android-data-layer

name

android-data-layer

description

Data layer patterns for Android/KMP - data sources, repositories, DTOs, mappers, Room entities, Ktor HttpClient, safe call helpers, token storage, and offline-first. Use this skill whenever writing or reviewing a data source or repository, creating DTOs or Room entities, writing mappers, setting up the Ktor HttpClient, handling network errors, or implementing token refresh. Trigger on phrases like "create a repository", "create a data source", "add a DAO", "Ktor client", "write a mapper", "DTO", "Room entity", "network call", "token storage", or "offline-first".

Android / KMP Data Layer

Error Handling

This skill uses Result<T, E>, DataError, and the extension helpers defined in the android-error-handling skill. Refer to that skill for the full Result wrapper, DataError sealed interface, and map/onSuccess/onFailure/asEmptyResult extensions.

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Data Source vs Repository

• Data source — accesses a single data source (local DB, remote API, file system). Most classes in the data layer are data sources.
• Repository — combines multiple data sources (e.g., a remote API + a local DB for offline-first). Only use the term "repository" when the class genuinely coordinates multiple sources.

// Single source → data source
interface NoteLocalDataSource {
    suspend fun getNotes(): Result<List<Note>, DataError.Local>
    suspend fun insertNote(note: Note): EmptyResult<DataError.Local>
}

interface NoteRemoteDataSource {
    suspend fun fetchNotes(): Result<List<Note>, DataError.Network>
}

// Multiple sources → repository
interface NoteRepository {
    suspend fun getNotes(): Result<List<Note>, DataError>
    suspend fun sync(): EmptyResult<DataError>
}

Domain Layer Contracts

• Pure Kotlin — no Android/framework imports.
• Contains: domain models, data source/repository interfaces, error types.
• Every data source or repository used by a ViewModel must have an interface in domain — enforces that presentation never depends on data, and enables testing.

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DTOs and Domain Models

• Always separate: DTOs (data layer) ↔ Domain Models (domain layer).
• Domain models never go directly into Room entities or Ktor request/response bodies.
• Mappers are simple extension functions living in the data layer alongside the DTO:

fun NoteDto.toNote(): Note = Note(id = id, title = title, ...)
fun Note.toNoteDto(): NoteDto = NoteDto(id = id, title = title, ...)
fun NoteEntity.toNote(): Note = ...
fun Note.toNoteEntity(): NoteEntity = ...

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Implementations

Name implementations for what makes them unique — never suffix with Impl.

Data source (single source)

class RoomNoteDataSource(private val dao: NoteDao) : NoteLocalDataSource {
    override suspend fun getNotes(): Result<List<Note>, DataError.Local> {
        return try {
            Result.Success(dao.getAllNotes().map { it.toNote() })
        } catch (e: Exception) {
            Result.Error(DataError.Local.UNKNOWN)
        }
    }
}

Repository (multiple sources)

class OfflineFirstNoteRepository(
    private val localDataSource: NoteLocalDataSource,
    private val remoteDataSource: NoteRemoteDataSource
) : NoteRepository {
    override suspend fun getNotes(): Result<List<Note>, DataError> {
        return remoteDataSource.fetchNotes()
            .onSuccess { notes -> localDataSource.insertAll(notes) }
            .onFailure { localDataSource.getNotes() }
    }
}

Use names like RoomNoteDataSource, KtorNoteDataSource, OfflineFirstNoteRepository. The name should tell you what the class wraps or how it behaves.

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Ktor — HttpClient Factory (core:data)

Configure the client once. Accept the engine externally so tests can swap in a mock engine:

object HttpClientFactory {
    fun create(engine: HttpClientEngine): HttpClient = HttpClient(engine) {
        install(ContentNegotiation) { json() }
        install(Auth) {
            bearer {
                loadTokens { /* load from DataStore */ }
                refreshTokens { /* call refresh endpoint, save new tokens */ }
            }
        }
        install(Logging) { logger = Logger.DEFAULT; level = LogLevel.ALL }
        defaultRequest { contentType(ContentType.Application.Json) }
    }
}

Inject HttpClient via Koin. For KMP, use the platform default engine.

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Ktor — Safe Call Helpers (core:data)

Use safeCall / responseToResult helpers and typed extension functions (HttpClient.get, HttpClient.post, HttpClient.delete) to keep data source call sites clean and uniform. See the android-error-handling skill for the full implementation of these helpers.

suspend fun getNotes(): Result<List<NoteDto>, DataError.Network> {
    return httpClient.get(route = "/notes")
}

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Token Storage

Store tokens in DataStore (in core:data or a dedicated :core:auth / :feature:auth:data module). The Ktor Auth plugin reads/writes tokens and handles 401 refresh automatically.

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Room Migrations

Prefer @Database(autoMigrations = [AutoMigration(from = 1, to = 2)]). Use manual Migration objects when the schema change is too complex for auto-migration.

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Offline-First (when applicable)

Follow Room as single source of truth: fetch from network → persist to Room → expose DB Flow to the ViewModel. The ViewModel never observes network responses directly.

This pattern is optional — apply it when the project requires offline support.

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Naming Conventions

Thing	Convention	Example
Data source interface	<Entity><Local/Remote>DataSource	NoteLocalDataSource, NoteRemoteDataSource
Data source impl	describe what makes it unique	RoomNoteDataSource, KtorNoteDataSource
Repository interface	<Entity>Repository (multi-source only)	NoteRepository
Repository impl	describe what makes it unique	OfflineFirstNoteRepository
DTO	<Model>Dto	NoteDto
Room entity	<Model>Entity	NoteEntity
Mapper	extension fun on source type	fun NoteDto.toNote()

---

Checklist: Adding a New Data Source or Repository

• Define domain model(s) in feature:domain
• Define data source or repository interface in feature:domain
• Define feature-specific error type(s) in feature:domain (implement Error) — see android-error-handling skill
• Define DTOs and Room entities in feature:data
• Write mappers as extension functions in feature:data
• Implement data source (single source) or repository (multi-source) in feature:data, named for what makes it unique