# Configuring Tasks Lazily

version 8.13

Knowing when and where a particular value is configured is difficult to track as a build grows in complexity. Gradle provides several ways to manage this using lazy configuration.

## Understanding Lazy properties

Gradle provides lazy properties, which delay calculating a property’s value until it’s actually required.

Lazy properties provide three main benefits:

1. Deferred Value Resolution: Allows wiring Gradle models without needing to know when a 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. Automatic Task Dependency Management: Connects output of one task to input of another, automatically determining task dependencies. 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. Improved Build Performance: Avoids resource-intensive work during configuration, impacting build performance positively. 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 (and not when `clean` is run, for example).

Gradle represents lazy properties with two interfaces:

Provider

  Represents a value that can only be queried and cannot be changed.

  - Properties with these types are read-only.

  - The method Provider.get() returns the current value of the property.

  - A `Provider` can be created from another `Provider` using Provider.map(Transformer).

  - Many other types extend `Provider` and can be used wherever a `Provider` is required.

Property

  Represents a value that can be queried and changed.

  - Properties with these types are configurable.

  - `Property` extends the `Provider` interface.

  - The method Property.set(T) specifies a value for the property, overwriting whatever value may have been present.

  - The method 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 ObjectFactory.property(Class).

Lazy properties are intended to be passed around and only queried when required. This typically happens during the execution phase.

The following demonstrates a task with a configurable `greeting` property and a read-only `message` property:

build.gradle.kts

    abstract class Greeting : DefaultTask() { (1)
        @get:Input
        abstract val greeting: Property<String> (2)

        @Internal
        val message: Provider<String> = greeting.map { it + " from Gradle" } (3)

        @TaskAction
        fun printMessage() {
            logger.quiet(message.get())
        }
    }

    tasks.register<Greeting>("greeting") {
        greeting.set("Hi") (4)
        greeting = "Hi" (5)
    }

build.gradle

    abstract class Greeting extends DefaultTask { (1)
        @Input
        abstract Property<String> getGreeting() (2)

        @Internal
        final Provider<String> message = greeting.map { it + ' from Gradle' } (3)

        @TaskAction
        void printMessage() {
            logger.quiet(message.get())
        }
    }

    tasks.register("greeting", Greeting) {
        greeting.set('Hi') (4)
        greeting = 'Hi' (5)
    }

1 | A task that displays a greeting
2 | A configurable greeting
3 | Read-only property calculated from the greeting
4 | Configure the greeting
5 | Alternative notation to calling Property.set()

    $ gradle greeting

    > Task :greeting
    Hi from Gradle

    BUILD SUCCESSFUL in 0s
    1 actionable task: 1 executed

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; its value is kept up-to-date as the value of the greeting property changes.

## 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. Gradle provides factory methods to create instances of these types instead.

In the previous example, two factory methods were presented:

- ObjectFactory.property(Class) create a new `Property` instance. An instance of the ObjectFactory can be referenced from Project.getObjects() or by injecting `ObjectFactory` through a constructor or method.

- Provider.map(Transformer) creates a new `Provider` from an existing `Provider` or `Property` instance.

See the Quick Reference for all of the types and factories available.

A `Provider` can also be created by the factory method ProviderFactory.provider(Callable).

| There are no specific methods to 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 convert the closure to a `Transformer`. Similarly, when writing a plugin or build script with Kotlin, the Kotlin compiler will convert a Kotlin function into a `Transformer`.

