# Binary Plugin Development

version 9.6.0-20260602042426+0000

When creating a plugin in Gradle, you will most likely offer tasks users can run and DSL blocks that users can use to configure your plugin.

Let’s create a binary plugin that offers both.

When you write a plugin in Gradle, if you want to share it between multiple projects then the best option is to create the plugin in a separate repository. This way, you can publish it to a private or public Maven repository, and then apply it in whatever project you need.

## Components of a Plugin

First, let’s review the three components of a plugin:

Component | Role | Description
--- | --- | ---
Plugin Class | Entry point | Defines what happens when the plugin is applied. Typically, this involves registering tasks or modifying the project configuration.
Extension Class | Configuration | Holds configuration data provided by users via the build script.
Task Class | Behavior | Implements logic that is executed when the task is run. The plugin will typically register a task and wire it up with values from the extension.

Our simple plugin compares the size of two files. It is called `FileSizeDiff`. Here’s the suggested directory structure:

    .
    └── plugin
        ├── settings.gradle.kts
        ├── build.gradle.kts
        └── src
           └── main
               └── java/org/example
                   ├── FileSizeDiffTask.java
                   ├── FileSizeDiffPlugin.java
                   └── FileSizeDiffExtension.java

    .
    └── plugin
        ├── settings.gradle
        ├── build.gradle
        └── src
           └── main
               └── java/org/example
                   ├── FileSizeDiffTask.java
                   ├── FileSizeDiffPlugin.java
                   └── FileSizeDiffExtension.java

This `build.gradle(.kts)` for this `filesizediff` plugin looks as follows:

plugin/build.gradle.kts

    plugins {
        `java-gradle-plugin`    (1)
    }

    group = "org.example"   (3)
    version = "1.0.0"

    repositories {
        mavenCentral()
    }

    dependencies {  (2)
        testImplementation("org.junit.jupiter:junit-jupiter-api:5.10.0")
        testRuntimeOnly("org.junit.jupiter:junit-jupiter-engine:5.10.0")
        testRuntimeOnly("org.junit.platform:junit-platform-launcher")
    }

    gradlePlugin {  (3)
        plugins {
            create("filesizediff") {
                id = "org.example.filesizediff"
                implementationClass = "org.example.FileSizeDiffPlugin"
            }
        }
    }

plugin/build.gradle

    plugins {
        id('java-gradle-plugin')    (1)
    }

    group = "org.example"   (3)
    version = "1.0.0"

    repositories {
        mavenCentral()
    }

    dependencies {  (2)
        testImplementation('org.junit.jupiter:junit-jupiter-api:5.10.0')
        testRuntimeOnly('org.junit.jupiter:junit-jupiter-engine:5.10.0')
        testRuntimeOnly('org.junit.platform:junit-platform-launcher')
    }

    gradlePlugin {  (3)
        plugins {
            filesizediff {
                id = 'org.example.filesizediff'
                implementationClass = 'org.example.FileSizeDiffPlugin'
            }
        }
    }

1 | `java-gradle-plugin` - Sets up various configurations you need to do plugin development in Java
2 | `junit` testing framework - A popular Java testing framework
3 | Plugin configuration - Sets an id of `org.example.filesizediff` which we can use to reference the plugin

## 1. Extension

The extension defines the plugin’s configurable inputs, two file properties in this case:

src/main/java/org/example/FileSizeDiffExtension.java

    package org.example;

    import org.gradle.api.file.RegularFileProperty;

    public interface FileSizeDiffExtension {

        RegularFileProperty getFile1();

        RegularFileProperty getFile2();
    }

The two properties representing the input files are of the `RegularFileProperty` type which extends `Property` and are therefore lazy.

## 2. Task

The task does the bulk of the work:

src/main/java/org/example/FileSizeDiffTask.java

    package org.example;

    import org.gradle.api.DefaultTask;
    import org.gradle.api.file.RegularFileProperty;
    import org.gradle.api.provider.Property;
    import org.gradle.api.tasks.InputFile;
    import org.gradle.api.tasks.OutputFile;
    import org.gradle.api.tasks.TaskAction;

    import java.nio.file.Files;
    import java.io.File;
    import java.io.IOException;

    public abstract class FileSizeDiffTask extends DefaultTask {

        @InputFile
        public abstract RegularFileProperty getFile1();

        @InputFile
        public abstract RegularFileProperty getFile2();

        @OutputFile
        public abstract RegularFileProperty getResultFile();

        @TaskAction
        public void diff() throws IOException {
            File f1 = getFile1().getAsFile().get();
            File f2 = getFile2().getAsFile().get();

            String output;
            if (f1.length() == f2.length()) {
                output = "Files have the same size: " + f1.length() + " bytes";
            } else {
                String larger = f1.length() > f2.length() ? f1.getName() : f2.getName();
                long size = Math.max(f1.length(), f2.length());
                output = larger + " was larger: " + size + " bytes";
            }

            File result = getResultFile().get().getAsFile();
            Files.writeString(result.toPath(), output);

            System.out.println(output);
            System.out.println("Wrote diff result to " + result.getAbsolutePath());
        }
    }

The task defines two input file properties and one output file property:

- The input files represent the files to compare.

- The output file is where the plugin writes the diff result, defaulting to `build/diff-result.txt`.

The `@InputFile` and `@OutputFile` annotations tell Gradle to track these properties for incremental builds and caching, so the task will only re-run if the inputs or outputs change.

The plugin is responsible for mapping the user-defined values from the extension to the task’s input properties.

The task logic is implemented in a method annotated with `@TaskAction`, which:

- Compares the size of the two input files.

- Generates a descriptive text result.

- Writes that result to the output file and prints it to standard output.

## 3. Plugin

This class wires up the extension and task when the plugin is applied:

src/main/java/org/example/FileSizeDiffPlugin.java

    package org.example;

    import org.gradle.api.Plugin;
    import org.gradle.api.Project;
    import org.gradle.api.tasks.TaskProvider;

    public class FileSizeDiffPlugin implements Plugin<Project> {
        @Override
        public void apply(Project project) {
            // Register the extension
            FileSizeDiffExtension extension = project.getExtensions().create("diff", FileSizeDiffExtension.class);

            // Register and configure the task
            project.getTasks().register("fileSizeDiff", FileSizeDiffTask.class, task -> {
                task.getFile1().convention(extension.getFile1());
                task.getFile2().convention(extension.getFile2());
                task.getResultFile().convention(project.getLayout().getBuildDirectory().file("diff-result.txt"));
            });
        }
    }

In the plugin class, we override the `apply` method, which is invoked when the plugin is applied to a project via `build.gradle(.kts)`.

Within this method, the plugin does two things:

1. Creates an extension named `filesizediff`: This allows users to configure the plugin using a `diff {}` block in their build script. The configuration values are stored in an instance of `FileSizeDiffExtension`.

2. Registers a task of type `FileSizeDiffTask`: The task is given the name `fileSizeDiff`, and its properties (`file1` and `file2`) are mapped from the corresponding properties in the `diff` extension. This ensures the task uses the values provided by the user in their build script.

This enables the following usage in a `build.gradle(.kts)` file:

build.gradle.kts

    plugins {
        id("org.example.filesizediff")
    }

    diff {
        file1 = file("a.txt")
        file2 = file("b.txt")
    }

build.gradle

    plugins {
        id("org.example.filesizediff")
    }

    diff {
        file1 = file('a.txt')
        file2 = file('b.txt')
    }

Next Step: Learn how to test Binary Plugins >>