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[[lazy_configuration]]
= Lazy Configuration

As a build grows in complexity, knowing when and where a particular value is configured can become difficult to reason about. Gradle provides several ways to manage this complexity using _lazy configuration_.

[[sec:lazy_properties]]
== Lazy properties

[NOTE]
====

The Provider API is currently <<feature_lifecycle.adoc#feature_lifecycle,incubating>>. Please be aware that the DSL and other configuration may change in later Gradle versions.

====

Gradle provides lazy properties, which delay the calculation of a property’s value until it’s actually required. These provide three main benefits to build script and plugin authors:

1. Build authors can wire together Gradle models without worrying when a particular property’s value will be known. For example, you may want to set the input source files of a task based on the source directories property of an extension but the extension property value isn't known until the build script or some other plugin configures them.
2. Build authors can wire an output property of a task into an input property of some other task and Gradle automatically determines the task dependencies based on this connection. Property instances carry information about which task, if any, produces their value. Build authors do not need to worry about keeping task dependencies in sync with configuration changes.
3. Build authors can avoid resource intensive work during the configuration phase, which can have a large impact on build performance. For example, when a configuration value comes from parsing a file but is only used when functional tests are run, using a property instance to capture this means that the file is parsed only when the functional tests are run, but not when, for example, `clean` is run.

Gradle represents lazy properties with two interfaces:

* link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/Provider.html[Provider] represents a value that can only be queried and cannot be changed.
** Properties with these types are read-only.
** The method link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/Provider.html#get--[Provider.get()] returns the current value of the property.
** A `Provider` can be created from another `Provider` using link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/Provider.html#map-org.gradle.api.Transformer-[Provider.map(Transformer)].
** Many other types extend `Provider` and can be used where-ever a `Provider` is required.

* link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/Property.html[Property] represents a value that can be queried and also changed.
** Properties with these types are configurable.
** `Property` extends the `Provider` interface.
** The method link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/Property.html#set-T-[Property.set(T)] specifies a value for the property, overwriting whatever value may have been present.
** The method link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/Property.html#set-org.gradle.api.provider.Provider-[Property.set(Provider)] specifies a `Provider` for the value for the property, overwriting whatever value may have been present. This allows you to wire together `Provider` and `Property` instances before the values are configured.
** A `Property` can be created by the factory method link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/model/ObjectFactory.html#property-java.lang.Class-[ObjectFactory.property(Class)].

Lazy properties are intended to be passed around and only queried when required. Usually, this will happen during the execution phase. For more information about the Gradle build phases, please see <<build_lifecycle.adoc#sec:build_phases,Build Lifecycle>>.

The following demonstrates a task with a configurable `greeting` property and a read-only `message` property that is derived from this:

.Using a read-only and configurable property
====
include::sample[dir="providers/propertyAndProvider/groovy",files="build.gradle[]"]
include::sample[dir="providers/propertyAndProvider/kotlin",files="build.gradle.kts[]"]
====

.Output of **`gradle greeting`**
----
> gradle greeting
include::{samplesPath}/providers/propertyAndProvider/usePropertyAndProvider.out[]
----

The `Greeting` task has a property of type `Property<String>` to represent the configurable greeting and a property of type `Provider<String>` to represent the calculated, read-only, message. The message `Provider` is created from the greeting `Property` using the `map()` method, and so its value is kept up-to-date as the value of the greeting property changes.

[NOTE]
====

Note that Gradle Groovy DSL will generate setter methods for each `Property`-typed property in a task implementation. These setter methods allow you to configure the property using the assignment (`=`) operator as a convenience.

Kotlin DSL conveniences will be added in a future release.

====

[[sec:creating_property_provider]]
== Creating a Property or Provider instance

Neither `Provider` nor its subtypes such as `Property` are intended to be implemented by a build script or plugin author.  Gradle provides factory methods to create instances of these types instead. See the <<#sec:lazy_configuration_reference,Quick Reference>> for all of the types and factories available. In the previous example, we have seen 2 factory methods:

- link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/model/ObjectFactory.html#property-java.lang.Class-[ObjectFactory.property(Class)] create a new `Property` instance. An instance of the link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/model/ObjectFactory.html[ObjectFactory] can be referenced from link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/Project.html#getObjects--[Project.getObjects()] or by injecting `ObjectFactory` through a constructor or method.
- link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/Provider.html#map-org.gradle.api.Transformer-[Provider.map(Transformer)] creates a new `Provider` from an existing `Provider` or `Property` instance.

