Gradle Standards

Standards for Gradle configuration in Java projects, including version catalogs, dependency bundles, and multi-module setup.

When to use this skill

Setting up a new Gradle project
Adding or updating dependencies
Configuring multi-module builds
Troubleshooting dependency conflicts
Migrating to version catalogs
Cleaning up unused dependencies
Optimizing build performance
When asked for "gradle dependencies cleanup"

Skill Contents

Available Resources

📚 references/ - Detailed documentation

Quick Start

1. Version Centralization (Required)

All versions MUST be centralized in gradle/libs.versions.toml:

[versions]
spring-boot = "3.5.9"
grpc = "1.78.0"

[libraries]
spring-boot-starter-web = { module = "org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-web", version.ref = "spring-boot" }
spring-boot-starter-actuator = { module = "org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-actuator", version.ref = "spring-boot" }

2. Use in build.gradle

dependencies {
    // ✅ CORRECT: Use version catalog with explicit dependencies
    implementation libs.spring.boot.starter.web
    implementation libs.spring.boot.starter.actuator

    // ❌ NEVER: Hardcode versions
    // implementation "org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-web:3.5.9"
}

Key Principles

Principle	Description
Centralize Versions	All versions in `libs.versions.toml`, never inline
Explicit Dependencies	Declare each dependency explicitly for clarity
Use Native Locking	Use Gradle's native dependency locking (Gradle 9+ recommended)
Never Downgrade	Don't replace existing versions with older ones
Use `platform()` for BOMs	Import BOMs via `platform()`, never `enforcedPlatform()` or `mavenBom` directives
Catalog First	All versions should come from the version catalog; use `resolutionStrategy.force` only as a last resort for security
Lock Dependencies	Generate `gradle.lockfile` for ALL submodules (use custom `resolveAndLockAll` task with `--write-locks`; see native-dependency-locking.md for task definition)

Version Conflicts

All projects should preferably use the versions defined in the version catalog. When the resolved version doesn't match the catalog for some reason, prefer fixing the root cause:

First: Define the correct version in the version catalog and declare the dependency explicitly
Second: Use platform() to import a BOM that manages the version (e.g., Spring Boot dependencies)
Last resort: Use resolutionStrategy.force only for security-critical overrides where the above approaches don't work

// AVOID unless absolutely necessary for security
configurations.configureEach {
    resolutionStrategy {
        // Only for security-critical overrides as a last resort
        force libs.commons.compress  // CVE fix not yet in BOM
    }
}

References

Reference	Description
references/version-catalogs.md	Complete version catalog guide
references/multi-module.md	Multi-module project setup
references/native-dependency-locking.md	Gradle native locking (Gradle 9+ recommended)
references/cleanup-workflow.md	Dependency cleanup process
references/unused-detection.md	Finding unused dependencies
references/optimization.md	Build optimization techniques
references/troubleshooting.md	Common issues and solutions

Related Rules

java-gradle-best-practices - Full Gradle configuration reference
java-versions-and-dependencies - Version management policies

Dependency Resolution Stack

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  1. VERSION CATALOG (libs.versions.toml)                            │
│     Single source of truth for declared versions                    │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  2. RESOLUTION STRATEGY (build.gradle)                              │
│     Use Gradle's native resolutionStrategy for:                     │
│     - force() for security fixes                                    │
│     - eachDependency for group alignment                            │
│     - dependencySubstitution for module replacement                 │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  3. LOCK FILE (gradle.lockfile)                                     │
│     Native Gradle locking (Gradle 9+ recommended)                   │
│     Captures EXACT resolved versions                                │
│                                                                     │
│  ⚠️  CRITICAL: Multi-module projects need lockfiles for ALL modules │
│     Use: ./gradlew resolveAndLockAll --write-locks                  │
│     NOT: ./gradlew dependencies --write-locks (root only!)          │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Lock File:

Native locking - Built-in, no plugins, recommended for Gradle 9+

Multi-Module Lockfile Generation:

# ✅ CORRECT: Generates lockfiles for ALL submodules
./gradlew resolveAndLockAll --write-locks --refresh-dependencies --no-daemon --no-scan

# ❌ WRONG: Only generates for ROOT project
./gradlew dependencies --write-locks

# Verify coverage (lockfiles should ≈ build.gradle files)
find . -name "gradle.lockfile" | wc -l
find . -name "build.gradle" | wc -l

Related Skills

Skill	Purpose
`dependency-management`	Version catalogs and BOMs
`dependabot-security`	Security vulnerability fixes
`java-coverage`	JaCoCo configuration in Gradle
`java-testing`	Test configuration with Spock

gradle-standards