Kmp Architecture

Skill: KMP Architecture & Source-Set Bridging

Description

Guidelines on managing Kotlin Multiplatform (KMP) source-sets, expected abstractions, networking, database, and platform integration rules.

1. Source-Set Boundaries

• commonMain: All business logic, DB entities, API network logic, ViewModels, and UI rendering. NO java.* or android.* imports.
• androidMain: Android framework integration (Context, system services, NFC hardware, BLE Android bindings).
• jvmMain / jvmAndroidMain: Shared JVM code between Android and Desktop. Uses the meshtastic.kmp.jvm.android convention plugin to bridge jvm and android source sets without manual dependsOn hacks.
• androidApp / desktopApp: Host shells. Responsible for Koin DI root wiring (MainKoinModule/AppKoinModule, DesktopKoinModule), host-level UI themes, and running the MeshtasticNavDisplay.

2. Bridging Strategies

• Interface + DI (Preferred): Expose an interface in core:repository or core:ui (e.g. LocationRepository, MapViewProvider), implement it in androidMain or the host androidApp, and bind it via Koin or CompositionLocal.
• expect/actual (Restricted): Use only when a platform API cannot be abstracted cleanly (e.g. low-level File I/O mappings, uppercase() Locale helpers). Avoid deep class hierarchies using expect/actual.
  • Naming: An expect declaration and its shared helpers must live in differently named files within the same package, or the JVM target fails with duplicate class errors. Live example: LogExporter.kt (expect) alongside LogFormatter.kt (shared helpers).
• Shared Helpers: Do not duplicate pure Kotlin logic between androidMain and jvmMain. Extract to a commonMain helper.

3. Core Libraries & Constraints

• Concurrency: kotlinx.coroutines. Use org.meshtastic.core.common.util.ioDispatcher over Dispatchers.IO directly. Inject CoroutineDispatchers from core:di into classes that need dispatchers — never reference Dispatchers.IO/Main/Default directly in business logic.
• Error Handling: Use safeCatching {} from core:common instead of runCatching {} in coroutine/suspend contexts. runCatching swallows CancellationException, breaking structured concurrency. Keep runCatching only in cleanup/teardown code (abort, close, eviction loops).
• Standard Library Replacements:
  • ConcurrentHashMap -> atomicfu or Mutex-guarded mutableMapOf().
  • java.util.concurrent.locks.* -> kotlinx.coroutines.sync.Mutex.
  • java.io.* -> Okio (BufferedSource/BufferedSink).
• Networking: Pure Ktor. No OkHttp. Ktor Logging plugin for debugging.
• HTTP Configuration: Use HttpClientDefaults from core:network for shared base URL (API_BASE_URL), timeouts, and retry constants. Both Android (NetworkModule) and Desktop (DesktopKoinModule) HttpClient instances must use these. Feature API services use relative paths; DefaultRequest sets the base URL.
• BLE: Route through core:ble using Kable.
• Room KMP: Use factory = { MeshtasticDatabaseConstructor.initialize() } in Room.databaseBuilder.

4. Hierarchy & Source-Set Conventions

• Hierarchy template first: Prefer Kotlin's default hierarchy template and convention plugins over manual dependsOn(...) graphs. Manual source-set wiring should be reserved for cases the template cannot model.
• expect/actual restraint: Prefer interfaces + DI for platform capabilities; use expect/actual for small unavoidable platform primitives. Avoid broad expect/actual class hierarchies when an interface-based boundary is sufficient.
• Shared helpers over duplicated lambdas: When androidMain and jvmMain contain identical pure-Kotlin logic (formatting, action dispatch, validation), extract to commonMain. Examples: formatLogsTo(), handleNodeAction(), findNodeByNameSuffix(), MeshtasticAppShell, BaseRadioTransportFactory.

5. Dependency Catalog Aliases

• JetBrains fork aliases: Version catalog aliases for JetBrains-forked AndroidX artifacts use the jetbrains-* prefix (e.g., jetbrains-lifecycle-runtime-compose, jetbrains-navigation3-ui). Plain androidx-* aliases are true Google AndroidX artifacts. Never mix them up in commonMain.
• Compose Multiplatform: Version catalog aliases for Compose Multiplatform artifacts use the compose-multiplatform-* prefix (e.g., compose-multiplatform-material3, compose-multiplatform-foundation). Never use plain androidx.compose dependencies in commonMain.
• Dependencies: Always check gradle/libs.versions.toml before assuming a library is available.

6. I/O & Serialization

• Okio standard: This project standardizes on Okio (BufferedSource/BufferedSink). JetBrains recommends kotlinx-io (built on Okio), but this project has not migrated. Do not introduce kotlinx-io without an explicit decision.
• Room KMP: Always use factory = { MeshtasticDatabaseConstructor.initialize() } in Room.databaseBuilder and inMemoryDatabaseBuilder. DAOs and Entities reside in commonMain.
• Room Patterns:
  • Use @Upsert for insert-or-update operations instead of manual INSERT OR IGNORE + UPDATE logic.
  • Use LIMIT 1 on @Query methods that expect a single row.
  • Prevent N+1 queries: batch operations with @Upsert fun putAll(items: List<T>) or chunked WHERE IN queries (chunk size ≤ 999 to respect SQLite bind parameter limit).

7. Build-Logic Conventions

• In build-logic/convention, prefer lazy Gradle configuration (configureEach, withPlugin, provider APIs). Avoid afterEvaluate in convention plugins unless there is no viable lazy alternative.

8. Onboarding a New Target (Desktop/iOS)

1. Ensure all new logic compiles against the KMP core (jvm(), iosArm64(), etc.).
2. Do not use platform-specific constructs in commonMain or you break the iOS/Desktop builds.
3. Test using kmpSmokeCompile to verify cross-platform compilation.
4. For desktop wiring, copy the pattern in desktopApp/src/main/kotlin/org/meshtastic/desktop/di/DesktopKoinModule.kt and use NoopStubs.kt to temporarily mock missing platform implementations.

Reference Anchors

• Shared Okio I/O: core/domain/src/commonMain/kotlin/org/meshtastic/core/domain/usecase/settings/ImportProfileUseCase.kt
• Desktop DI Stubs: desktopApp/src/main/kotlin/org/meshtastic/desktop/stub/NoopStubs.kt
• Version Catalog: gradle/libs.versions.toml
• Convention Plugins: build-logic/convention/