## 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 is an example where the property of a task is connected to a property of a project extension:

build.gradle.kts

    // A project extension
    interface MessageExtension {
        // A configurable greeting
        abstract val greeting: Property<String>
    }

    // A task that displays a greeting
    abstract class Greeting : DefaultTask() {
        // Configurable by the user
        @get:Input
        abstract val greeting: Property<String>

        // Read-only property calculated from the greeting
        @Internal
        val message: Provider<String> = greeting.map { it + " from Gradle" }

        @TaskAction
        fun printMessage() {
            logger.quiet(message.get())
        }
    }

    // Create the project extension
    val messages = project.extensions.create<MessageExtension>("messages")

    // Create the greeting task
    tasks.register<Greeting>("greeting") {
        // Attach the greeting from the project extension
        // Note that the values of the project extension have not been configured yet
        greeting = messages.greeting
    }

    messages.apply {
        // Configure the greeting on the extension
        // Note that there is no need to reconfigure the task's `greeting` property. This is automatically updated as the extension property changes
        greeting = "Hi"
    }

build.gradle

    // A project extension
    interface MessageExtension {
        // A configurable greeting
        Property<String> getGreeting()
    }

    // A task that displays a greeting
    abstract class Greeting extends DefaultTask {
        // Configurable by the user
        @Input
        abstract Property<String> getGreeting()

        // Read-only property calculated from the greeting
        @Internal
        final Provider<String> message = greeting.map { it + ' from Gradle' }

        @TaskAction
        void printMessage() {
            logger.quiet(message.get())
        }
    }

    // Create the project extension
    project.extensions.create('messages', MessageExtension)

    // Create the greeting task
    tasks.register("greeting", Greeting) {
        // Attach the greeting from the project extension
        // Note that the values of the project extension have not been configured yet
        greeting = messages.greeting
    }

    messages {
        // Configure the greeting on the extension
        // Note that there is no need to reconfigure the task's `greeting` property. This is automatically updated as the extension property changes
        greeting = 'Hi'
    }

    $ gradle greeting

    > Task :greeting
    Hi from Gradle

    BUILD SUCCESSFUL in 0s
    1 actionable task: 1 executed

This example calls the 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()`

## Working with files

In Working with Files, we introduced four collection types for `File`-like objects:

Read-only Type | Configurable Type
--- | ---
FileCollection | ConfigurableFileCollection
FileTree | ConfigurableFileTree

All of these types are also considered lazy types.

There are more strongly typed models used to represent elements of the file system: Directory and RegularFile. These types shouldn’t be confused with the standard Java File type as they are used to tell Gradle 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: RegularFileProperty and DirectoryProperty. ObjectFactory has methods to create these: ObjectFactory.fileProperty() and ObjectFactory.directoryProperty().

A `DirectoryProperty` can also be used to create a lazily evaluated `Provider` for a `Directory` and `RegularFile` via DirectoryProperty.dir(String) and 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`.

build.gradle.kts

    // A task that generates a source file and writes the result to an output directory
    abstract class GenerateSource : DefaultTask() {
        // The configuration file to use to generate the source file
        @get:InputFile
        abstract val configFile: RegularFileProperty

        // The directory to write source files to
        @get:OutputDirectory
        abstract val outputDir: DirectoryProperty

        @TaskAction
        fun compile() {
            val inFile = configFile.get().asFile
            logger.quiet("configuration file = $inFile")
            val dir = outputDir.get().asFile
            logger.quiet("output dir = $dir")
            val className = inFile.readText().trim()
            val srcFile = File(dir, "${className}.java")
            srcFile.writeText("public class ${className} { }")
        }
    }

    // Create the source generation task
    tasks.register<GenerateSource>("generate") {
        // Configure the locations, relative to the project and build directories
        configFile = layout.projectDirectory.file("src/config.txt")
        outputDir = layout.buildDirectory.dir("generated-source")
    }

    // Change the build directory
    // Don't need to reconfigure the task properties. These are automatically updated as the build directory changes
    layout.buildDirectory = layout.projectDirectory.dir("output")

build.gradle

    // A task that generates a source file and writes the result to an output directory
    abstract class GenerateSource extends DefaultTask {
        // The configuration file to use to generate the source file
        @InputFile
        abstract RegularFileProperty getConfigFile()

        // The directory to write source files to
        @OutputDirectory
        abstract DirectoryProperty getOutputDir()