A `Provider` can also be created by the factory method link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/ProviderFactory.html#provider-java.util.concurrent.Callable-[ProviderFactory.provider(Callable)]. You should prefer using `map()` instead, as this has some useful benefits, which we will see later.

[NOTE]
====

There are no specific methods create a provider using a `groovy.lang.Closure`. When writing a plugin or build script with Groovy, you can use the `map(Transformer)` method with a closure and Groovy will take care of converting the closure to a `Transformer`. You can see this in action in the previous example.

Similarly, when writing a plugin or build script with Kotlin, the Kotlin compiler will take care of converting a Kotlin function into a `Transformer`.

====

[[sec:connecting_properties_together]]
== Connecting properties together

An important feature of lazy properties is that they can be connected together so that changes to one property are automatically reflected in other properties. Here's an example where the property of a task is connected to a property of a project extension:

.Connecting properties together
====
include::sample[dir="providers/connectProperties/groovy",files="build.gradle[]"]
include::sample[dir="providers/connectProperties/kotlin",files="build.gradle.kts[]"]
====

.Output of **`gradle greeting`**
----
> gradle greeting
include::{samplesPath}/providers/connectProperties/connectProperties.out[]
----

This example calls the link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/Property.html#set-org.gradle.api.provider.Provider-[Property.set(Provider)] method to attach a `Provider` to a `Property` to supply the value of the property. In this case, the `Provider` happens to be a `Property` as well, but you can connect any `Provider` implementation, for example one created using `Provider.map()`

[[sec:working_with_files_in_lazy_properties]]
== Working with files

In <<working_with_files.adoc#working_with_files,Working with Files>>, we introduced four collection types for `File`-like objects:

.Collection of files recap
[%header%autowidth,compact]
|===
| Read-only Type | Configurable Type

| link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/file/FileCollection.html[FileCollection]
| link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/file/ConfigurableFileCollection.html[ConfigurableFileCollection]

| link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/file/FileTree.html[FileTree]
| link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/file/ConfigurableFileTree.html[ConfigurableFileTree]
|===

All of these types are also considered lazy types.

In this section, we are going to introduce more strongly typed models types to represent elements of the file system: link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/file/Directory.html[Directory] and link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/file/RegularFile.html[RegularFile]. These types shouldn't be confused with the standard Java link:{javaApi}/java/io/File.html[File] type as they are used to tell Gradle, and other people, that you expect more specific values such as a directory or a non-directory, regular file.

Gradle provides two specialized `Property` subtypes for dealing with values of these types: link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/file/RegularFileProperty.html[RegularFileProperty] and link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/file/DirectoryProperty.html[DirectoryProperty]. link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/model/ObjectFactory.html[ObjectFactory] has methods to create these: link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/model/ObjectFactory.html#fileProperty--[ObjectFactory.fileProperty()] and link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/model/ObjectFactory.html#directoryProperty--[ObjectFactory.directoryProperty()].

A `DirectoryProperty` can also be used to create a lazily evaluated `Provider` for a `Directory` and `RegularFile` via link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/file/DirectoryProperty.html#dir-java.lang.String-[DirectoryProperty.dir(String)] and link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/file/DirectoryProperty.html#file-java.lang.String-[DirectoryProperty.file(String)] respectively. These methods create providers whose values are calculated relative to the location for the `DirectoryProperty` they were created from. The values returned from these providers will reflect changes to the `DirectoryProperty`.

.Using file and directory property
====
include::sample[dir="providers/fileAndDirectoryProperty/groovy",files="build.gradle[]"]
include::sample[dir="providers/fileAndDirectoryProperty/kotlin",files="build.gradle.kts[]"]
====

.Output of **`gradle print`**
[.multi-language-text.lang-groovy]
----
> gradle print
include::{samplesPath}/providers/fileAndDirectoryProperty/workingWithFilesGroovy.out[]
----
.Output of **`gradle print`**
[.multi-language-text.lang-kotlin]
----
> gradle print
include::{samplesPath}/providers/fileAndDirectoryProperty/workingWithFilesKotlin.out[]
----

This example creates providers that represent locations in the project and build directories through link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/Project.html#getLayout--[Project.getLayout()] with link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/file/ProjectLayout.html#getBuildDirectory--[ProjectLayout.getBuildDirectory()] and link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/file/ProjectLayout.html#getProjectDirectory--[ProjectLayout.getProjectDirectory()].

