Developer(s) | Hans Dockter, Adam Murdoch, Szczepan Faber, Peter Niederwieser, Luke Daley, Rene Gröschke, Daz DeBoer |
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Initial release | 21 April 2008 |
Stable release | 7.6[1] ![]() |
Preview release | 8.0 RC2
/ 17 January 2023 |
Repository | |
Written in | Java, Groovy, Kotlin |
Type | Build tool |
License | Apache License 2.0 |
Website | www |
Gradle is a build automation tool for multi-language software development. It controls the development process in the tasks of compilation and packaging to testing, deployment, and publishing. Supported languages include Java (as well as Kotlin, Groovy, Scala), C/C++, and JavaScript.[2] It also collects statistical data about the usage of software libraries around the globe.
Gradle builds on the concepts of Apache Ant and Apache Maven, and introduces a Groovy- and Kotlin-based domain-specific language contrasted with the XML-based project configuration used by Maven.[3] Gradle uses a directed acyclic graph to determine the order in which tasks can be run, through providing dependency management. It runs on the Java Virtual Machine.[4]
Gradle was designed for multi-project builds, which can grow to be large. It operates based on a series of build tasks that can run serially or in parallel. Incremental builds are supported by determining the parts of the build tree that are already up to date; any task dependent only on those parts does not need to be re-executed. It also supports caching of build components, potentially across a shared network using the Gradle Build Cache. It produces web-based build visualization called Gradle Build Scans. The software is extensible for new features and programming languages with a plugin subsystem.
Gradle is distributed as Free Software under the Apache License 2.0, and was first released in 2008.[5]
Founder and CEO Hans Dockter has said that he originally wanted to name the project "Cradle". However, to make the name unique and less "diminutive" he instead chose "Gradle", taking the "G" from the use of Groovy.[6]
Version | Date |
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0.1 | 21 April 2008[7] |
1.0 | 12 June 2012[8] |
2.0 | 1 July 2014 |
3.0 | 15 August 2016 |
4.0 | 14 June 2017 |
5.0 | 26 November 2018 |
6.0 | 8 November 2019 |
7.0 | 9 April 2021 |
Gradle is available as a separate download, but can also be found bundled in products such as Android Studio.