configuring-r8-for-compose

Name: configuring-r8-for-compose
Author: skydoves

454stars15forks

How to install configuring-r8-for-compose?

skydoves/compose-performance-skills/configuring-r8-for-compose

$npx -y skills add skydoves/compose-performance-skills --skill configuring-r8-for-compose

Installs into the current project.

Summary

Use this skill to configure R8 correctly for a Jetpack Compose application — full mode by default, proguard-android-optimize.txt, resource shrinking on, and minimal keep rules because Compose ships consumer ProGuard rules. Covers AGP 8.0+ R8 full mode default, R8's Compose-awar

Files · 1

View on GitHub

SKILL.md

1	# Configuring R8 for Compose — Trust Consumer Rules, Avoid Blanket Keeps
2
3	R8 is the only supported shrinker — ProGuard is deprecated. Compose ships consumer ProGuard rules, so most apps need no Compose-specific keep rules. The big modern wins come from R8 full mode (default since AGP 8.0): lambda grouping, `sourceInformation()` stripping, constant-folding of composable args, and `ComposerImpl` devirtualization. This skill teaches Claude to set R8 up minimally and refuse over-broad keeps that defeat those wins.
4
5	## When to use this skill
6
7	- Setting up a new Compose app's release variant for the first time.
8	- A PR adds `-keep class androidx.compose.** { *; }` or any other Compose-wide keep — push back and apply this skill.
9	- A release build crashes after enabling minification — the cause is almost always a missing keep on a reflective consumer, not on Compose itself.
10	- APK size review surfaces a large `classes.dex` and the developer wants to know why.
11	- The first time `isMinifyEnabled = true` is being flipped on, before any release benchmark is run.
12	- Cross-link from `../../measurement/testing-compose-in-release-mode/SKILL.md` whenever release measurement is being set up.
13
14	## When NOT to use this skill
15
16	- The app is not yet ready to ship a release variant — wait until perf and crash budgets are in scope.
17	- The developer is debugging a code-level bug (logic error, race, wrong state). R8 issues manifest as `ClassNotFoundException`, `NoSuchMethodError`, or empty reflection results — not behavioral bugs.
18	- The release variant has been measured and is fine — do not pre-emptively add keep rules.
19	- The perf concern is recomposition, layout phase, or stability — see the relevant `stability/` or `recomposition/` skills.
20
21	## Prerequisites
22
23	- AGP 8.0+ for R8 full mode default. If on older AGP, full mode must be explicitly enabled in `gradle.properties` with `android.enableR8.fullMode=true`.
24	- A buildable release variant (debug-signed is fine while iterating — see `../../measurement/testing-compose-in-release-mode/SKILL.md` for measurement signing).
25	- Kotlin 2.0+ with the `org.jetbrains.kotlin.plugin.compose` plugin so Compose's bundled consumer rules are wired correctly through dependency resolution.
26	- Familiarity with the difference between `proguard-android.txt` (no R8 optimizations) and `proguard-android-optimize.txt` (R8 optimizations on).
27
28	## What R8 actually does for Compose (since AGP 8.0)
29
30	Surface these to the developer when they ask "why bother" or push back against minification:
31
32	1. Lambda grouping. R8 merges many of Compose's generated lambda classes, reducing dex size and method count.
33	2. `sourceInformation()` stripping. Each composable emits a string of source-position metadata. R8 removes it from release builds — smaller APK and less work per recomposition.
34	3. Composable arg constant-folding. Constants that would have been wrapped by Live Literals in debug are now folded back into `if (changed and 1 == 0)` style checks the recomposer can short-circuit.
35	4. `ComposerImpl` devirtualization. R8 devirtualizes hot calls into Compose's runtime, which is a major contributor to the cited frame-render improvement.
36	5. Resource shrinking. Paired with `isShrinkResources = true`, R8 strips unreachable drawables, strings, and layout XML.
37
38	Cited measurement: roughly 75 percent startup gain and 60 percent frame-render gain debug to release. Source: Ben Trengrove, "Why should you always test Compose performance in release" (Android Developers Medium).
39
40	## Workflow
41
42	- [ ] 1. Configure the release buildType. This is the entire happy-path config — no Compose-specific keeps needed:
43
44	```kotlin
45	// app/build.gradle.kts
46	android {
47	buildTypes {
48	release {
49	isMinifyEnabled = true
50	isSh

People who liked this also viewed

6 picks

Type

configuring-r8-for-compose

454stars15forks

View on GitHub

How to install configuring-r8-for-compose?

skydoves/compose-performance-skills/configuring-r8-for-compose

$npx -y skills add skydoves/compose-performance-skills --skill configuring-r8-for-compose

Installs into the current project.

