Gradle Kotlin Companion

A VS Code extension that brings a JetBrains-style Gradle / Kotlin-DSL experience to Visual Studio Code, on top of (and complementing) the official gradle-java extension.

Highlights

Modules & tasks

• Gradle Modules sidebar — every module discovered from settings.gradle(.kts) is rendered as a tree with its tasks underneath. Each task gets three inline buttons: Run, Run with arguments…, and Run tests… (filter by --tests pattern).
• tasks --all merge — after the static scan, the extension also invokes :module:tasks --all --quiet per module via the shared daemon and merges the results, so dynamically-registered tasks appear in the tree too.
• Recent runs folder at the top of the sidebar — every task you run from the UI is recorded; one click re-runs it with the same arguments. Use Gradle: Clear Recent Runs from the view title bar to wipe.

Build script integration

• Reload Project lens at the top of every build.gradle.kts / settings.gradle.kts, mirroring the JetBrains floating "Reload All Gradle Projects" toolbar.
• dependencies { … } action — a CodeLens above every dependencies block runs the dependencies task for the owning module so you can refresh resolution from where you are.
• Add Subproject quick fix — in settings.gradle(.kts), an editor CodeAction prompts for a path and writes a include(":new-module") line plus a default build.gradle.kts skeleton.

Version catalog (libs.versions.toml)

• Inline ghost-text version hints next to every libs.x.y.z reference in your build scripts. With gradleKotlin.versionInlayHints.checkLatest enabled (default) the extension queries Maven Central and renders current -> latest when an upgrade is available.
• Completion when typing libs. covers libraries, plugins, bundles and versions.
• Go to Definition (Cmd/Ctrl+click) and Hover on libs.x.y jump to / preview the matching entry in libs.versions.toml.

Test Explorer

• Kotlin classes under src/test/kotlin/** containing @Test methods are surfaced in the Testing view, grouped per module.
• Running an item (whole module, class, or method) dispatches :module:test --tests <pattern> through the shared daemon and parses build/test-results/test/*.xml to mark each case passed / failed / skipped with timing.

Status bar & cancellation

• A small $(rocket) Gradle item on the left shows the daemon state. While a task is running it switches to $(sync~spin) Gradle: <task>. Click it to stop the daemon.
• All UI-initiated runs show a cancellable notification — pressing the ✕ SIGTERMs the underlying gradle child.

Shared Gradle runner, exposed to Copilot

The extension serializes Gradle invocations per workspace and exposes Language-Model tools so Copilot can drive Gradle without spawning competing terminal builds. Failed Gradle runs return structured JSON with the exit code, failed task, parsed diagnostics when available, and the tail of stdout / stderr so the model can diagnose failures without hanging on a terminal.

An init script (resources/gradle-kotlin.init.gradle.kts) is injected via -I for every invocation; disable with gradleKotlin.initScript.enabled = false or point to your own with gradleKotlin.initScriptPath.

Gradle for Java takeover

Gradle for Java starts its own Gradle task discovery and can also wire a Java Gradle Build Server into Java project import. Gradle Kotlin Companion treats that extension as something to take over by default, using only public VS Code settings so the behavior is explicit and reversible:

• routes task runs, task hydration, reloads, wrapper upgrades and daemon status checks through the same serialized Gradle runner;
• uses --daemon by default for its own Gradle invocations, so repeated Gradle Kotlin Companion tasks reuse the Gradle daemon;
• sets workspace gradle.autoDetect = off, so Gradle for Java does not also auto-discover Gradle tasks;
• sets workspace java.gradle.buildServer.enabled = off, so Gradle for Java does not keep its Gradle Build Server path alive.

Set gradleKotlin.gradleForJava.integrationMode = "coexist" if you need to keep Java Gradle Build Server enabled while still letting this extension own task discovery, or "off" to leave Gradle for Java untouched. Disable eager task hydration with gradleKotlin.taskDiscovery.autoHydrateOnActivation = "never". Force no-daemon behavior with gradleKotlin.daemon.mode = "never"; the default "auto" uses --daemon.

Sample project

sample/ contains a multi-module Kotlin/Gradle project (:app, :core, :modules:featureA, :modules:featureB) wired up with a gradle/libs.versions.toml version catalog. Open the sample/ folder to see the sidebar, code lenses, inlay hints and Test Explorer in action.

Commands

Configuration

Development

bun install
bun run compile
bun run test       # vitest unit tests with stubbed `vscode`
bun run test:e2e   # @vscode/test-electron smoke test (downloads VS Code)

To regenerate icons from the JetBrains expui set:

bun run icon

License

MIT.