        @TaskAction
        def compile() {
            def inFile = configFile.get().asFile
            logger.quiet("configuration file = $inFile")
            def dir = outputDir.get().asFile
            logger.quiet("output dir = $dir")
            def className = inFile.text.trim()
            def srcFile = new File(dir, "${className}.java")
            srcFile.text = "public class ${className} { ... }"
        }
    }

    // Create the source generation task
    tasks.register('generate', GenerateSource) {
        // Configure the locations, relative to the project and build directories
        configFile = layout.projectDirectory.file('src/config.txt')
        outputDir = layout.buildDirectory.dir('generated-source')
    }

    // Change the build directory
    // Don't need to reconfigure the task properties. These are automatically updated as the build directory changes
    layout.buildDirectory = layout.projectDirectory.dir('output')

    $ gradle generate

    > Task :generate
    configuration file = /home/user/gradle/samples/src/config.txt
    output dir = /home/user/gradle/samples/output/generated-source

    BUILD SUCCESSFUL in 0s
    1 actionable task: 1 executed

    $ gradle generate

    > Task :generate
    configuration file = /home/user/gradle/samples/kotlin/src/config.txt
    output dir = /home/user/gradle/samples/kotlin/output/generated-source

    BUILD SUCCESSFUL in 0s
    1 actionable task: 1 executed

This example creates providers that represent locations in the project and build directories through Project.getLayout() with ProjectLayout.getBuildDirectory() and ProjectLayout.getProjectDirectory().

To close the loop, note that a `DirectoryProperty`, or a simple `Directory`, can be turned into a `FileTree` that allows the files and directories contained in the directory to be queried with DirectoryProperty.getAsFileTree() or Directory.getAsFileTree(). From a `DirectoryProperty` or a `Directory`, you can create `FileCollection` instances containing a set of the files contained in the directory with DirectoryProperty.files(Object...) or Directory.files(Object...).

## 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 need to configure each task to know where to look for its inputs and where to place its outputs. Ensure 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 the value of a property and the task that produces the value.

As an example, consider the following plugin with a producer and consumer task which are wired together:

build.gradle.kts

    abstract class Producer : DefaultTask() {
        @get:OutputFile
        abstract val outputFile: RegularFileProperty

        @TaskAction
        fun produce() {
            val message = "Hello, World!"
            val output = outputFile.get().asFile
            output.writeText( message)
            logger.quiet("Wrote '${message}' to ${output}")
        }
    }

    abstract class Consumer : DefaultTask() {
        @get:InputFile
        abstract val inputFile: RegularFileProperty

        @TaskAction
        fun consume() {
            val input = inputFile.get().asFile
            val message = input.readText()
            logger.quiet("Read '${message}' from ${input}")
        }
    }

    val producer = tasks.register<Producer>("producer")
    val consumer = tasks.register<Consumer>("consumer")

    consumer {
        // Connect the producer task output to the consumer task input
        // Don't need to add a task dependency to the consumer task. This is automatically added
        inputFile = producer.flatMap { it.outputFile }
    }

    producer {
        // Set values for the producer lazily
        // Don't need to update the consumer.inputFile property. This is automatically updated as producer.outputFile changes
        outputFile = layout.buildDirectory.file("file.txt")
    }

    // Change the build directory.
    // Don't need to update producer.outputFile and consumer.inputFile. These are automatically updated as the build directory changes
    layout.buildDirectory = layout.projectDirectory.dir("output")

build.gradle

    abstract class Producer extends DefaultTask {
        @OutputFile
        abstract RegularFileProperty getOutputFile()

        @TaskAction
        void produce() {
            String message = 'Hello, World!'
            def output = outputFile.get().asFile
            output.text = message
            logger.quiet("Wrote '${message}' to ${output}")
        }
    }

    abstract class Consumer extends DefaultTask {
        @InputFile
        abstract RegularFileProperty getInputFile()

