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Migrate Xml Views To Jetpack Compose

Android (Google)OfficialCreated by Google LLCDistributed by Android (Google)

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  • Software development
  • Apache-2.0
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From the author

Provides a structured workflow for migrating an Android XML View to Jetpack Compose. This skill details the step-by-step process, from planning and dependency setup, to theming and layout migration, validation and XML cleanup. Use this skill when you need to migrate an XML View to Jetpack Compose in an Android project. It solves the problem of converting the UI of a legacy XML View into modern, declarative Compose components while maintaining interoperability.
— the description by Google LLC

AutoGineer summary

Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author

This skill provides a systematic methodology for converting Android XML Views into declarative Jetpack Compose components. It emphasizes maintaining visual parity and functional integrity through a rigorous process that includes project analysis, dependency setup, theming alignment, and validation. The workflow is designed for incremental adoption, ensuring that legacy XML and new Compose code can coexist through interoperability APIs while preparing the codebase for a full transition to Compose.

What it does

  • Analyzes existing XML layouts and project infrastructure for migration readiness.
  • Guides the setup of Compose dependencies and compiler configurations.
  • Facilitates the migration of XML themes to Material 3 Compose theming.
  • Provides a structured approach to replacing XML View usages with Compose components.
  • Ensures visual parity through automated screenshot testing and Compose Previews.
  • Manages the safe removal of legacy XML files and associated resources.

When to use it

  • When modernizing an Android application's UI layer from XML to Jetpack Compose.
  • When you need to perform an incremental migration of specific UI components.
  • When you need to ensure visual consistency between legacy XML and new Compose code.
  • When integrating new Compose features into an existing View-based Android project.

Advantages

  • Reduces risk by following a validated, step-by-step migration methodology.
  • Maintains project stability through interoperability best practices.
  • Ensures visual fidelity using baseline screenshot comparisons.
  • Promotes clean code by systematically removing redundant legacy XML resources.

Usage examples

“Help me migrate my login_screen.xml to Jetpack Compose.”
The agent will initiate the 10-step workflow, starting with an analysis of the login_screen.xml structure and project dependencies to create a migration plan.
“How do I handle theming when moving from XML to Compose?”
The agent will guide you through mapping XML color attributes and styles to Material 3 semantic roles within a Compose MaterialTheme.

Install

  1. Download the skill as a ZIP:

    https://autogineer.com/agent-skills/android/migrate-xml-views-to-jetpack-compose/download

  2. Unzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:

    mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip migrate-xml-views-to-jetpack-compose.zip -d .agents/skills

Documentation by Google LLC

This skill guides through the process of migrating an existing Android XML View to Jetpack Compose. It performs a stable, safe and visually consistent transition by following a structured, 10-step methodology. This skill migrates UI (XML to Jetpack Compose) only.

Objective

To systematically convert a single legacy XML layout into modern, declarative Jetpack Compose UI while maintaining pixel-perfect visual parity and functional integrity.

Summary of the 10-step migration process

  1. Identify the optimal XML candidate for migration

  2. Analyze the project and layout

  3. Create a plan

  4. Capture the XML View UI

  5. Set up Compose dependencies and compiler

  6. Set up Compose theming

  7. Migrate the XML layout to Compose

  8. Validate the migration

  9. Replace usages

  10. XML code removal

Detailed steps

Step 1: Identify the optimal XML candidate for migration

If the user has explicitly specified a target XML layout, proceed to Step 2. Otherwise, analyze the codebase to identify the best candidate for migration by following the logic in references/identify-optimal-xml-candidate.md.

Step 2: Analyze the project and layout

Analyze the identified XML View's structure, hierarchy, and implementation details. Use references/analysis-of-the-project-and-layout.md to guide your technical audit of the layout and surrounding project context.

Step 3: Create a plan

Using the outputs and analysis done in the Step 1 and 2, generate a step-by-step plan for the migration. If you support user interaction, present to the user and ask for approval before proceeding. If user interaction is not supported, proceed to Step 4 following the generated plan.

Step 4: Capture the XML View UI

IF you support user interaction, ask the user to upload a screenshot of the XML View UI or provide an absolute path to a file. Use this image as a visual reference for the layout migration in Step 7. ELSE IF you are able to run an Android emulator, locate an existing screenshot test for the XML candidate. If none exists, create one using the existing project testing framework. If no framework exists, use UI Automator or Espresso to create a screenshot test with minimum required setup. Run the test and take a baseline screenshot of the XML UI. ELSE proceed to Step 5.

