# What is Gradle and why do we use it as Android developers?

DevFeed: [What is Gradle and why do we use it as Android developers?](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/what-is-gradle-and-why-do-we-use-it-as-android-developers-25852.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://medium.com/@banmarkovic/what-is-gradle-and-why-do-we-use-it-as-android-developers-572a07b3675d?source=rss-8aced922ece------2>)

Author: Ban Markovic

Published: 2023-01-16T12:52:02Z

Content type: tutorial

Language: en

Sources: [Stories by Ban Markovic on Medium](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/stories-by-ban-markovic-on-medium.md>)

Topics: [Gradle](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/gradle.md>), [android-development](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/android-development.md>), [android-apps](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/android-apps.md>), [Kotlin](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/kotlin.md>), [Android Studio](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/android-studio.md>), [Library](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/library.md>)

Tags: [android](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/android.md>), [android-app-development](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/android-app-development.md>), [android-development](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/android-development.md>), [android-studio](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/android-studio.md>), [automation-tools](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/automation-tools.md>), [bytecode](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/bytecode.md>), [dependencies](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/dependencies.md>), [gradle](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/gradle.md>), [groovy](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/groovy.md>), [kotlin](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/kotlin.md>), [libraries](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/libraries.md>)

## AI overview

A tutorial explaining Gradle's role in Android development, including how build.gradle files specify dependencies and how Gradle automates application building and running.

## Source excerpt

At the start of a journey for an Android developer, no one pays attention to Gradle. We are mostly focused on writing Kotlin code and developing Android apps that bring great value to our customers and look as beautiful as possible. When building them, sometimes we stumble upon a problem that is already solved by someone else on the internet and they were kind enough to share their project in a form of library, that we are able to implement in our app, and customize it to our needs. To be able to do so, we are using build.gradle file for implementing those libraries that help us build our apps, by specifying their unique package names and versions. This is probably the most common use case of our Gradle usage inside our Android projects. Motivation At the beginning of my career I didn't see a need for better understanding of Gradle, because for me it represented only the place where I wrote the names of the libraries I wanted to use inside my project. With that kind of approach, I didn't have any knowledge regarding it, and I was scared to change anything inside those files, because I was afraid I would break everything. After some time I realized that gradle files are built with code.. And I am a programmer.. So why am I avoiding it when I can learn it like any other programming language. What an epiphany, right? That's why I decided to write an article regarding the gradle files inside Android project. Just so anyone can read and understand them. Gradle Gradle is a build tool that we use for Android development to automate the process of building and publishing apps. Now, you may think that building and running the application is quite easy; we can just press Run button in Android Studio. Well, that just triggers Gradle's built-in tasks (functions) that are responsible for running the application on our emulator or real device. This process requires a couple of steps to be successfully completed in order for us to see the running app. These are the general steps t