# Part 3: Dependency Management

version 9.4.0-20260204042556+0000

Learn the basics of project dependencies and Gradle’s dependency management.

In this section you will:

- Understand project dependencies

- Inspect project dependencies

- Use a Build Scan to analyze dependencies

- Update project dependencies

- Understand transitive dependencies

- Adding a version catalog

## Step 0. Before you Begin

1. You initialized your Java app in part 1.

2. You ran several tasks in part 2.

## Step 1. Understanding the Version Catalog

In Gradle, the `dependencies {}` block in your build script is where you declare the external libraries, files, or projects your build needs to work.

Each line inside this block tells Gradle two things:

1. What the dependency is (a library like Guava or JUnit, a file, or a project)

2. How and where it’s used (for production code, test code, an API, etc.)

For example:

    dependencies {
        implementation("com.google.guava:guava:32.1.2-jre")             (1)
        implementation(project(":utils"))                               (2)
        runtimeOnly(files("some.jar"))                                  (3)
        testImplementation("org.junit.jupiter:junit-jupiter:5.10.1")    (4)
    }

1 | External dependency — Gradle resolves `com.google.guava:guava:32.1.2-jre` from your declared repositories and adds it to this project’s compile and runtime classpaths.
2 | Project dependency — The project depends on the sibling project `:utils`. Gradle wires task dependencies so `:utils` is built first and puts its main outputs on this project’s compile and runtime classpaths.
3 | Local file dependency — Adds a local JAR only to the runtime classpath (not available at compile time).
4 | External dependency — `testImplementation` is available only to the test source set (compile + runtime). It is not on the production runtime classpath.

In part 1, Gradle init created a project that uses version catalogs.

A version catalog is a central file that defines library versions and aliases you can use throughout your build. It helps keep your dependencies consistent across subprojects and avoids repeating version numbers.

The version catalog is located at `gradle/libs.versions.toml`:

gradle/libs.versions.toml

    [versions]
    guava = "33.3.1-jre"
    junit-jupiter = "5.11.3"

    [libraries]
    guava = { module = "com.google.guava:guava", version.ref = "guava" }
    junit-jupiter = { module = "org.junit.jupiter:junit-jupiter", version.ref = "junit-jupiter" }

Once defined, you can reference these libraries in your `build.gradle(.kts)` files using the `libs` accessor. This is why our build script actually looks like this:

app/build.gradle.kts

    dependencies {  (2)
        // Use JUnit Jupiter for testing.
        testImplementation(libs.junit.jupiter)

        testRuntimeOnly("org.junit.platform:junit-platform-launcher")

        // This dependency is used by the application.
        implementation(libs.guava)
    }

app/build.gradle

    dependencies {  (2)
        // Use JUnit Jupiter for testing.
        testImplementation libs.junit.jupiter

        testRuntimeOnly 'org.junit.platform:junit-platform-launcher'

        // This dependency is used by the application.
        implementation libs.guava
    }

| The `libs.junit.jupiter` syntax is used because the key contains a hyphen which is a special character.

A version catalog provides a number of advantages over declaring dependencies directly in build scripts:

- Gradle generates type-safe accessors from the catalog so that you can easily add dependencies with autocompletion in the IDE.

- It is a central place to declare a version of a dependency so that any changes apply to every subproject.

## Step 2. Understanding Project Dependencies

Gradle provides excellent support for dependency management and automation.

Let’s take another look at our build script, specifically the following section:

app/build.gradle.kts

    repositories {
        // Use Maven Central for resolving dependencies.
        mavenCentral()
    }

    dependencies {  (2)
        // Use JUnit Jupiter for testing.
        testImplementation(libs.junit.jupiter)

        testRuntimeOnly("org.junit.platform:junit-platform-launcher")

        // This dependency is used by the application.
        implementation(libs.guava)
    }

app/build.gradle

    repositories {
        // Use Maven Central for resolving dependencies.
        mavenCentral()
    }

    dependencies {  (2)
        // Use JUnit Jupiter for testing.
        testImplementation libs.junit.jupiter

        testRuntimeOnly 'org.junit.platform:junit-platform-launcher'

        // This dependency is used by the application.
        implementation libs.guava
    }

Some key concepts in Gradle dependency management include:

Repositories

  The source of dependencies → `mavenCentral()` in our app.

Dependencies

  Dependencies declared via configuration types → `libs.junit.jupiter` and `libs.guava` in our app.

The Maven Central repository is a collection of jar files, plugins, and libraries provided by the Maven community and backed by Sonatype. It is the de-facto public artifact store for Java and is used by many build systems.