Step 5: Set up Compose dependencies and compiler

Check build.gradle or libs.versions.toml for Compose dependencies and compiler setup. If missing, use Setup Compose Dependencies and Compiler. Run a sync to ensure dependencies resolve without errors.

Step 6: Set up Compose theming

If the project already has Compose theming set up, proceed to Step 7. If Compose theming is missing, initialize it. For Material-based projects, follow Material 3 migration guidelines. For custom design systems, apply expert judgment to migrate XML theming and match existing styles. Constraints: Do not migrate the entire theme. Implement only the minimum theming required for the specific XML candidate. Maintain original XML themes for interoperability. Maintain existing project code conventions, patterns, names and values.

Step 7: Migrate the XML View to Compose

Convert the XML candidate to Jetpack Compose code, referencing references/xml-layout-migration.md and the image from Step 4. You must include a Compose Preview for the newly created composable to facilitate visual verification.

Step 8: Replace usages

Replace the usages of the migrated XML layout to use the new Compose component.

Step 9: Validate the migration

Compare the baseline screenshot image from Step 4 with the rendered Compose Preview of the new composable. Ignore string content; focus on layout and styling. Iterate on the Compose code until visual parity is achieved. Once verified, write a Compose UI test for the new composable.

Step 10: XML code removal

Delete the migrated XML file and its associated legacy tests. Caution: Only remove code and resources that are not referenced by other parts of the project.

Files

references/android/develop/ui/compose/setup-compose-dependencies-and-compiler.md

For Gradle, use the Compose Compiler Gradle plugin to set up and configure Compose.

[!NOTE] Note: The Compose Compiler Gradle Plugin is only available from Kotlin 2.0+. For migration instructions, see "Jetpack Compose compiler moving to the Kotlin repository".

Set up with Gradle version catalogs

Set up the Compose Compiler Gradle plugin:

  1. In the libs.versions.toml file, remove any reference to the Compose Compiler.

  2. In the versions and plugins sections, add the new dependency:

    [versions]
kotlin = "2.4.10"

[plugins]
org-jetbrains-kotlin-android = { id = "org.jetbrains.kotlin.android", version.ref = "kotlin" }

// Add this line
compose-compiler = { id = "org.jetbrains.kotlin.plugin.compose", version.ref = "kotlin" }

  3. In the project's root build.gradle.kts file, add the following to the plugins section.

    plugins {
// Existing plugins
alias(libs.plugins.compose.compiler) apply false
}

  4. In each module that uses Compose, apply the plugin:

    plugins {
// Existing plugins
alias(libs.plugins.compose.compiler)
}

The project should now build and compile if it was using the default set up. If it had configured custom options on the Compose compiler, follow the next section.

Set up the Compose Compiler without Gradle version catalogs

Add the plugin to build.gradle.kts files associated with modules where Compose is used:

plugins {
    id("org.jetbrains.kotlin.plugin.compose") version "2.4.10" // this version matches your Kotlin version
}

Add the classpath to your top-level project build.gradle.kts file:

buildscript {
    dependencies {
        classpath("org.jetbrains.kotlin.plugin.compose:org.jetbrains.kotlin.plugin.compose.gradle.plugin:2.4.10")
    }
}
Configuration options with the Compose Compiler Gradle Plugin

To configure the Compose compiler using the Gradle plugin, add the composeCompiler block to the module's build.gradle.kts file at the top level:

android { ... }

composeCompiler {
    reportsDestination = layout.buildDirectory.dir("compose_compiler")
    stabilityConfigurationFile = rootProject.layout.projectDirectory.file("stability_config.conf")
}

For the full list of available options, see the documentation.

Set up Compose dependencies

Always use the latest Compose BOM version: 2026.09.00.

Set the compose flag to true inside the Android BuildFeatures to enable Compose functionality in Android Studio.

