Lightbuild
An experimental Android build system introduced by Google that uses declarative configuration and a deterministic static data graph. It aims to simplify project configuration, speed up IDE synchronization, and allow AI agents to safely read and modify build configurations.
Timeline (last 90 days)
Google unveiled Lightbuild, an experimental Android build experience.
Lightbuild configuration files are purely declarative data, with no variables, function calls or conditional logic.
Lightbuild is not a plugin for the build system but an interface to the build engine; the current preview still uses Gradle as the execution engine under the hood.
Lightbuild is available in early preview in Android Studio Canary and a standalone CLI tool.
The Lightbuild project structure requires at least two modules: an app module and a library module; the app module contains no source code.
Whenever dependencies change, the Lightbuild tool automatically computes transitive dependency information and writes it to a resolve.deps file in each module directory; the team recommends checking these files into source control.
The Lightbuild CLI provides a --locked-dependencies flag that compares the contents of resolve.deps files against declared dependencies and fails the build if there are differences.
The Lightbuild CLI's query command can list all buildable targets (debug and release APKs and AABs) under a module, and supports JSON output format.
Lightbuild does not support conditional switching within a module (such as build flavors); instead, each variant corresponds to a separate empty shell app module, achieving differentiation by depending on different combinations of library modules.
Scott used a Gemini agent to convert the roughly 32-module Now in Android project to Lightbuild, and the project opens and syncs extremely fast.
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All Facts (13)
The project.lightbuild.yaml in the Lightbuild project root defines global settings: project name, module list, external repositories and global versions; each module has its own lightbuild.yaml.
50%UnverifiedLightbuild configuration files are purely declarative data, with no variables, function calls or conditional logic.
50%UnverifiedLightbuild is not a plugin for the build system but an interface to the build engine; the current preview still uses Gradle as the execution engine under the hood.
50%UnverifiedLightbuild does not support conditional switching within a module (such as build flavors); instead, each variant corresponds to a separate empty shell app module, achieving differentiation by depending on different combinations of library modules.
50%UnverifiedLightbuild does not yet support the Hilt plugin, and the agent eventually found a workaround when converting the Now in Android project.
50%UnverifiedGoogle explicitly recommends that production apps continue to use AGP and Gradle, and try Lightbuild in demo and experimental projects.
50%UnverifiedThe Lightbuild project structure requires at least two modules: an app module and a library module; the app module contains no source code.
50%UnverifiedWhenever dependencies change, the Lightbuild tool automatically computes transitive dependency information and writes it to a resolve.deps file in each module directory; the team recommends checking these files into source control.
50%UnverifiedThe Lightbuild CLI provides a --locked-dependencies flag that compares the contents of resolve.deps files against declared dependencies and fails the build if there are differences.
50%UnverifiedThe Lightbuild CLI's query command can list all buildable targets (debug and release APKs and AABs) under a module, and supports JSON output format.
50%UnverifiedLightbuild is available in early preview in Android Studio Canary and a standalone CLI tool.
50%UnverifiedGoogle unveiled Lightbuild, an experimental Android build experience.
50%UnverifiedScott used a Gemini agent to convert the roughly 32-module Now in Android project to Lightbuild, and the project opens and syncs extremely fast.
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