dependency-updates

name	dependency-updates
description	Update project dependencies to latest stable versions using the gradle-versions-plugin

Dependency Updates Skill

When asked to update dependencies, follow this process:

1. Add the plugin

Add com.github.ben-manes.versions to build.gradle.kts (root):

plugins {
    // ... existing plugins ...
    id("com.github.ben-manes.versions") version "0.53.0"
}

2. Configure the task

Add this block to build.gradle.kts (root) to configure release-candidate filtering and parallel execution:

fun isNonStable(version: String): Boolean {
    val stableKeyword = listOf("RELEASE", "FINAL", "GA").any { version.uppercase().contains(it) }
    val regex = "^[0-9,.v-]+(-r)?$".toRegex()
    val isStable = stableKeyword || regex.matches(version)
    return isStable.not()
}

tasks.named<com.github.benmanes.gradle.versions.updates.DependencyUpdatesTask>("dependencyUpdates") {
    rejectVersionIf {
        isNonStable(candidate.version) && !isNonStable(currentVersion)
    }
}

3. Run dependencyUpdates

./gradlew dependencyUpdates -Drevision=release --no-parallel 2>&1

Parse the output. The "later release versions" section lists candidates. Filter:

• Update: stable releases used in gradle/libs.versions.toml
• Skip: pre-release (alpha/beta/RC/snapshot/dev), internal Android test plugins, versions requiring Gradle/AGP major bumps

4. Update versions

Edit gradle/libs.versions.toml [versions] section.

5. Align by Compose releases

When updating Compose Multiplatform or related AndroidX libraries:

1. Check the Compose Multiplatform release page for the target version
2. Extract the library versions from the "Libraries" table in the release notes
3. Update libs.versions.toml to match those versions exactly
4. Update related dependencies to their aligned versions (lifecycle, navigation3, adaptive, material3)

Example alignment from Compose v1.11.0-beta02:

• compose-multiplatform = "1.11.0-beta02"
• androidx-lifecycle = "2.11.0-alpha03" (from release table)
• androidx-nav3 = "1.1.0-rc01" (from release table)
• androidx-adaptive = "1.3.0-alpha06" (from release table)
• material3 = "1.11.0-alpha06" (from release table)

6. Handle migration breaking changes

Check for known breaking changes in major version bumps.

7. Verify the build

./gradlew compileKotlin

If compilation fails, read error logs and fix:

• Check for deprecation warnings that became errors
• Check for API changes in updated libraries
• Fix behavior changes (e.g., Metro's @Assisted migration)

8. Remove the plugin and task config

Delete the lines added in steps 1 and 2 from build.gradle.kts:

• Remove id("com.github.ben-manes.versions") version "0.53.0" from the plugins block
• Remove the tasks.named<DependencyUpdatesTask>("dependencyUpdates") configuration block

9. Report changes

Summarize what was updated in a table format:

Library	Before	After
ktor	3.4.0	3.4.2

Special cases

• If only pre-release updates are available, inform the user and skip
• If AGP update requires Gradle bump, handle both together
• If Metro update requires migration, update all @Assisted usages across the codebase
• Never update to versions that break the build without explicit user approval