build.gradle or run commands themselves. The skill runs the build with a bundled Gradle init script that injects reportsDestination / metricsDestination into every Compose module without modifying any file in the target repo. Before scoring, attempt this:

1. Locate the init script shipped with the skill: scripts/compose-reports.init.gradle. The absolute path is the skill's install location — in most installs that's ~/.claude/skills/jetpack-compose-audit/scripts/compose-reports.init.gradle. If you cannot resolve the path, fall back to writing the script to <target>/.compose-audit-reports.init.gradle and delete it after the run.

2. Check for a Gradle wrapper in the target: test -x <target>/gradlew. If missing, skip to the fallback in step 6.

3. Pick a compile target. Prefer the cheapest task that still triggers Kotlin compilation for a Compose module:

   • find the first application module via rg -l 'com\.android\.application' -g '*.gradle*'
   • try in order: :<app-module>:compileReleaseKotlinAndroid, :<app-module>:compileReleaseKotlin, assembleRelease, assembleDebug
   • If the project is Compose-only on a library (com.android.library), use that module instead.

4. Run the build. Inform the user the build is starting (it may take several minutes).

   cd <target> && ./gradlew <task> \
       --init-script <path-to>/compose-reports.init.gradle \
       --no-daemon --quiet
   

   Use a 600-second timeout. If the task fails, try the next fallback task in step 3 once. Do not loop indefinitely.

5. Collect the reports.

   find <target> -path '*/build/compose_audit/*' \
       \( -name '*-classes.txt' -o -name '*-composables.txt' -o -name '*-composables.csv' -o -name '*-module.json' \)
   

   From these files, extract:

   • unstable classes (lines starting with unstable class in *-classes.txt) used as composable parameters
   • non-skippable but restartable named composables (ignore zero-argument lambdas; focus on actual named functions in *-composables.txt or *-composables.csv where isLambda == "0")
   • module-wide skippability counts from *-module.json, AND compute the named-only skippability from *-composables.csv (by filtering out rows where isLambda == "1" and calculating sum(skippable) / sum(restartable)). Cite both in the Performance section, noting that zero-argument lambdas can artificially anchor the module-wide metric.

6. Fallback if the build fails or Gradle is unavailable. Proceed with source-inferred stability findings, but:

   • set Compiler diagnostics used: no in the report's Notes And Limits and explain the failure reason briefly (wrapper missing, compile error, timeout)
   • reduce overall confidence by one level
   • state each stability-related deduction as "inferred from source — not verified against compiler reports"

Stability deductions from step 5 are measured evidence and should be weighted normally. Fallback deductions from step 6 are inferred and must be flagged as such in the report.

5. Audit The Four Categories

Use the scoring rubric in references/scoring.md and the heuristics in references/search-playbook.md.

Navigation 3: if the repo uses rememberNavBackStack, NavDisplay, or NavKey, run playbook section 2b (Nav3 Detection & Audit) before scoring. Nav3 findings map to State Management and Side Effects — see the scoring note in section 2b.

Performance

Focus on:

• expensive work in composition
• avoidable recomposition
• lazy list keys
• paging list keys and LazyPagingItems misuse when collectAsLazyPagingItems is present
• bad state-read timing
• unstable or overly broad reads
• backwards writes, including cross-phase back-writes (layout callback writing state read in composition) and snapshot-collection self-invalidation in a composable body
• animation phase correctness (per-frame values deferred to layout/draw via lambda modifiers, Animatable held in remember, rememberInfiniteTransition scoped so it stops offscreen)
• obvious release-performance hygiene where visible

State Management

Focus on:

• hoisting correctness
• single source of truth
• reusable stateless seams
• correct use of remember vs rememberSaveable
• lifecycle-aware observable collection
• paging LoadState handling (loading / empty / error / append) when LazyPagingItems is present
• observable vs non-observable mutable state

Side Effects

Focus on:

• side effects incorrectly done in composition
• correct effect API choice
• effect keys
• stale lambda capture
• cleanup correctness
• lifecycle-aware effect behavior
• animations driven from LaunchedEffect(target) for target-driven state changes (not from the composition body; rememberCoroutineScope().launch { animateTo(...) } is usually for event- or gesture-driven animation)
• paging LazyPagingItems.refresh() / retry() called from composition or LaunchedEffect(Unit) to "load on enter" — initial load is PagingData's job; these are user-initiated only

Composable API Quality

Focus on reusable internal components, not every leaf screen.