        @TaskAction
        void consume() {
            def input = inputFile.get().asFile
            def message = input.text
            logger.quiet("Read '${message}' from ${input}")
        }
    }

    def producer = tasks.register("producer", Producer)
    def consumer = tasks.register("consumer", Consumer)

    consumer.configure {
        // Connect the producer task output to the consumer task input
        // Don't need to add a task dependency to the consumer task. This is automatically added
        inputFile = producer.flatMap { it.outputFile }
    }

    producer.configure {
        // Set values for the producer lazily
        // Don't need to update the consumer.inputFile property. This is automatically updated as producer.outputFile changes
        outputFile = layout.buildDirectory.file('file.txt')
    }

    // Change the build directory.
    // Don't need to update producer.outputFile and consumer.inputFile. These are automatically updated as the build directory changes
    layout.buildDirectory = layout.projectDirectory.dir('output')

    $ gradle consumer

    > Task :producer
    Wrote 'Hello, World!' to /home/user/gradle/samples/output/file.txt

    > Task :consumer
    Read 'Hello, World!' from /home/user/gradle/samples/output/file.txt

    BUILD SUCCESSFUL in 0s
    2 actionable tasks: 2 executed

    $ gradle consumer

    > Task :producer
    Wrote 'Hello, World!' to /home/user/gradle/samples/kotlin/output/file.txt

    > Task :consumer
    Read 'Hello, World!' from /home/user/gradle/samples/kotlin/output/file.txt

    BUILD SUCCESSFUL in 0s
    2 actionable tasks: 2 executed

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.

Implicit task dependencies also work for input properties that are not files:

build.gradle.kts

    abstract class Producer : DefaultTask() {
        @get:OutputFile
        abstract val outputFile: RegularFileProperty

        @TaskAction
        fun produce() {
            val message = "Hello, World!"
            val output = outputFile.get().asFile
            output.writeText( message)
            logger.quiet("Wrote '${message}' to ${output}")
        }
    }

    abstract class Consumer : DefaultTask() {
        @get:Input
        abstract val message: Property<String>

        @TaskAction
        fun consume() {
            logger.quiet(message.get())
        }
    }

    val producer = tasks.register<Producer>("producer") {
        // Set values for the producer lazily
        // Don't need to update the consumer.inputFile property. This is automatically updated as producer.outputFile changes
        outputFile = layout.buildDirectory.file("file.txt")
    }
    tasks.register<Consumer>("consumer") {
        // Connect the producer task output to the consumer task input
        // Don't need to add a task dependency to the consumer task. This is automatically added
        message = producer.flatMap { it.outputFile }.map { it.asFile.readText() }
    }

build.gradle

    abstract class Producer extends DefaultTask {
        @OutputFile
        abstract RegularFileProperty getOutputFile()

        @TaskAction
        void produce() {
            String message = 'Hello, World!'
            def output = outputFile.get().asFile
            output.text = message
            logger.quiet("Wrote '${message}' to ${output}")
        }
    }

    abstract class Consumer extends DefaultTask {
        @Input
        abstract Property<String> getMessage()

        @TaskAction
        void consume() {
            logger.quiet(message.get())
        }
    }

    def producer = tasks.register('producer', Producer) {
        // Set values for the producer lazily
        // Don't need to update the consumer.inputFile property. This is automatically updated as producer.outputFile changes
        outputFile = layout.buildDirectory.file('file.txt')
    }
    tasks.register('consumer', Consumer) {
        // Connect the producer task output to the consumer task input
        // Don't need to add a task dependency to the consumer task. This is automatically added
        message = producer.flatMap { it.outputFile }.map { it.asFile.text }
    }

    $ gradle consumer

    > Task :producer
    Wrote 'Hello, World!' to /home/user/gradle/samples/build/file.txt

    > Task :consumer
    Hello, World!

    BUILD SUCCESSFUL in 0s
    2 actionable tasks: 2 executed

    $ gradle consumer

    > Task :producer
    Wrote 'Hello, World!' to /home/user/gradle/samples/kotlin/build/file.txt

    > Task :consumer
    Hello, World!

    BUILD SUCCESSFUL in 0s
    2 actionable tasks: 2 executed

## 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 ListProperty.
  You can create a new `ListProperty` using ObjectFactory.listProperty(Class) and specifying the element type.