Add the following definition to your app's build.gradle file:

Groovy
android {
    buildFeatures {
        compose true
    }
}
Kotlin
android {
    buildFeatures {
        compose = true
    }
}

Add the Compose BOM and the subset of Compose library dependencies:

Groovy
dependencies {

    def composeBom = platform('androidx.compose:compose-bom:2026.09.00')
    implementation composeBom
    androidTestImplementation composeBom

    // Choose one of the following:
    // Material Design 3
    implementation 'androidx.compose.material3:material3'
    // or skip Material Design and build directly on top of foundational components
    implementation 'androidx.compose.foundation:foundation'
    // or only import the main APIs for the underlying toolkit systems,
    // such as input and measurement/layout
    implementation 'androidx.compose.ui:ui'

    // Android Studio Preview support
    implementation 'androidx.compose.ui:ui-tooling-preview'
    debugImplementation 'androidx.compose.ui:ui-tooling'

    // UI Tests
    androidTestImplementation 'androidx.compose.ui:ui-test-junit4'
    debugImplementation 'androidx.compose.ui:ui-test-manifest'

    // Optional - Add window size utils
    implementation 'androidx.compose.material3.adaptive:adaptive'

    // Optional - Integration with activities
    implementation 'androidx.activity:activity-compose:1.13.0'
    // Optional - Integration with ViewModels
    implementation 'androidx.lifecycle:lifecycle-viewmodel-compose:2.11.0'
    // Optional - Integration with LiveData
    implementation 'androidx.compose.runtime:runtime-livedata'
    // Optional - Integration with RxJava
    implementation 'androidx.compose.runtime:runtime-rxjava2'

}
Kotlin
dependencies {

    val composeBom = platform("androidx.compose:compose-bom:2026.09.00")
    implementation(composeBom)
    androidTestImplementation(composeBom)

    // Choose one of the following:
    // Material Design 3
    implementation("androidx.compose.material3:material3")
    // or skip Material Design and build directly on top of foundational components
    implementation("androidx.compose.foundation:foundation")
    // or only import the main APIs for the underlying toolkit systems,
    // such as input and measurement/layout
    implementation("androidx.compose.ui:ui")

    // Android Studio Preview support
    implementation("androidx.compose.ui:ui-tooling-preview")
    debugImplementation("androidx.compose.ui:ui-tooling")

    // UI Tests
    androidTestImplementation("androidx.compose.ui:ui-test-junit4")
    debugImplementation("androidx.compose.ui:ui-test-manifest")

    // Optional - Add window size utils
    implementation("androidx.compose.material3.adaptive:adaptive")

    // Optional - Integration with activities
    implementation("androidx.activity:activity-compose:1.13.0")
    // Optional - Integration with ViewModels
    implementation("androidx.lifecycle:lifecycle-viewmodel-compose:2.11.0")
    // Optional - Integration with LiveData
    implementation("androidx.compose.runtime:runtime-livedata")
    // Optional - Integration with RxJava
    implementation("androidx.compose.runtime:runtime-rxjava2")

}

[!NOTE] Note: Jetpack Compose is shipped using a Bill of Materials (BOM), to keep the versions of all library groups in sync. Read more about it in the Bill of Materials page.

compileSdk and Android Gradle Plugin compatibility

Compose library releases continually adopt the latest compileSdk versions to provide access to the latest Android features. Newer compileSdk versions require newer versions of Android Gradle Plugin, so adopting new Compose releases also requires projects to adopt new versions of the Android Gradle Plugin. We recommend keeping your project's compileSdk up to date with the latest released versions. compileSdk is unrelated from targetSdk.

For example, starting with Compose 1.12.0, projects are required to use compileSdk 37 and Android Gradle Plugin (AGP) 9.

To check which version of AGP is supported for different API levels, see the Android Gradle plugin API level support documentation.

Requirements and compatibility

Works with: Claude Code, Claude apps, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Kiro, OpenCode, Goose, Amp, Roo Code, JetBrains Junie, Factory Droid, Devin (ex-Windsurf), Mistral Vibe, OpenHands, Letta

“Works with” means the tool reads the open Agent Skills format; a skill written for one tool may use features others lack.

Security

No issues found by our static scan· No issues found

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Attribution and licence

Created by
Google LLC
Publisher
Android (Google) (Official)
Distributed by
Android (Google)
Source
android/skills · jetpack-compose/migration/migrate-xml-views-to-jetpack-compose · commit bf68e2d
Licence
Apache License 2.0 (redistribution allowed)
  • LICENSE (added by AutoGineer from LICENSE.txt)
  • ATTRIBUTION.md (written by AutoGineer)
Synced

AutoGineer is not affiliated with or endorsed by Google LLC or Android (Google).

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