Gradle needs specific information, called GAV coordinates, to locate and download a dependency. GAV stands for Group, Artifact, and Version — three pieces of information that uniquely identify a library in a repository. Let’s look at `libs.guava` and `libs.junit.jupiter`:

| Description | com.google.guava:guava:33.3.1-jre | org.junit.jupiter:junit-jupiter-api:5.11.3
--- | --- | --- | ---
Group | identifier of an organization | `com.google.guava` | `org.junit.jupiter`
Artifact (Name) | dependency identifier | `guava` | `junit-jupiter-api`
Version | version # to import | `33.3.1-jre` | `5.11.3`

## Step 3. Understanding Transitive Dependencies

A transitive dependency is a dependency of a dependency.

For our `guava` dependency to work, it requires a library called `failureaccess`. Therefore `failureaccess` is a transitive dependency of the project.

## Step 4. Viewing Project Dependencies

You can view your dependency tree in the terminal using the `./gradlew :app:dependencies` command:

    $ ./gradlew :app:dependencies

    > Task :app:dependencies

    ------------------------------------------------------------
    Project ':app'
    ------------------------------------------------------------

    ...

    runtimeClasspath - Runtime classpath of source set 'main'.
    \--- com.google.guava:guava:33.3.1-jre
         +--- com.google.guava:failureaccess:1.0.2
         +--- com.google.guava:listenablefuture:9999.0-empty-to-avoid-conflict-with-guava
         +--- com.google.code.findbugs:jsr305:3.0.2
         +--- org.checkerframework:checker-qual:3.43.0
         +--- com.google.errorprone:error_prone_annotations:2.28.0
         \--- com.google.j2objc:j2objc-annotations:3.0.0

    testRuntimeClasspath - Runtime classpath of source set 'test'.
    +--- com.google.guava:guava:33.3.1-jre
    |    +--- com.google.guava:failureaccess:1.0.2
    |    +--- com.google.guava:listenablefuture:9999.0-empty-to-avoid-conflict-with-guava
    |    +--- com.google.code.findbugs:jsr305:3.0.2
    |    +--- org.checkerframework:checker-qual:3.43.0
    |    +--- com.google.errorprone:error_prone_annotations:2.28.0
    |    \--- com.google.j2objc:j2objc-annotations:3.0.0
    +--- org.junit.jupiter:junit-jupiter:5.11.3
    |    +--- org.junit:junit-bom:5.11.3
    |    |    +--- org.junit.jupiter:junit-jupiter:5.11.3 (c)
    |    |    +--- org.junit.jupiter:junit-jupiter-api:5.11.3 (c)
    |    |    +--- org.junit.jupiter:junit-jupiter-engine:5.11.3 (c)
    |    |    +--- org.junit.jupiter:junit-jupiter-params:5.11.3 (c)
    |    |    +--- org.junit.platform:junit-platform-launcher:1.11.3 (c)
    |    |    +--- org.junit.platform:junit-platform-commons:1.11.3 (c)
    |    |    \--- org.junit.platform:junit-platform-engine:1.11.3 (c)
    |    +--- org.junit.jupiter:junit-jupiter-api:5.11.3
    |    |    +--- org.junit:junit-bom:5.11.3 (*)
    |    |    +--- org.opentest4j:opentest4j:1.3.0
    |    |    \--- org.junit.platform:junit-platform-commons:1.11.3
    |    |         \--- org.junit:junit-bom:5.11.3 (*)
    |    +--- org.junit.jupiter:junit-jupiter-params:5.11.3
    |    |    +--- org.junit:junit-bom:5.11.3 (*)
    |    |    \--- org.junit.jupiter:junit-jupiter-api:5.11.3 (*)
    |    \--- org.junit.jupiter:junit-jupiter-engine:5.11.3
    |         +--- org.junit:junit-bom:5.11.3 (*)
    |         +--- org.junit.platform:junit-platform-engine:1.11.3
    |         |    +--- org.junit:junit-bom:5.11.3 (*)
    |         |    +--- org.opentest4j:opentest4j:1.3.0
    |         |    \--- org.junit.platform:junit-platform-commons:1.11.3 (*)
    |         \--- org.junit.jupiter:junit-jupiter-api:5.11.3 (*)
    \--- org.junit.platform:junit-platform-launcher -> 1.11.3
         +--- org.junit:junit-bom:5.11.3 (*)
         \--- org.junit.platform:junit-platform-engine:1.11.3 (*)

The output clearly depicts that `com.google.guava:guava:33.3.1-jre` has a dependency on `com.google.guava:failureaccess:1.0.2`.

## Step 5. Viewing Dependencies in a Build Scan®

To view dependencies using a Build Scan, run the build task with an optional `--scan` flag.

In the `tutorial` directory, enter the command below and follow the prompt to accept the terms:

    $ ./gradlew build --scan

    BUILD SUCCESSFUL in 423ms
    7 actionable tasks: 7 up-to-date

    Publishing a Build Scan to scans.gradle.com requires accepting the Gradle Terms of Service defined at https://gradle.com/terms-of-service. Do you accept these terms? [yes, no] yes

    Gradle Terms of Service accepted.