[[sec:working_with_task_dependencies_in_lazy_properties]]
== Working with task inputs and outputs

Many builds have several tasks connected together, where one task consumes the outputs of another task as an input. To make this work, we would need to configure each task to know where to look for its inputs and place its outputs, make sure that the producing and consuming tasks are configured with the same location, and attach task dependencies between the tasks. This can be cumbersome and brittle if any of these values are configurable by a user or configured by multiple plugins, as task properties need to be configured in the correct order and locations and task dependencies kept in sync as values change.

The `Property` API makes this easier by keeping track of not just the value for a property, which we have seen already, but also the task that produces the value, so that you don't have to specify it as well. As an example consider the following plugin with a producer and consumer task which are wired together:

.Implicit task dependency
====
include::sample[dir="providers/implicitTaskDependency/groovy",files="build.gradle[]"]
include::sample[dir="providers/implicitTaskDependency/kotlin",files="build.gradle.kts[]"]
====

.Output of **`gradle consumer`**
[.multi-language-text.lang-groovy]
----
> gradle consumer
include::{samplesPath}/providers/implicitTaskDependency/implicitTaskDependencyGroovy.out[]
----
.Output of **`gradle consumer`**
[.multi-language-text.lang-kotlin]
----
> gradle consumer
include::{samplesPath}/providers/implicitTaskDependency/implicitTaskDependencyKotlin.out[]
----

In the example above, the task outputs and inputs are connected before any location is defined. The setters can be called at any time before the task is executed and the change will automatically affect all related input and output properties.

Another important thing to note in this example is the absence of any explicit task dependency. Task outputs represented using `Providers` keep track of which task produces their value, and using them as task inputs will implicitly add the correct task dependencies.

[[sec:working_with_collections]]
== Working with collections

Gradle provides two lazy property types to help configure `Collection` properties. These work exactly like any other `Provider` and, just like file providers, they have additional modeling around them:

* For `List` values the interface is called link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/ListProperty.html[ListProperty]. You can create a new `ListProperty` using link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/model/ObjectFactory.html#listProperty-java.lang.Class-[ObjectFactory.listProperty(Class)] and specifying the element type.
* For `Set` values the interface is called link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/SetProperty.html[SetProperty]. You can create a new `SetProperty` using link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/model/ObjectFactory.html#setProperty-java.lang.Class-[ObjectFactory.setProperty(Class)] and specifying the element type.

This type of property allows you to overwrite the entire collection value with link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/HasMultipleValues.html#set-java.lang.Iterable-[HasMultipleValues.set(Iterable)] and link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/HasMultipleValues.html#set-org.gradle.api.provider.Provider-[HasMultipleValues.set(Provider)] or add new elements through the various `add` methods:

* link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/HasMultipleValues.html#add-T-[HasMultipleValues.add(T)]: Add a single element to the collection
* link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/HasMultipleValues.html#add-org.gradle.api.provider.Provider-[HasMultipleValues.add(Provider)]: Add a lazily calculated element to the collection
* link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/HasMultipleValues.html#addAll-org.gradle.api.provider.Provider-[HasMultipleValues.addAll(Provider)]: Add a lazily calculated collection of elements to the list

Just like every `Provider`, the collection is calculated when link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/Provider.html#get--[Provider.get()] is called. The following example shows the link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/ListProperty.html[ListProperty] in action:

.List property
====
include::sample[dir="providers/listProperty/groovy",files="build.gradle[]"]
include::sample[dir="providers/listProperty/kotlin",files="build.gradle.kts[]"]
====

.Output of **`gradle consumer`**
[.multi-language-text.lang-groovy]
----
> gradle consumer
include::{samplesPath}/providers/listProperty/listPropertyGroovy.out[]
----
.Output of **`gradle consumer`**
[.multi-language-text.lang-kotlin]
----
> gradle consumer
include::{samplesPath}/providers/listProperty/listPropertyKotlin.out[]
----

[[sec:working_with_maps]]
== Working with maps

Gradle provides a lazy link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/MapProperty.html[MapProperty] type to allow `Map` values to be configured.
You can create a `MapProperty` instance using link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/model/ObjectFactory.html#mapProperty-java.lang.Class-java.lang.Class-[ObjectFactory.mapProperty(Class, Class)].

