Android Gradle Build Logic & Convention Plugins

This skill helps you configure a scalable, maintainable build system for Android apps using Gradle Convention Plugins and Version Catalogs, following the "Now in Android" (NiA) architecture.

Goal

Stop copy-pasting code between build.gradle.kts files. Centralize build logic (Compose setup, Kotlin options, Hilt, etc.) in reusable plugins.

Project Structure

Ensure your project has a build-logic directory included in settings.gradle.kts as a composite build.

root/
├── build-logic/
│   ├── convention/
│   │   ├── src/main/kotlin/
│   │   │   └── AndroidApplicationConventionPlugin.kt
│   │   └── build.gradle.kts
│   ├── build.gradle.kts
│   └── settings.gradle.kts
├── gradle/
│   └── libs.versions.toml
├── app/
│   └── build.gradle.kts
└── settings.gradle.kts

Step 1: Configure settings.gradle.kts

Include the build-logic as a plugin management source.

// settings.gradle.kts
pluginManagement {
    includeBuild("build-logic")
    repositories {
        google()
        mavenCentral()
        gradlePluginPortal()
    }
}
dependencyResolutionManagement {
    repositoriesMode.set(RepositoriesMode.FAIL_ON_PROJECT_REPOS)
    repositories {
        google()
        mavenCentral()
    }
}

Step 2: Define Dependencies in libs.versions.toml

Use the Version Catalog for both libraries and plugins.

[versions]
androidGradlePlugin = "8.2.0"
kotlin = "1.9.20"

[libraries]
# ...

[plugins]
android-application = { id = "com.android.application", version.ref = "androidGradlePlugin" }
android-library = { id = "com.android.library", version.ref = "androidGradlePlugin" }
kotlin-android = { id = "org.jetbrains.kotlin.android", version.ref = "kotlin" }
# Define your own plugins here
nowinandroid-android-application = { id = "nowinandroid.android.application", version = "unspecified" }

Step 3: Create a Convention Plugin