Check:

• modifier presence and placement
• parameter order
• explicit over implicit configuration
• meaningful defaults
• avoiding MutableState<T> or State<T> parameters in reusable APIs where a better shape exists
• reusable animated components exposing animationSpec: AnimationSpec<T> where callers may reasonably need timing control, and using meaningful label values on shared/tooling-visible animations
• component purpose and layering

6. Verify Findings

Before deducting points:

• read the file where the smell appears
• make sure the pattern is real, not a false positive
• check whether the repo already has a compensating pattern elsewhere
• distinguish one-off mistakes from systemic patterns
• for stability findings (skippable / restartable / unstable params), use the compiler reports generated in Step 4. Cite the specific report line (e.g. app/build/compose_audit/app_release-classes.txt:42) as evidence. Only fall back to source-inferred stability claims if Step 4 failed, and label them as such.

7. Score

Assign each category a 0-10 score and a status:

• 0-3: fail
• 4-6: needs work
• 7-8: solid
• 9-10: excellent

Use the weights in references/scoring.md to compute the overall score.

Measured ceilings are mandatory, not suggestive. When Step 4 produced compiler reports, the Performance rubric in references/scoring.md defines a ceiling. First determine whether Strong Skipping is active (Kotlin 2.0.20+ / Compose Compiler 1.5.4+, or an explicit opt-in flag) and pick the matching table — the SSM-off table is driven by skippable% + unstable-class count, the SSM-on table by skippable% + instance-recreation churn + equals() quality on unstable params. After arriving at a qualitative Performance score, you MUST apply the ceiling and lower the score if it exceeds the cap. Show the math in the report, and name which table was applied:

Performance ceiling check:
  Strong Skipping: OFF (Kotlin 1.9.x, no opt-in) → applying SSM-off table
  skippable% = 186/273 = 68.1% → falls in 50-70% band → cap at 4
  qualitative score: 7
  applied score: 4 (ceiling lowered from 7)

Under Strong Skipping, skippable% will typically sit near 100% and stop being the binding constraint; the cap is usually driven by observed churn (listOf(...) / mapOf(...) / fresh literals passed into composables) or by expensive / broken equals() on unstable params. Name those findings explicitly in the ceiling-check block so the reader can audit the pick.

Do not round skippable% up into a higher band. 68.1% is not ≥70%. If a qualitative score lands at or below the ceiling, no adjustment is needed — but the check itself must appear in the report so the reader can audit it.

If a category genuinely has too little auditable surface area, mark it N/A, explain why, and renormalize the remaining weights.

8. Write The Report

Use references/report-template.md.

The report must include:

• overall score
• category score table
• top critical findings
• category-by-category reasoning
• evidence file paths
• prioritized remediation list
• optional follow-up note to run material-3 if design issues are suspected
• optional coverage notes for testing, focus/keyboard, and KMP/CMP surfaces; these notes do not change the score unless they overlap with the scored categories

Write the report to:

• COMPOSE-AUDIT-REPORT.md inside the audited target (the path the user passed), not the current working directory.

If COMPOSE-AUDIT-REPORT.md already exists at that path, do not overwrite it silently. Either confirm overwrite with the user, or write to COMPOSE-AUDIT-REPORT-<YYYY-MM-DD>.md alongside it.

9. Return A Short Summary

In chat, produce a summary that mirrors the report's Prioritized Fixes section — not a generic recap. The developer should be able to act on the summary alone without opening the report file.

