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Android Studio – Difference between build.gradle.kts and libs.versions.toml

What’s the difference between build.gradle.kts and libs.versions.toml? When should each be used?

build.gradle.kts (:app)

plugins {
    alias(libs.plugins.android.application)
    alias(libs.plugins.jetbrains.kotlin.android)
}

android {
    namespace = "com.companyname.myapplication"
    compileSdk = 34

    defaultConfig {
        applicationId = "com.companyname.myapplication"
        minSdk = 33
        targetSdk = 34
        versionCode = 1
        versionName = "1.0"

        testInstrumentationRunner = "androidx.test.runner.AndroidJUnitRunner"
        vectorDrawables {
            useSupportLibrary = true
        }
    }

    buildTypes {
        release {
            isMinifyEnabled = false
            proguardFiles(
                getDefaultProguardFile("proguard-android-optimize.txt"),
                "proguard-rules.pro"
            )
        }
    }
    compileOptions {
        sourceCompatibility = JavaVersion.VERSION_1_8
        targetCompatibility = JavaVersion.VERSION_1_8
    }
    kotlinOptions {
        jvmTarget = "1.8"
    }
    buildFeatures {
        compose = true
    }
    composeOptions {
        kotlinCompilerExtensionVersion = "1.5.1"
    }
    packaging {
        resources {
            excludes += "/META-INF/{AL2.0,LGPL2.1}"
        }
    }
}

dependencies {
    implementation(libs.androidx.core.ktx)
    implementation(libs.androidx.lifecycle.runtime.ktx)
    implementation(libs.androidx.activity.compose)
    implementation(platform(libs.androidx.compose.bom))
    implementation(libs.androidx.ui)
    implementation(libs.androidx.ui.graphics)
    implementation(libs.androidx.ui.tooling.preview)
    implementation(libs.androidx.material3)
    testImplementation(libs.junit)
    androidTestImplementation(libs.androidx.junit)
    androidTestImplementation(libs.androidx.espresso.core)
    androidTestImplementation(platform(libs.androidx.compose.bom))
    androidTestImplementation(libs.androidx.ui.test.junit4)
    debugImplementation(libs.androidx.ui.tooling)
    debugImplementation(libs.androidx.ui.test.manifest)
    implementation(libs.androidx.material3.adaptive.navigation.suite)
}

libs.versions.toml

[versions]
adaptive = "1.1.0-alpha05"
agp = "8.5.0"
kotlin = "1.9.0"
coreKtx = "1.13.1"
junit = "4.13.2"
junitVersion = "1.2.1"
espressoCore = "3.6.1"
lifecycleRuntimeKtx = "2.8.6"
activityCompose = "1.9.2"
composeBom = "2024.04.01"

[libraries]
androidx-adaptive = { module = "androidx.compose.material3.adaptive:adaptive", version.ref = "adaptive" }
androidx-core-ktx = { group = "androidx.core", name = "core-ktx", version.ref = "coreKtx" }
androidx-material3-adaptive-navigation-suite = { module = "androidx.compose.material3:material3-adaptive-navigation-suite" }
junit = { group = "junit", name = "junit", version.ref = "junit" }
androidx-junit = { group = "androidx.test.ext", name = "junit", version.ref = "junitVersion" }
androidx-espresso-core = { group = "androidx.test.espresso", name = "espresso-core", version.ref = "espressoCore" }
androidx-lifecycle-runtime-ktx = { group = "androidx.lifecycle", name = "lifecycle-runtime-ktx", version.ref = "lifecycleRuntimeKtx" }
androidx-activity-compose = { group = "androidx.activity", name = "activity-compose", version.ref = "activityCompose" }
androidx-compose-bom = { group = "androidx.compose", name = "compose-bom", version.ref = "composeBom" }
androidx-ui = { group = "androidx.compose.ui", name = "ui" }
androidx-ui-graphics = { group = "androidx.compose.ui", name = "ui-graphics" }
androidx-ui-tooling = { group = "androidx.compose.ui", name = "ui-tooling" }
androidx-ui-tooling-preview = { group = "androidx.compose.ui", name = "ui-tooling-preview" }
androidx-ui-test-manifest = { group = "androidx.compose.ui", name = "ui-test-manifest" }
androidx-ui-test-junit4 = { group = "androidx.compose.ui", name = "ui-test-junit4" }
androidx-material3 = { group = "androidx.compose.material3", name = "material3" }

[plugins]
android-application = { id = "com.android.application", version.ref = "agp" }
jetbrains-kotlin-android = { id = "org.jetbrains.kotlin.android", version.ref = "kotlin" }
Tags:

2

Answers


  1. 0

    build.gradle.kts and libs.versions.toml do different things but work together

    build.gradle.kts:

    This is the file where you tell your app how to build. You set things like the Android version, the libraries you’re using, and the tools (plugins) you need.

    libs.versions.toml:

    This is a file where you keep track of the versions of your libraries and tools. Instead of writing the version numbers in build.gradle.kts, you put them all in libs.versions.toml. It makes updating versions easier because they’re all in one place.

    Example:

    In build.gradle.kts you might say

    implementation(libs.androidx.core.ktx)

    But the version of that library is written in libs.versions.toml

    coreKtx = "1.13.1"

    When to use:

    Use build.gradle.kts to set up your app.

    Use libs.versions.toml to manage all your library versions in one spot.

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  2. 0

    when you use libs it’s like that you just keep the dependencies string away from gradle anlong with that dependencie version.

    shortly if you intend to only use one module project which will have only one gradle file then there is no benefits for using libs.

    but if the project is multimodule (will have a. build.gradle.kts file for each module) libs are very helpful here since they help you centralize all your dependecies and versions in one place and call them from any gradle file.

    and with that you can a void a lot of problems like using different versions of the same dependency by mistake also when u need to update a version for example you wont have to do it for all modules and your build folders will looks much cleaner .

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