# Gradle Directories

version 8.14.5-20260321040636+0000

Gradle uses two main directories to perform and manage its work: the Gradle User Home directory and the Project Root directory.

## Gradle User Home directory

By default, the Gradle User Home (`~/.gradle` or `C:\Users\<USERNAME>\.gradle`) stores global configuration properties, initialization scripts, caches, and log files.

It can be set with the environment variable `GRADLE_USER_HOME`.

| Not to be confused with the `GRADLE_HOME`, the optional installation directory for Gradle.

It is roughly structured as follows:

    ├── caches  (1)
    │   ├── 4.8 (2)
    │   ├── 4.9 (2)
    │   ├── ⋮
    │   ├── jars-3  (3)
    │   └── modules-2   (3)
    ├── daemon (4)
    │   ├── ⋮
    │   ├── 4.8
    │   └── 4.9
    ├── init.d  (5)
    │   └── my-setup.gradle
    ├── jdks    (6)
    │   ├── ⋮
    │   └── jdk-14.0.2+12
    ├── wrapper
    │   └── dists   (7)
    │       ├── ⋮
    │       ├── gradle-4.8-bin
    │       ├── gradle-4.9-all
    │       └── gradle-4.9-bin
    └── gradle.properties   (8)

1 | Global cache directory (for everything that is not project-specific).
2 | Version-specific caches (e.g., to support incremental builds).
3 | Shared caches (e.g., for artifacts of dependencies).
4 | Registry and logs of the Gradle Daemon.
5 | Global initialization scripts.
6 | JDKs downloaded by the toolchain support.
7 | Distributions downloaded by the Gradle Wrapper.
8 | Global Gradle configuration properties.

Consult the Gradle Directories reference to learn more.

## Project Root directory

The project root directory contains all source files from your project.

It also contains files and directories Gradle generates, such as `.gradle` and `build`, as well as the Gradle configuration directory: `gradle`.

| `gradle` and `.gradle` directories are different.

While `gradle` is usually checked into source control, `build` and `.gradle` directories contain the output of your builds, caches, and other transient files Gradle uses to support features like incremental builds.

The anatomy of a typical project root directory looks as follows:

    ├── .gradle (1)
    │   ├── 4.8 (2)
    │   ├── 4.9 (2)
    │   └── ⋮
    ├── build   (3)
    ├── gradle
    │   └── wrapper (4)
    ├── gradle.properties   (5)
    ├── gradlew (6)
    ├── gradlew.bat (6)
    ├── settings.gradle.kts (7)
    ├── subproject-one  (8)
    |   └── build.gradle.kts    (9)
    ├── subproject-two  (8)
    |   └── build.gradle.kts    (9)
    └── ⋮

1 | Project-specific cache directory generated by Gradle.
2 | Version-specific caches (e.g., to support incremental builds).
3 | The build directory of this project into which Gradle generates all build artifacts.
4 | Contains the JAR file and configuration of the Gradle Wrapper.
5 | Project-specific Gradle configuration properties.
6 | Scripts for executing builds using the Gradle Wrapper.
7 | The project’s settings file where the list of subprojects is defined.
8 | Usually, a project is organized into one or multiple subprojects.
9 | Each subproject has its own Gradle build script.

Consult the Gradle Directories reference to learn more.

Next Step: Learn how to structure Multi-Project Builds >>