Include:

• overall score (and the delta vs. any prior COMPOSE-AUDIT-REPORT*.md at the same path, if present)
• one-line judgment for each category, with the applied ceiling if any (e.g. "Performance 8/10 — capped by the SSM-on table: recreated FeedItemUiModel params")
• when animation defects affected Performance, name them explicitly in the Performance line (e.g. "Performance 6/10 — animated offset reads recompose DrawerContent every frame")
• when animation defects affected Side Effects, name them explicitly in the Side Effects line (e.g. "Side Effects 5/10 — scope.launch { animateTo(...) } in composition on SettingsScreen")
• when paging defects affected Side Effects, name them explicitly in the Side Effects line (e.g. "Side Effects 6/10 — LaunchedEffect(Unit) { feed.refresh() } on FeedScreen loads from composition")
• compiler-report highlights when Step 4 succeeded: Strong Skipping on/off (or mixed across modules), which ceiling table was applied, module-wide skippable%, named-only skippable%, which metric actually bound the cap, count of unstable shared types, and any module that failed to build
• top three actionable fixes, each with:
  • the concrete change ("add key = { it.id } to items(...) in feed/FeedList.kt:42")
  • file path(s) and line numbers — the same ones listed in the report's Prioritized Fixes
  • one official doc URL from references/canonical-sources.md
  • expected impact that matches the active ceiling table: on SSM-off, frame it in terms of named-only skippable% / unstable-param reductions; on SSM-on, frame it in terms of removing instance-recreation churn, fixing expensive / broken equals(), or clearing the binding cap
• whether a material-3 audit is worth running next
• whether focused follow-up is worth running next: compose-agent focus on testing, compose-agent focus on focus, compose-agent focus on kmp, compose-agent focus on animation, or compose-agent focus on paging

The top-three fixes in the chat summary MUST be the same items as the report's Prioritized Fixes list (same file paths, same doc links). Do not add generic advice in chat that isn't in the written report.

Evidence Rules

• Prefer multiple examples over one dramatic example.
• Use positive evidence too, not just failures.
• Do not infer runtime problems you cannot justify from the code.
• When a rule is based on official guidance but app-level tradeoffs may justify deviation, call it out as a tradeoff instead of pretending it is always wrong.

Large Repo Strategy

For medium or large repositories:

1. Map modules first.
2. Pick representative files per module.
3. Parallelize category scans when possible.
4. Merge repeated findings into systemic issues instead of listing the same smell twenty times.

What To Avoid

• Do not produce a generic checklist with no repository evidence.
• Do not turn the report into a public-library API lecture if the repo is an app.
• Do not inflate the performance score just because the app uses Compose.
• Do not over-penalize isolated experiments or sample files unless they are part of production paths.
• Do not score design in v1.
• Do not flag LaunchedEffect(Unit) or LaunchedEffect(true) on its own — the "run once" pattern is idiomatic. Only flag it when the body captures a value that may change without rememberUpdatedState. Paging carve-out: LaunchedEffect(Unit) { lazyPagingItems.refresh() } (or retry()) is a Side Effects defect — initial paged load is PagingData's job, and refresh()/retry() are user-initiated. Flag it.
• Do not deduct on Compose Multiplatform code paths for Android-only APIs (collectAsStateWithLifecycle, lifecycle-runtime-compose). Note the platform constraint as a tradeoff instead.
• Do not double-count the same root cause across categories. A stability problem typically surfaces in both Performance and State — pick the dominant category and cross-reference.

References

• references/scoring.md — per-rule rubric with inline citations
• references/search-playbook.md — search patterns and red-flag heuristics
• references/report-template.md — required structure for COMPOSE-AUDIT-REPORT.md
• references/canonical-sources.md — the official URLs every deduction must cite
• references/diagnostics.md — copy-pasteable Gradle/code snippets for Compose Compiler reports, stability config, baseline profiles, and R8 checks
• scripts/compose-reports.init.gradle — Gradle init script the skill injects via --init-script in Step 4 to generate compiler reports automatically

Acceptance Evals

evals/evals.json holds acceptance cases that grade an audit of existing code — each {prompt, expected_output, expectations} is a snippet plus the findings the audit must produce. Cases 12–14 (cross-phase back-write, Strong Skipping false lead, snapshot self-invalidation) are mirrored, in the opposite direction, by compose-agent's write-mode evals, so the scoring path and the authoring path stay in lockstep. Run a model against each prompt and check every expectation.