Configuring Resolution Strategies, Conflict Resolution, and Dependency Exclusions

In Gradle, resolution strategies are used to determine how conflicts between different versions of dependencies should be resolved. By default, Gradle uses a conflict resolution strategy that favors the newest version of a dependency. However, there are various configuration options available to customize this behavior and handle conflicts in a different way.

Conflict Resolution Strategies

Latest Version

The default resolution strategy in Gradle is to select the latest version of a dependency when conflicts occur. This means that if two or more dependencies have different versions, Gradle will choose the one with the highest version number.

dependencies {
    resolutionStrategy {
        // Use the latest version when conflicts occur
        eachDependency {
            it.useVersion 'latest.release'
        }
    }
}

Forced Version

Sometimes, you may want to forcefully set a specific version of a dependency, overriding any conflicting versions. This can be achieved by using the force method in the resolution strategy.

dependencies {
    resolutionStrategy {
        // Force a specific version of a dependency
        eachDependency {
            if (it.requested.name == 'my.dependency') {
                it.useVersion '1.2.3'
            }
        }
    }
}

Fail on Version Conflict

If conflicts between dependency versions occur and you want the build to fail instead of automatically resolving them, you can configure the resolution strategy to throw an exception.

dependencies {
    resolutionStrategy {
        // Fail the build if version conflicts occur
        failOnVersionConflict()
    }
}

Dependency Exclusions

Sometimes, you may need to exclude a transitive dependency that is being pulled in by one of your dependencies. Gradle allows you to exclude specific transitive dependencies using the exclude method within the dependencies block.

dependencies {
    implementation('com.example:my-library:1.0.0') {
        // Exclude a specific transitive dependency
        exclude group: 'com.unwanted', module: 'unwanted-library'
    }
}

Conclusion

Configuring resolution strategies, handling conflicts, and excluding specific dependencies are important aspects of managing a Gradle build. By customizing these settings, you can ensure that your project has the correct dependencies and resolve conflicts in the desired manner. Gradle provides a rich set of options to control these behaviors, allowing you to fine-tune your build process.