# Three Gradle Talks from KotlinConf 2026 (and What to Steal from Each)

DevFeed: [Three Gradle Talks from KotlinConf 2026 (and What to Steal from Each)](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/three-gradle-talks-from-kotlinconf-2026-and-what-to-steal-from-each-24622.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://blog.gradle.org/gradle-at-kotlinconf-2026>)

Author: Laura Kassovic

Published: 2026-07-28T04:00:00Z

Content type: article

Language: en

Sources: [The Gradle Blog](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/the-gradle-blog.md>)

Topics: [Gradle](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/gradle.md>), [Kotlin](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/kotlin.md>), [Groovy](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/groovy.md>), [ide](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/ide.md>), [Scripting](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/scripting.md>), [Refactoring](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/refactoring.md>)

Tags: [2026](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/2026.md>), [best-practices](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/best-practices.md>), [build](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/build.md>), [build-tool](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/build-tool.md>), [conference](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/conference.md>), [developer](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/developer.md>), [dsl](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/dsl.md>), [event](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/event.md>), [gradle](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/gradle.md>), [groovy](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/groovy.md>), [ide](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ide.md>), [kotlin](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/kotlin.md>), [kotlinconf](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/kotlinconf.md>), [refactoring](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/refactoring.md>), [script](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/script.md>), [scripting](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/scripting.md>), [talk](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/talk.md>), [talks](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/talks.md>)

## AI overview

The article reviews three Gradle talks from KotlinConf 2026. It explains the progression from Groovy build scripts to the Kotlin DSL and early Declarative Gradle, emphasizing the problems each approach addresses. It also introduces Gradle best practices for organizing and optimizing builds.

## Source excerpt

Every year I tell myself I'll watch every conference talk I missed. Every year I get through maybe three before a build breaks and I get pulled back into real life. KotlinConf is the one event where I actually follow through, partly because the talks are short and dense, and partly because a good chunk of my coworkers and friends are on stage. This year in Munich, three of them talked about Gradle: Paul Merlin on the history of our DSLs, Stefan Wolf on best practices, and Marcin Mycek on Declarative Gradle for Kotlin. I watched all three so you can decide which ones are worth your fifteen minutes. A Tale of the Gradle DSLs -- Paul Merlin Paul has been inside Gradle's DSL machinery for years, which makes him exactly the right person to tell this story and exactly the wrong person to pretend the early days were clean. The talk traces how build logic went from Groovy, to the Kotlin DSL, to Declarative Gradle. The useful part isn't the timeline. It's that each of those was solving a real problem the previous one couldn't. Groovy gave us a flexible, dynamic scripting language, which was great right up until you wanted your IDE to tell you what was valid. The Kotlin DSL brought static typing, real autocompletion, and refactoring that doesn't rely on hope. That's why the Kotlin DSL is now the default for new Gradle builds. Declarative Gradle is the next swing: describe what your build is rather than script how it runs. The honest through-line is that none of these fully replaces the last one. Kotlin DSL is where most people should be today. Groovy still runs an enormous amount of the world's build logic and isn't going anywhere fast. Declarative Gradle is early but points at where things are headed. Real talk: if your build scripts are still Groovy and still working, you don't have to panic-migrate this weekend. But if you're starting something new, reach for the Kotlin DSL and let the IDE carry some of the weight. 📺 Watch the talk 10 Gradle Best Practices Every Kotlin Deve