Summary

Files · 1

View on GitHub

SKILL.md

1	# Configuring R8 for Compose — Trust Consumer Rules, Avoid Blanket Keeps
2
3	R8 is the only supported shrinker — ProGuard is deprecated. Compose ships consumer ProGuard rules, so most apps need no Compose-specific keep rules. The big modern wins come from R8 full mode (default since AGP 8.0): lambda grouping, `sourceInformation()` stripping, constant-folding of composable args, and `ComposerImpl` devirtualization. This skill teaches Claude to set R8 up minimally and refuse over-broad keeps that defeat those wins.
4
5	## When to use this skill
6
7	- Setting up a new Compose app's release variant for the first time.
8	- A PR adds `-keep class androidx.compose.** { *; }` or any other Compose-wide keep — push back and apply this skill.
9	- A release build crashes after enabling minification — the cause is almost always a missing keep on a reflective consumer, not on Compose itself.
10	- APK size review surfaces a large `classes.dex` and the developer wants to know why.
11	- The first time `isMinifyEnabled = true` is being flipped on, before any release benchmark is run.
12	- Cross-link from `../../measurement/testing-compose-in-release-mode/SKILL.md` whenever release measurement is being set up.
13
14	## When NOT to use this skill
15
16	- The app is not yet ready to ship a release variant — wait until perf and crash budgets are in scope.
17	- The developer is debugging a code-level bug (logic error, race, wrong state). R8 issues manifest as `ClassNotFoundException`, `NoSuchMethodError`, or empty reflection results — not behavioral bugs.
18	- The release variant has been measured and is fine — do not pre-emptively add keep rules.
19	- The perf concern is recomposition, layout phase, or stability — see the relevant `stability/` or `recomposition/` skills.
20
21	## Prerequisites
22
23	- AGP 8.0+ for R8 full mode default. If on older AGP, full mode must be explicitly enabled in `gradle.properties` with `android.enableR8.fullMode=true`.
24	- A buildable release variant (debug-signed is fine while iterating — see `../../measurement/testing-compose-in-release-mode/SKILL.md` for measurement signing).
25	- Kotlin 2.0+ with the `org.jetbrains.kotlin.plugin.compose` plugin so Compose's bundled consumer rules are wired correctly through dependency resolution.
26	- Familiarity with the difference between `proguard-android.txt` (no R8 optimizations) and `proguard-android-optimize.txt` (R8 optimizations on).
27
28	## What R8 actually does for Compose (since AGP 8.0)
29
30	Surface these to the developer when they ask "why bother" or push back against minification:
31
32	1. Lambda grouping. R8 merges many of Compose's generated lambda classes, reducing dex size and method count.
33	2. `sourceInformation()` stripping. Each composable emits a string of source-position metadata. R8 removes it from release builds — smaller APK and less work per recomposition.
34	3. Composable arg constant-folding. Constants that would have been wrapped by Live Literals in debug are now folded back into `if (changed and 1 == 0)` style checks the recomposer can short-circuit.
35	4. `ComposerImpl` devirtualization. R8 devirtualizes hot calls into Compose's runtime, which is a major contributor to the cited frame-render improvement.
36	5. Resource shrinking. Paired with `isShrinkResources = true`, R8 strips unreachable drawables, strings, and layout XML.
37
38	Cited measurement: roughly 75 percent startup gain and 60 percent frame-render gain debug to release. Source: Ben Trengrove, "Why should you always test Compose performance in release" (Android Developers Medium).
39
40	## Workflow
41
42	- [ ] 1. Configure the release buildType. This is the entire happy-path config — no Compose-specific keeps needed:
43
44	```kotlin
45	// app/build.gradle.kts
46	android {
47	buildTypes {
48	release {
49	isMinifyEnabled = true
50	isSh

People who liked this also viewed

6 picks

Type