- For `Set` values the interface is called SetProperty.
  You can create a new `SetProperty` using ObjectFactory.setProperty(Class) and specifying the element type.

This type of property allows you to overwrite the entire collection value with HasMultipleValues.set(Iterable) and HasMultipleValues.set(Provider) or add new elements through the various `add` methods:

- HasMultipleValues.add(T): Add a single element to the collection

- HasMultipleValues.add(Provider): Add a lazily calculated element to the collection

- HasMultipleValues.addAll(Provider): Add a lazily calculated collection of elements to the list

Just like every `Provider`, the collection is calculated when Provider.get() is called. The following example shows the ListProperty in action:

build.gradle.kts

    abstract class Producer : DefaultTask() {
        @get:OutputFile
        abstract val outputFile: RegularFileProperty

        @TaskAction
        fun produce() {
            val message = "Hello, World!"
            val output = outputFile.get().asFile
            output.writeText( message)
            logger.quiet("Wrote '${message}' to ${output}")
        }
    }

    abstract class Consumer : DefaultTask() {
        @get:InputFiles
        abstract val inputFiles: ListProperty<RegularFile>

        @TaskAction
        fun consume() {
            inputFiles.get().forEach { inputFile ->
                val input = inputFile.asFile
                val message = input.readText()
                logger.quiet("Read '${message}' from ${input}")
            }
        }
    }

    val producerOne = tasks.register<Producer>("producerOne")
    val producerTwo = tasks.register<Producer>("producerTwo")
    tasks.register<Consumer>("consumer") {
        // Connect the producer task outputs to the consumer task input
        // Don't need to add task dependencies to the consumer task. These are automatically added
        inputFiles.add(producerOne.get().outputFile)
        inputFiles.add(producerTwo.get().outputFile)
    }

    // Set values for the producer tasks lazily
    // Don't need to update the consumer.inputFiles property. This is automatically updated as producer.outputFile changes
    producerOne { outputFile = layout.buildDirectory.file("one.txt") }
    producerTwo { outputFile = layout.buildDirectory.file("two.txt") }

    // Change the build directory.
    // Don't need to update the task properties. These are automatically updated as the build directory changes
    layout.buildDirectory = layout.projectDirectory.dir("output")

build.gradle

    abstract class Producer extends DefaultTask {
        @OutputFile
        abstract RegularFileProperty getOutputFile()

        @TaskAction
        void produce() {
            String message = 'Hello, World!'
            def output = outputFile.get().asFile
            output.text = message
            logger.quiet("Wrote '${message}' to ${output}")
        }
    }

    abstract class Consumer extends DefaultTask {
        @InputFiles
        abstract ListProperty<RegularFile> getInputFiles()

        @TaskAction
        void consume() {
            inputFiles.get().each { inputFile ->
                def input = inputFile.asFile
                def message = input.text
                logger.quiet("Read '${message}' from ${input}")
            }
        }
    }

    def producerOne = tasks.register('producerOne', Producer)
    def producerTwo = tasks.register('producerTwo', Producer)
    tasks.register('consumer', Consumer) {
        // Connect the producer task outputs to the consumer task input
        // Don't need to add task dependencies to the consumer task. These are automatically added
        inputFiles.add(producerOne.get().outputFile)
        inputFiles.add(producerTwo.get().outputFile)
    }

    // Set values for the producer tasks lazily
    // Don't need to update the consumer.inputFiles property. This is automatically updated as producer.outputFile changes
    producerOne.configure { outputFile = layout.buildDirectory.file('one.txt') }
    producerTwo.configure { outputFile = layout.buildDirectory.file('two.txt') }

    // Change the build directory.
    // Don't need to update the task properties. These are automatically updated as the build directory changes
    layout.buildDirectory = layout.projectDirectory.dir('output')

    $ gradle consumer

    > Task :producerOne
    Wrote 'Hello, World!' to /home/user/gradle/samples/output/one.txt

