You can think of Amper as a tool for project configuration with a focus on usability, onboarding, and IDE support. It provides a configuration layer on top of Gradle and is implemented as a Gradle plugin.
For now, the primary target is Kotlin and Kotlin Multiplatform projects. Since Kotlin is multiplatform, Amper also supports Java on JVM and Swift and Objective-C on iOS. We’ll investigate other tech stacks in the future based on the demand for them.
Currently you can create applications for the JVM, Android, iOS, macOS, and Linux. Libraries can be created for all Kotlin Multiplatform targets.
Yes, you can configure Compose for Android, iOS, and desktop.
We’re working on the following functionalities: version catalogs, Swift Package Manager support, C-interop, packaging and publication, and extensibility.
We plan to expand the list of supported use cases based on demand. Please submit your requests and suggestions in the tracker or join the Slack channel for discussions. Meanwhile you can use Gradle plugins and tasks as usual. See the documentation on the Gradle interop.
Extensibility is not currently implemented, but we are exploring it. Meanwhile, you can use the Gradle backend to write tasks and use any available Gradle plugin. See the documentation on the Gradle interop.
Yes, Amper is already open source.
Right now, we’re focusing on getting feedback and understanding your needs. Based on that, we’ll be able to provide a more accurate estimate of a release date sometime in the future.
You’re welcome to use it in any type of project. However, please understand that Amper is still in the experimental phase and we expect things to change.
Understanding real-world scenarios is crucial for us in order to provide a better experience, so from our side we’d love to hear about the challenges you may face porting existing projects. However, please understand that the project is still in the experimental phase and we cannot guarantee that all scenarios can be supported.
Please report problems to our issue tracker. Since this project is in the experimental phase, we would also greatly appreciate feedback and suggestions regarding the configuration experience – join our Slack channel for discussion.
Not currently, but it certainly is something we’re looking into. See the Gradle migration tutorial and examples.
Currently, we use YAML as a simple and readable markup language. It allows us to experiment with the UX and the IDE support much faster. We’ll review the language choice as we proceed with the design and based on demand. The Kotlin DSL, or a limited form thereof, is one of the possible options.
Having said that, we believe that the declarative approach to project configuration has significant advantages over the imperative approach. Declarative configuration is easily toolable, recovery from errors is much easier, and interpretation is much faster. These properties are critical for a good UX.
Our final language choice will be made based on the overall UX it provides.
For now, the main focus of Amper is improving the build configuration experience and toolability. As a well-tested build engine, Gradle allowed us to start experimenting with the UX of the configuration very quickly. What’s more, smooth interoperability with Gradle allows for the use of Amper in existing projects, which is important if we want to get feedback from real-world use cases.
We believe there is room to improve the project configuration experience and IDE support. That’s why we are working with the Gradle team to improve Gradle support in our IDEs and Gradle itself as a primary Kotlin build tool. At the same time we are running Amper as a separate experiment and want to show you our design and get your feedback, as this will help us to decide which direction to take the design.
Our current focus is improving the build tooling UX and IDE support for Kotlin and Kotlin Multiplatform. We aim to support most use cases out of the box.
Since Gradle is used as a build tool, there’s full interoperability, as well as the option to use existing plugins and write custom tasks using Gradle.