# Part 7: Use a Consumer Project

version 9.4.0-20260119005809+0000

Learn how to set up a dummy consumer project to test your plugin without publishing it.

In this section, you’ll:

- Create a `consumer` project to use your plugin.

- Configure a Composite Build to link the `consumer` and `plugin` projects.

- Test your plugin in a real-world scenario.

## Step 0: Before you Begin

1. You initialized your plugin in part 1.

2. You added an extension to your plugin in part 2.

3. You created a custom task in part3.

4. You wrote a unit test in part 4.

5. You added a dataflow action to your plugin in part 5.

6. You wrote a functional test in part 6.

## Step 1: Create a Consumer Project

We will now create a separate `consumer` project. This is a best practice for testing plugins because it simulates how a real user would apply your plugin to their own project. It also allows you to test your plugin without publishing it to a repository like the Gradle Plugin Portal.

First, update your project structure to include a new `consumer` directory:

    .
    ├── gradlew
    ├── settings.gradle.kts
    ├── plugin/
    └── consumer/   (1)
        ├── settings.gradle.kts
        └── build.gradle.kts

1 | Create a new `consumer` directory with its own build files.

    .
    ├── gradlew
    ├── settings.gradle
    ├── plugin/
    └── consumer/   (1)
        ├── settings.gradle
        └── build.gradle

1 | Create a new `consumer` directory with its own build files.

Next, we’ll configure a Composite Build by updating the root `settings.gradle(.kts)` file. This tells Gradle to treat the `plugin` project as an included build.

settings.gradle.kts

    rootProject.name = "plugin-tutorial"

    includeBuild("consumer")

settings.gradle

    rootProject.name = 'plugin-tutorial'

    includeBuild('consumer')

The key line here is `includeBuild("plugin")` inside the `pluginManagement {}` block. This makes all the plugins from the `plugin` project available to other projects in the composite build by their ID.

Finally, we need to update the `plugin’s build file to account for the composite build setup. We’ll change the `id` from a local file to a standard `String`.

plugin/build.gradle.kts

    plugins {
        // Apply the Java Gradle plugin development plugin to add support for developing Gradle plugins
        `java-gradle-plugin`
        // Apply the Kotlin JVM plugin to add support for Kotlin.
        /*
        alias(libs.plugins.kotlin.jvm)
         */
        id("org.jetbrains.kotlin.jvm") version "2.0.0"
    }

plugin/build.gradle

    dependencies {
        // Use the awesome Spock testing and specification framework
        /*
        testImplementation libs.spock.core
         */
        testImplementation 'org.spockframework:spock-core:2.3-groovy-4.0'
        testRuntimeOnly 'org.junit.platform:junit-platform-launcher'
        // Use the Java Slack Client APIs
        implementation("com.slack.api:slack-api-client:1.45.3")
    }

| In a Composite Build, the `plugin` project no longer has access to the root `libs.versions.toml` file. For this tutorial, we are using direct dependency declarations.

## Step 2: Wire the Consumer Project to the Plugin

Now we’ll configure the `consumer` project’s settings file to apply our plugin.

Add this code to `consumer/settings.gradle(.kts)`:

consumer/settings.gradle.kts

    pluginManagement {
        includeBuild("../plugin")
        repositories {
            gradlePluginPortal()
        }
    }
    rootProject.name = "consumer"

consumer/settings.gradle

    pluginManagement {
        includeBuild("../plugin")
        repositories {
            gradlePluginPortal()
        }
    }
    rootProject.name = "consumer"

This tells Gradle that when it encounters a `plugins` block that references your `org.example.slack` plugin, it should look for the plugin in the `plugin` project of the composite build.

## Step 3: Apply and Configure the Plugin in the Consumer

Now, let’s configure the `consumer` project’s `build.gradle(.kts)` file to actually apply and configure our plugin.

consumer/build.gradle.kts

    plugins {
        id("java")
        id("org.example.slack")
    }

    repositories {
        mavenCentral()
    }

    slack {
        token.set(System.getenv("SLACK_TOKEN"))
        channel.set("#social")
        message.set("Hello from consumer via composite build!")
    }

consumer/build.gradle

    plugins {
        id("java")
        id("org.example.slack")
    }

    repositories {
        mavenCentral()
    }

    slack {
        token.set(System.getenv("SLACK_TOKEN"))
        channel.set("#social")
        message.set("Hello from consumer via composite build!")
    }

Notice that we don’t need a `version` for the plugin! Gradle automatically resolves it from the included build.

## Step 4: Run the Consumer Project

You can now test your plugin by running a task in the `consumer` project.

From the `consumer` directory, you can run your custom task:

    $ ./gradlew sendTestSlackMessage

Or, from the root directory, you can run the same task using its full path:

    $ ./gradlew :consumer:sendTestSlackMessage

You can also run a standard lifecycle task like `build`, which will automatically trigger the `FlowAction` to send a Slack notification at the end of the build.

    $ ./gradlew :consumer:build

You can now iterate on your plugin in the `plugin` directory and test it immediately in the `consumer` project without any publishing overhead.

Next Step: Publish your Plugin Locally >>