    > Task :producerTwo
    Wrote 'Hello, World!' to /home/user/gradle/samples/output/two.txt

    > Task :consumer
    Read 'Hello, World!' from /home/user/gradle/samples/output/one.txt
    Read 'Hello, World!' from /home/user/gradle/samples/output/two.txt

    BUILD SUCCESSFUL in 0s
    3 actionable tasks: 3 executed

    $ gradle consumer

    > Task :producerOne
    Wrote 'Hello, World!' to /home/user/gradle/samples/kotlin/output/one.txt

    > Task :producerTwo
    Wrote 'Hello, World!' to /home/user/gradle/samples/kotlin/output/two.txt

    > Task :consumer
    Read 'Hello, World!' from /home/user/gradle/samples/kotlin/output/one.txt
    Read 'Hello, World!' from /home/user/gradle/samples/kotlin/output/two.txt

    BUILD SUCCESSFUL in 0s
    3 actionable tasks: 3 executed

## Working with maps

Gradle provides a lazy MapProperty type to allow `Map` values to be configured. You can create a `MapProperty` instance using ObjectFactory.mapProperty(Class, Class).

Similar to other property types, a `MapProperty` has a set() method that you can use to specify the value for the property. Some additional methods allow entries with lazy values to be added to the map.

build.gradle.kts

    abstract class Generator: DefaultTask() {
        @get:Input
        abstract val properties: MapProperty<String, Int>

        @TaskAction
        fun generate() {
            properties.get().forEach { entry ->
                logger.quiet("${entry.key} = ${entry.value}")
            }
        }
    }

    // Some values to be configured later
    var b = 0
    var c = 0

    tasks.register<Generator>("generate") {
        properties.put("a", 1)
        // Values have not been configured yet
        properties.put("b", providers.provider { b })
        properties.putAll(providers.provider { mapOf("c" to c, "d" to c + 1) })
    }

    // Configure the values. There is no need to reconfigure the task
    b = 2
    c = 3

build.gradle

    abstract class Generator extends DefaultTask {
        @Input
        abstract MapProperty<String, Integer> getProperties()

        @TaskAction
        void generate() {
            properties.get().each { key, value ->
                logger.quiet("${key} = ${value}")
            }
        }
    }

    // Some values to be configured later
    def b = 0
    def c = 0

    tasks.register('generate', Generator) {
        properties.put("a", 1)
        // Values have not been configured yet
        properties.put("b", providers.provider { b })
        properties.putAll(providers.provider { [c: c, d: c + 1] })
    }

    // Configure the values. There is no need to reconfigure the task
    b = 2
    c = 3

    $ gradle generate

    > Task :generate
    a = 1
    b = 2
    c = 3
    d = 4

    BUILD SUCCESSFUL in 0s
    1 actionable task: 1 executed

## 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. 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.

build.gradle.kts

    tasks.register("show") {
        val property = objects.property(String::class)

        // Set a convention
        property.convention("convention 1")

        println("value = " + property.get())

        // Can replace the convention
        property.convention("convention 2")
        println("value = " + property.get())

        property.set("explicit value")

        // Once a value is set, the convention is ignored
        property.convention("ignored convention")

        doLast {
            println("value = " + property.get())
        }
    }

build.gradle

    tasks.register("show") {
        def property = objects.property(String)

        // Set a convention
        property.convention("convention 1")

        println("value = " + property.get())

        // Can replace the convention
        property.convention("convention 2")
        println("value = " + property.get())

        property.set("explicit value")

        // Once a value is set, the convention is ignored
        property.convention("ignored convention")

        doLast {
            println("value = " + property.get())
        }
    }

    $ gradle show
    value = convention 1
    value = convention 2

    > Task :show
    value = explicit value

    BUILD SUCCESSFUL in 0s
    1 actionable task: 1 executed

### Where to apply conventions from?

There are several appropriate locations for setting a convention on a property at configuration time (i.e., before execution).