Similar to other property types, a `MapProperty` has a link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/MapProperty.html#set-java.util.Map-[set()] method that you can use to specify the value for the property. There are some additional methods to allow entries with lazy values to be added to the map.

.Map property
====
include::sample[dir="providers/mapProperty/groovy",files="build.gradle[]"]
include::sample[dir="providers/mapProperty/kotlin",files="build.gradle.kts[]"]
====

.Output of **`gradle consumer`**
[.multi-language-text.lang-groovy]
----
> gradle generate
include::{samplesPath}/providers/mapProperty/mapProperty.out[]
----
.Output of **`gradle consumer`**
[.multi-language-text.lang-kotlin]
----
> gradle generate
include::{samplesPath}/providers/mapProperty/mapProperty.out[]
----

[[sec:applying_conventions]]
== Applying a convention to a property

Often you want to apply some _convention_, or default value, to a property to be used if no value has been configured for the property. You can use the `convention()` method for this. This method accepts either a value or a `Provider` and this will be used as the value until some other value is configured.

.Property conventions
====
include::sample[dir="providers/propertyConvention/groovy",files="build.gradle[]"]
include::sample[dir="providers/propertyConvention/kotlin",files="build.gradle.kts[]"]
====

.Output of **`gradle show`**
[.multi-language-text.lang-groovy]
----
> gradle show
include::{samplesPath}/providers/propertyConvention/propertyConvention.out[]
----
.Output of **`gradle show`**
[.multi-language-text.lang-kotlin]
----
> gradle show
include::{samplesPath}/providers/propertyConvention/propertyConvention.out[]
----

[[sec:unmodifiable_property]]
== Making a property unmodifiable

Most properties of a task or project are intended to be configured by plugins or build scripts and then the resulting value used to do something useful. For example, a property that specifies the output directory for a compilation task may start off with a value specified by a plugin, then a build script might configure the value to some custom location, then this value is used by the task when it runs. However, once the task starts to run, we want to prevent any further change to the property. This way we avoid errors that result from different consumers, such as the task action or Gradle's up-to-date checks or build caching or other tasks, using different values for the property.

Lazy properties provide a link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/Property.html#finalizeValue--[finalizeValue()] method to make this explicit. Calling this method makes a property instance unmodifiable from that point on and any further attempts to change the value of the property will fail. Gradle automatically makes the properties of a task final when the task starts execution.

[[sec:lazy_configuration_faqs]]
== Guidelines

This section will introduce guidelines to be successful with the Provider API. To see those guidelines in action, have a look at https://github.com/gradle-guides/gradle-site-plugin[gradle-site-plugin], a Gradle plugin demonstrating established techniques and practices for plugin development.

* The link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/Property.html[Property] and link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/Provider.html[Provider] types have all of the overloads you need to query or configure a value. For this reason, you should follow the following guidelines:
** For configurable properties, expose the link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/Property.html[Property] directly through a single getter.
** For non-configurable properties, expose an link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/Provider.html[Provider] directly through a single getter.
* Avoid simplifying calls like `obj.getProperty().get()` and `obj.getProperty().set(T)` in your code by introducing additional getters and setters.
* When migrating your plugin to use providers, follow these guidelines:
** If it's a new property, expose it as a link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/Property.html[Property] or link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/Provider.html[Provider] using a single getter.
** If it's incubating, change it to use a link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/Property.html[Property] or link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/Provider.html[Provider] using a single getter.
** If it's a stable property, add a new link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/Property.html[Property] or link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/Provider.html[Provider] and deprecate the old one. You should wire the old getter/setters into the new property as appropriate.

[[sec:lazy_configuration_roadmap]]
== Future development

Going forward, new properties will use the Provider API. The Groovy Gradle DSL adds convenience methods to make the use of Providers mostly transparent in build scripts. Existing tasks will have their existing "raw" properties replaced by Providers as needed and in a backwards compatible way. New tasks will be designed with the Provider API.

The Provider API is <<feature_lifecycle.adoc#feature_lifecycle,incubating>>. Please create new issues at https://github.com/gradle/gradle/issues/new[gradle/gradle] to report bugs or to submit use cases for new features.