    Publishing Build Scan...
    https://gradle.com/s/link

A Build Scan is a shareable and centralized record of a build and is available as a free service from Gradle.

Click the link provided in the prompt: `https://gradle.com/s/link`.

| You will have to accept the terms of service to use Build Scan.

You will need to activate the Build Scan by using your email:

You will receive the final link to the scan in your inbox which should look as follows:

Open the Dependencies tab in the menu and expand `compileClasspath`, `runtimeClasspath`, `testCompileClasspath`, and `testRuntimeClasspath`:

As expected, we can see the declared dependencies `junit` and `guava` are used by Gradle to compile, run, and test the app.

Expand `com.google.guava:guava:33.3.1-jre` and `org.junit.jupiter:junit-jupiter:5.11.3` in the window:

There are several transitive dependencies under `junit` and `guava`. For example, the `com.google.code.findbugs:jsr305:3.0.2` transitive dependency comes from the `com.google.guava:guava:33.3.1-jre` dependency.

## Step 6. Updating Project Dependencies

Adding and changing dependencies is done in the build file and in the version catalog.

Let’s change the `guava` version and look at how this affects the dependency tree.

Change the `guava` dependency in the version catalog to:

gradle/libs.versions.toml

    [versions]
    guava = "30.0-jre"
    junit-jupiter = "5.11.3"

    [libraries]
    guava = { module = "com.google.guava:guava", version.ref = "guava" }
    junit-jupiter = { module = "org.junit.jupiter:junit-jupiter", version.ref = "junit-jupiter" }

If you change the file using IntelliJ, don’t forget to click the `sync` Gradle button:

Run `./gradlew build --scan` and view the Build Scan results:

Run `./gradlew :app:dependencies` in the terminal to check the changes in the dependency tree:

    ...

    testRuntimeClasspath - Runtime classpath of source set 'test'.
    +--- com.google.guava:guava:30.0-jre
    |    +--- com.google.guava:failureaccess:1.0.1
    |    +--- com.google.guava:listenablefuture:9999.0-empty-to-avoid-conflict-with-guava
    |    +--- com.google.code.findbugs:jsr305:3.0.2
    |    +--- org.checkerframework:checker-qual:3.5.0
    |    +--- com.google.errorprone:error_prone_annotations:2.3.4
    |    \--- com.google.j2objc:j2objc-annotations:1.3
    +--- org.junit.jupiter:junit-jupiter:5.11.3
    |    +--- org.junit:junit-bom:5.11.3
    |    |    +--- org.junit.jupiter:junit-jupiter:5.11.3 (c)
    |    |    +--- org.junit.jupiter:junit-jupiter-api:5.11.3 (c)
    |    |    +--- org.junit.jupiter:junit-jupiter-engine:5.11.3 (c)
    |    |    +--- org.junit.jupiter:junit-jupiter-params:5.11.3 (c)
    |    |    +--- org.junit.platform:junit-platform-launcher:1.11.3 (c)
    |    |    +--- org.junit.platform:junit-platform-commons:1.11.3 (c)
    |    |    \--- org.junit.platform:junit-platform-engine:1.11.3 (c)
    |    +--- org.junit.jupiter:junit-jupiter-api:5.11.3
    |    |    +--- org.junit:junit-bom:5.11.3 (*)
    |    |    +--- org.opentest4j:opentest4j:1.3.0
    |    |    \--- org.junit.platform:junit-platform-commons:1.11.3
    |    |         \--- org.junit:junit-bom:5.11.3 (*)
    |    +--- org.junit.jupiter:junit-jupiter-params:5.11.3
    |    |    +--- org.junit:junit-bom:5.11.3 (*)
    |    |    \--- org.junit.jupiter:junit-jupiter-api:5.11.3 (*)
    |    \--- org.junit.jupiter:junit-jupiter-engine:5.11.3
    |         +--- org.junit:junit-bom:5.11.3 (*)
    |         +--- org.junit.platform:junit-platform-engine:1.11.3
    |         |    +--- org.junit:junit-bom:5.11.3 (*)
    |         |    +--- org.opentest4j:opentest4j:1.3.0
    |         |    \--- org.junit.platform:junit-platform-commons:1.11.3 (*)
    |         \--- org.junit.jupiter:junit-jupiter-api:5.11.3 (*)
    \--- org.junit.platform:junit-platform-launcher -> 1.11.3
         +--- org.junit:junit-bom:5.11.3 (*)
         \--- org.junit.platform:junit-platform-engine:1.11.3 (*)

It is clear the `guava` dependency has been updated to version `30.0` and the transitive dependencies have changed as well.

## Step 7. Run the Java app

Finally, make sure everything is working using the `run` task, either in your terminal or IDE:

    ./gradlew run

    > Task :app:compileJava UP-TO-DATE
    > Task :app:processResources NO-SOURCE
    > Task :app:classes UP-TO-DATE

    > Task :app:run
    Hello World!

Next Step: Applying Plugins >>