build.gradle.kts

    // setting convention when registering a task from plugin
    class GreetingPlugin : Plugin<Project> {
        override fun apply(project: Project) {
            project.getTasks().register<GreetingTask>("hello") {
                greeter.convention("Greeter")
            }
        }
    }

    apply<GreetingPlugin>()

    tasks.withType<GreetingTask>().configureEach {
        // setting convention from build script
        guest.convention("Guest")
    }

    abstract class GreetingTask : DefaultTask() {
        // setting convention from constructor
        @get:Input
        abstract val guest: Property<String>

        init {
            guest.convention("person2")
        }

        // setting convention from declaration
        @Input
        val greeter = project.objects.property<String>().convention("person1")

        @TaskAction
        fun greet() {
            println("hello, ${guest.get()}, from ${greeter.get()}")
        }
    }

build.gradle

    // setting convention when registering a task from plugin
    class GreetingPlugin implements Plugin<Project> {
        void apply(Project project) {
            project.getTasks().register("hello", GreetingTask) {
                greeter.convention("Greeter")
            }
        }
    }

    apply plugin: GreetingPlugin

    tasks.withType(GreetingTask).configureEach {
        // setting convention from build script
        guest.convention("Guest")
    }

    abstract class GreetingTask extends DefaultTask {
        // setting convention from constructor
        @Input
        abstract Property<String> getGuest()

        GreetingTask() {
            guest.convention("person2")
        }

        // setting convention from declaration
        @Input
        final Property<String> greeter = project.objects.property(String).convention("person1")

        @TaskAction
        void greet() {
            println("hello, ${guest.get()}, from ${greeter.get()}")
        }
    }

#### From a plugin’s `apply()` method

Plugin authors may configure a convention on a lazy property from a plugin’s `apply()` method, while performing preliminary configuration of the task or extension defining the property. This works well for regular plugins (meant to be distributed and used in the wild), and internal convention plugins (which often configure properties defined by third party plugins in a uniform way for the entire build).

build.gradle.kts

    // setting convention when registering a task from plugin
    class GreetingPlugin : Plugin<Project> {
        override fun apply(project: Project) {
            project.getTasks().register<GreetingTask>("hello") {
                greeter.convention("Greeter")
            }
        }
    }

build.gradle

    // setting convention when registering a task from plugin
    class GreetingPlugin implements Plugin<Project> {
        void apply(Project project) {
            project.getTasks().register("hello", GreetingTask) {
                greeter.convention("Greeter")
            }
        }
    }

#### From a build script

Build engineers may configure a convention on a lazy property from shared build logic that is configuring tasks (for instance, from third-party plugins) in a standard way for the entire build.

build.gradle.kts

    apply<GreetingPlugin>()

    tasks.withType<GreetingTask>().configureEach {
        // setting convention from build script
        guest.convention("Guest")
    }

build.gradle

    tasks.withType(GreetingTask).configureEach {
        // setting convention from build script
        guest.convention("Guest")
    }

Note that for project-specific values, instead of conventions, you should prefer setting explicit values (using `Property.set(…​)` or `ConfigurableFileCollection.setFrom(…​)`, for instance), as conventions are only meant to define defaults.

#### From the task initialization

A task author may configure a convention on a lazy property from the task constructor or (if in Kotlin) initializer block. This approach works for properties with trivial defaults, but it is not appropriate if additional context (external to the task implementation) is required in order to set a suitable default.

build.gradle.kts

    // setting convention from constructor
    @get:Input
    abstract val guest: Property<String>

    init {
        guest.convention("person2")
    }

build.gradle

    // setting convention from constructor
    @Input
    abstract Property<String> getGuest()

    GreetingTask() {
        guest.convention("person2")
    }

#### Next to the property declaration

You may configure a convention on a lazy property next to the place where the property is declared. Note this option is not available for managed properties, and has the same caveats as configuring a convention from the task constructor.

build.gradle.kts

    // setting convention from declaration
    @Input
    val greeter = project.objects.property<String>().convention("person1")

build.gradle

    // setting convention from declaration
    @Input
    final Property<String> greeter = project.objects.property(String).convention("person1")

## Making a property unmodifiable

Most properties of a task or project are intended to be configured by plugins or build scripts so that they can use specific values for that build.

