Gradle Convention

Gradle Convention Rules

1. Multi-Module Project Structure

Recommended Layout

project-root/
├── settings.gradle.kts
├── build.gradle.kts              # Root: shared config
├── buildSrc/                     # Convention plugins
│   ├── build.gradle.kts
│   └── src/main/kotlin/
│       └── kotlin-conventions.gradle.kts
├── gradle/
│   └── libs.versions.toml        # Version catalog
└── modules/
    ├── app/                      # Application entry point
    │   ├── build.gradle.kts
    │   └── src/
    ├── domain/                   # Domain logic
    │   ├── build.gradle.kts
    │   └── src/
    └── infrastructure/           # External integrations
        ├── build.gradle.kts
        └── src/

Module Dependency Direction

app → domain ← infrastructure

• domain: Pure business logic, no framework dependencies
• app: Application entry point, routing, configuration
• infrastructure: Database, external APIs, messaging
• domain should never depend on app or infrastructure

2. Version Catalog

libs.versions.toml

[versions]
kotlin = "2.3.10"
kotlinx-coroutines = "1.10.2"
kotlinx-serialization = "1.8.1"
ktor = "3.1.2"
exposed = "0.61.0"
kotest = "5.9.0"
mockk = "1.13.13"

[libraries]
kotlinx-coroutines-core = { module = "org.jetbrains.kotlinx:kotlinx-coroutines-core", version.ref = "kotlinx-coroutines" }
kotlinx-serialization-json = { module = "org.jetbrains.kotlinx:kotlinx-serialization-json", version.ref = "kotlinx-serialization" }
ktor-server-core = { module = "io.ktor:ktor-server-core", version.ref = "ktor" }
ktor-server-netty = { module = "io.ktor:ktor-server-netty", version.ref = "ktor" }
exposed-core = { module = "org.jetbrains.exposed:exposed-core", version.ref = "exposed" }
exposed-jdbc = { module = "org.jetbrains.exposed:exposed-jdbc", version.ref = "exposed" }
kotest-runner = { module = "io.kotest:kotest-runner-junit5", version.ref = "kotest" }
mockk = { module = "io.mockk:mockk", version.ref = "mockk" }

[bundles]
kotest = ["kotest-runner", "mockk"]

[plugins]
kotlin-jvm = { id = "org.jetbrains.kotlin.jvm", version.ref = "kotlin" }
kotlin-serialization = { id = "org.jetbrains.kotlin.plugin.serialization", version.ref = "kotlin" }

Usage in build.gradle.kts

dependencies {
    implementation(libs.kotlinx.coroutines.core)
    implementation(libs.kotlinx.serialization.json)
    testImplementation(libs.bundles.kotest)
}

Version Catalog Rules

• All dependency versions must be defined in libs.versions.toml
• Never hardcode version strings in build.gradle.kts
• Use bundles to group related test/utility dependencies
• Keep versions up to date — check for updates regularly

3. Dependency Declarations

Configuration Types

Rules

dependencies {
    // Use implementation by default
    implementation(libs.ktor.server.core)

    // Use api only in library modules when the type is part of the public API
    api(libs.some.shared.model)

    // Use compileOnly for annotation processors
    compileOnly(libs.some.annotation.processor)

    // Use runtimeOnly for runtime-only dependencies
    runtimeOnly(libs.postgresql)

    // Test dependencies
    testImplementation(libs.bundles.kotest)
}

• Default to implementation — only use api when the dependency type appears in public signatures
• Use runtimeOnly for JDBC drivers, logging backends
• Use compileOnly for compile-time annotations

4. Convention Plugins (buildSrc)

Shared Configuration

// buildSrc/src/main/kotlin/kotlin-conventions.gradle.kts
plugins {
    kotlin("jvm")
}

group = "com.example"

kotlin {
    jvmToolchain(21)
}

tasks.withType<Test> {
    useJUnitPlatform()
}

Application Module Convention

// buildSrc/src/main/kotlin/app-conventions.gradle.kts
plugins {
    id("kotlin-conventions")
    application
}

// Configure the main class for the application plugin
application {
    mainClass.set("com.example.MainKt")
}

Convention Plugin Rules

• Extract common build logic into buildSrc convention plugins
• Apply convention plugins in module build.gradle.kts instead of repeating config
• Keep convention plugins focused — one per concern (kotlin, application, serialization)

5. Build Optimization

gradle.properties

# Parallel execution
org.gradle.parallel=true

# Build cache
org.gradle.caching=true

# Daemon (keep JVM alive between builds)
org.gradle.daemon=true

# JVM memory for Gradle daemon
org.gradle.jvmargs=-Xmx2g -XX:+UseParallelGC

# Kotlin incremental compilation
kotlin.incremental=true

CI-Specific Settings

# In CI: disable daemon (short-lived environments)
org.gradle.daemon=false

6. Task Conventions

Custom Task Naming

• Use camelCase for task names
• Prefix with action verb: generate, check, publish
• Group related tasks with group property

Common Tasks

7. Framework-Specific Build Patterns

Examples in this skill use framework-agnostic Kotlin/JVM libraries. For Spring Boot projects, see:

• Spring Boot plugins, starters, convention plugins: spring-framework skill
• Spring Boot + Kotlin build setup (allopen, noarg, JPA plugins): spring-framework skill — references/kotlin-interop.md

8. Anti-Patterns

• Hardcoding dependency versions in build.gradle.kts
• Using compile (deprecated) instead of implementation
• Applying plugins in allprojects/subprojects blocks (use convention plugins)
• Copying build logic across module build.gradle.kts files
• Using buildscript block when plugin DSL is available
• Skipping gradle wrapper — always commit the wrapper