[[sec:lazy_configuration_reference]]
== Provider Files API Reference

Use these types for _read-only_ values:

link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/Provider.html[Provider]<link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/file/RegularFile.html[RegularFile]>:: File on disk
  Factories;;
    * link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/Provider.html#map-org.gradle.api.Transformer-[Provider.map(Transformer)].
    * link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/Provider.html#flatMap-org.gradle.api.Transformer-[Provider.flatMap(Transformer)].
    * link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/file/DirectoryProperty.html#file-java.lang.String-[DirectoryProperty.file(String)]

link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/Provider.html[Provider]<link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/file/Directory.html[Directory]>:: Directory on disk
  Factories;;
    * link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/Provider.html#map-org.gradle.api.Transformer-[Provider.map(Transformer)].
    * link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/Provider.html#flatMap-org.gradle.api.Transformer-[Provider.flatMap(Transformer)].
    * link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/file/DirectoryProperty.html#dir-java.lang.String-[DirectoryProperty.dir(String)]

link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/file/FileCollection.html[FileCollection]:: Unstructured collection of files
  Factories;;
    * link:{groovyDslPath}/org.gradle.api.Project.html#org.gradle.api.Project:files(java.lang.Object++[]++)[Project.files(Object++[]++)]
    * link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/file/ProjectLayout.html#files-java.lang.Object++...++-[ProjectLayout.files(Object++...++)]

link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/file/FileTree.html[FileTree]:: Hierarchy of files
  Factories;;
    * link:{groovyDslPath}/org.gradle.api.Project.html#org.gradle.api.Project:fileTree(java.lang.Object)[Project.fileTree(Object)] will produce a link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/file/ConfigurableFileTree.html[ConfigurableFileTree], or you can use link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/Project.html#zipTree-java.lang.Object-[Project.zipTree(Object)] and link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/Project.html#tarTree-java.lang.Object-[Project.tarTree(Object)]

== Property Files API Reference

Use these types for _mutable_ values:

link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/file/RegularFileProperty.html[RegularFileProperty]:: File on disk
  Factories;;
    * link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/model/ObjectFactory.html#fileProperty--[ObjectFactory.fileProperty()]

link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/file/DirectoryProperty.html[DirectoryProperty]:: Directory on disk
  Factories;;
    * link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/model/ObjectFactory.html#directoryProperty--[ObjectFactory.directoryProperty()]

link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/file/ConfigurableFileCollection.html[ConfigurableFileCollection]:: Unstructured collection of files
  Factories;;
    * link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/model/ObjectFactory.html#fileCollection--[ObjectFactory.fileCollection()]

link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/file/ConfigurableFileTree.html[ConfigurableFileTree]:: Hierarchy of files
  Factories;;
    * link:{groovyDslPath}/org.gradle.api.Project.html#org.gradle.api.Project:fileTree(java.lang.Object)[Project.fileTree(Object)]

== Lazy Collections API Reference

Use these types for _mutable_ values:

link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/ListProperty.html[ListProperty<T>]:: a property whose value is `List<T>`
  Factories;;
    * link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/model/ObjectFactory.html#listProperty-java.lang.Class-[ObjectFactory.listProperty(Class)]

link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/SetProperty.html[SetProperty<T>]:: a property whose value is `Set<T>`
  Factories;;
    * link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/model/ObjectFactory.html#setProperty-java.lang.Class-[ObjectFactory.setProperty(Class)]

== Lazy Objects API Reference

Use these types for _read only_ values:

link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/Provider.html[Provider<T>]:: a property whose value is an instance of `T`
  Factories;;
    * link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/Provider.html#map-org.gradle.api.Transformer-[Provider.map(Transformer)].
    * link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/Provider.html#flatMap-org.gradle.api.Transformer-[Provider.flatMap(Transformer)].
    * link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/ProviderFactory.html#provider-java.util.concurrent.Callable-[ProviderFactory.provider(Callable)]. Always prefer one of the other factory methods over this method.

Use these types for _mutable_ values:

link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/provider/Property.html[Property<T>]:: a property whose value is an instance of `T`
  Factories;;
    * link:{javadocPath}/org/gradle/api/model/ObjectFactory.html#property-java.lang.Class-[ObjectFactory.property(Class)]