For example, a property that specifies the output directory for a compilation task may start with a value specified by a plugin. Then a build script might change 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 further property changes. This way we avoid errors that result from different consumers, such as the task action, Gradle’s up-to-date checks, build caching, or other tasks, using different values for the property.

Lazy properties provide several methods that you can use to disallow changes to their value once the value has been configured. The finalizeValue() method calculates the final value for the property and prevents further changes to the property.

    libVersioning.version.finalizeValue()

When the property’s value comes from a `Provider`, the provider is queried for its current value, and the result becomes the final value for the property. This final value replaces the provider and the property no longer tracks the value of the provider. Calling this method also makes a property instance unmodifiable 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.

The finalizeValueOnRead() method is similar, except that the property’s final value is not calculated until the value of the property is queried.

    modifiedFiles.finalizeValueOnRead()

In other words, this method calculates the final value lazily as required, whereas `finalizeValue()` calculates the final value eagerly. This method can be used when the value may be expensive to calculate or may not have been configured yet. You also want to ensure that all consumers of the property see the same value when they query the value.

## Using the Provider API

Guidelines to be successful with the Provider API:

1. The Property and 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 Property directly through a single getter.

   - For non-configurable properties, expose an Provider directly through a single getter.

2. Avoid simplifying calls like `obj.getProperty().get()` and `obj.getProperty().set(T)` in your code by introducing additional getters and setters.

3. When migrating your plugin to use providers, follow these guidelines:

   - If it’s a new property, expose it as a Property or Provider using a single getter.

   - If it’s incubating, change it to use a Property or Provider using a single getter.

   - If it’s a stable property, add a new Property or Provider and deprecate the old one. You should wire the old getter/setters into the new property as appropriate.

### Provider Files API Reference

Use these types for read-only values:

Provider<RegularFile>

  File on disk

  Factories

    - Provider.map(Transformer).

    - Provider.flatMap(Transformer).

    - DirectoryProperty.file(String)

Provider<Directory>

  Directory on disk

  Factories

    - Provider.map(Transformer).

    - Provider.flatMap(Transformer).

    - DirectoryProperty.dir(String)

FileCollection

  Unstructured collection of files

  Factories

    - Project.files(Object[])

    - ProjectLayout.files(Object...)

    - DirectoryProperty.files(Object...)

FileTree

  Hierarchy of files

  Factories

    - Project.fileTree(Object) will produce a ConfigurableFileTree, or you can use Project.zipTree(Object) and Project.tarTree(Object)

    - DirectoryProperty.getAsFileTree()

### Property Files API Reference

Use these types for mutable values:

RegularFileProperty

  File on disk

  Factories

    - ObjectFactory.fileProperty()

DirectoryProperty

  Directory on disk

  Factories

    - ObjectFactory.directoryProperty()

ConfigurableFileCollection

  Unstructured collection of files

  Factories

    - ObjectFactory.fileCollection()

ConfigurableFileTree

  Hierarchy of files

  Factories

    - ObjectFactory.fileTree()

SourceDirectorySet

  Hierarchy of source directories

  Factories

    - ObjectFactory.sourceDirectorySet(String, String)

### Lazy Collections API Reference

Use these types for mutable values:

ListProperty<T>

  a property whose value is `List<T>`

  Factories

    - ObjectFactory.listProperty(Class)

SetProperty<T>

  a property whose value is `Set<T>`

  Factories

    - ObjectFactory.setProperty(Class)

### Lazy Objects API Reference

Use these types for read only values:

Provider<T>

  a property whose value is an instance of `T`

  Factories

    - Provider.map(Transformer).

    - Provider.flatMap(Transformer).

    - ProviderFactory.provider(Callable). Always prefer one of the other factory methods over this method.

Use these types for mutable values:

Property<T>

  a property whose value is an instance of `T`

  Factories

    - ObjectFactory.property(Class)