# Enabling and Configuring the Configuration Cache

version 9.2.0

## Enabling the Configuration Cache

By default, Gradle does not use the Configuration Cache.

To enable it at build time, use the `configuration-cache` flag:

    ❯ ./gradlew --configuration-cache

To enable the cache persistently, set the `org.gradle.configuration-cache` property in `gradle.properties`:

    org.gradle.configuration-cache=true

If enabled in `gradle.properties`, you can override it and disable the cache at build time using the `no-configuration-cache` flag:

    ❯ ./gradlew --no-configuration-cache

### Ignoring Configuration Cache Problems

By default, Gradle fails the build if Configuration Cache problems occur. However, when gradually updating plugins or build logic to support the Configuration Cache, it can be useful to temporarily turn problems into warnings by enabling warning mode.

To change this behavior at build time, use the following flag:

    ❯ ./gradlew --configuration-cache-problems=warn

| This does not guarantee that the build will succeed.

Alternatively, configure it in `gradle.properties`:

gradle.properties

    org.gradle.configuration-cache.problems=warn

| Warning mode is a migration and troubleshooting aid and not intended as a persistent way of ignoring incompatibilities. It will also not prevent new incompatibilities being accidentally added to your build later. Instead, we recommend explicitly marking problematic tasks as incompatible.

### Allowing a Maximum Number of Problems

When Configuration Cache problems are treated as warnings, Gradle will fail the build if `512` problems are found by default.

You can adjust this limit by specifying the maximum number of allowed problems on the command line:

    ❯ ./gradlew -Dorg.gradle.configuration-cache.max-problems=5

Or configure it in a `gradle.properties` file:

    org.gradle.configuration-cache.max-problems=5

### Enabling Parallel Configuration Caching

By default, Configuration Cache storing and loading are sequential. Enabling parallel storing and loading can improve performance, but not all builds are compatible with it.

To enable parallel configuration caching at build time, use:

    ❯ ./gradlew -Dorg.gradle.configuration-cache.parallel=true

Or persistently in a `gradle.properties` file:

    org.gradle.configuration-cache.parallel=true

| The parallel configuration caching feature is incubating, and some builds may not work correctly. A common symptom of incompatibility is `ConcurrentModificationException` errors during the configuration phase. However, this feature is expected to work well for decoupled multi-project builds.

### Making the Configuration Cache Read-Only

In some builds, such as CI builds running in ephemeral environments, it may be desirable for Gradle to use the Configuration Cache only when there’s a cache hit. If there’s a miss, caching offers no benefit since the disk state won’t be preserved across builds.

To enable read-only configuration caching at build time, use:

    ❯ ./gradlew -Dorg.gradle.configuration-cache.read-only=true

Or set it persistently in `gradle.properties`:

    org.gradle.configuration-cache.read-only=true

Note that if you enable this persistently, you’ll need to explicitly disable it via the command line in order for Gradle to ever write to the configuration cache.

| The read-only configuration caching feature is incubating.

## Enabling Strict Configuration Cache Mode

To help teams adopt configuration caching, Gradle provides a strict mode behind a dedicated feature flag.

You can enable this feature flag in your build using the following configuration:

settings.gradle.kts

    enableFeaturePreview("STABLE_CONFIGURATION_CACHE")

settings.gradle

    enableFeaturePreview "STABLE_CONFIGURATION_CACHE"

Enabling the `STABLE_CONFIGURATION_CACHE` feature flag activates stricter validation and introduces the following behavior:

Undeclared Shared Build Service Usage

  If a task uses a shared Build Service without explicitly declaring the requirement using the `Task.usesService` method, Gradle will emit a deprecation warning.

Deprecation Enforcement Without Configuration Cache

  Even when the Configuration Cache is not enabled, Gradle will warn if the following deprecated features are used:

  - Registering build listeners

  - Using task extensions and conventions at execution time

We recommend enabling this flag early to detect and resolve potential issues before the stricter behavior becomes the default in a future release.

## Invalidating the Configuration Cache

The Configuration Cache is automatically invalidated when inputs to the configuration phase change. However, some inputs are not yet tracked, meaning you may need to manually invalidate the cache when untracked inputs change. This is more likely if you have ignored problems.

See the configuration_cache_requirements.html and configuration_cache_status.html sections for more details.

The Configuration Cache state is stored in a `.gradle/configuration-cache` directory in the root of your Gradle build.

To manually invalidate the cache, delete this directory:

    ❯ rm -rf .gradle/configuration-cache

Gradle periodically checks (at most every 24 hours) whether cached entries are still in use. Entries that have not been used for 7 days are automatically deleted.

## Adopting the Configuration Cache

The following stages outline a recommended path for adopting the Configuration Cache. These steps apply to both builds and plugins:

1. Not using / Not enabled

2. Using locally

3. Using on CI / Enable everywhere

### 1. Not using / Not enabled

An important prerequisite is to keep your Gradle version and plugins up to date.

While following this process, refer to the HTML report and the solutions explained in the Requirements page.

If any problem is found caching or reusing the configuration, an HTML report is generated to help you diagnose and fix the issues. The report also shows detected build configuration inputs like system properties, environment variables and value suppliers read during the configuration phase.

See the Debugging page for more information.

### 2. Using locally

1. Start with `help`

   Always begin by testing your build or plugin with the simplest task: `help`. This exercises the minimal configuration phase of your build or plugin.

2. Progressively target useful tasks

   Avoid running `build` right away. Instead:

   - Use `--dry-run` to identify configuration time problems first.

   - When working on a build, focus on your development feedback loop, such as running tests after modifying source code.

   - When working on a plugin, progressively target the contributed or configured tasks.

3. Explore by turning problems into warnings

   Don’t stop at the first build failure—turn problems into warnings to better understand how your build and plugins behave. If a build fails:

   - Use the HTML report to analyze the reported problems.

   - Continue testing more tasks to get a full picture of the issues affecting your build and plugins.

   - Keep in mind that when turning problems into warnings, you may need to manually invalidate the cache in case of unexpected behavior.

   - Mark tasks as incompatible if needed using `myTask.notCompatibleWithConfigurationCache("because")`.

4. Step back and fix problems iteratively

   Once you have a clear understanding of the issues, start fixing them iteratively. Use the HTML report and this documentation to guide your process:

   - Begin with problems reported when storing the Configuration Cache.

   - Once those are fixed, move on to addressing any problems encountered when loading the Configuration Cache.

5. Report encountered issues

   If you encounter issues with a Gradle Feature or a Core Gradle Plugin that is not covered by this documentation, report it to `gradle/gradle`.

   For community Gradle plugins, check if the issue is already listed at gradle/gradle#13490 and report it to the plugin’s issue tracker if necessary.

   A good bug report should include:

   - A link to this documentation.

   - The plugin version you tested.

   - Any custom plugin configuration, or ideally a reproducer build.

   - A description of what fails (e.g., problems with a specific task).

   - A copy of the build failure output.

   - The self-contained `configuration-cache-report.html` file.

6. Test, test, test

   Add tests for your build logic to catch issues early. See Testing Your Build Logic for details on testing Configuration Cache compatibility. This will help during iterations and prevent regressions.

### 3. Using on CI / Enable everywhere

Once your developer workflow (e.g., running tests from the IDE) is stable, consider enabling the Configuration Cache for your team:

- Initially, introduce it as an opt-in feature.

- If necessary, turn problems into warnings and set a maximum number of allowed problems in your `gradle.properties` file.

- Keep the Configuration Cache disabled by default, and encourage team members to opt in by configuring their IDE run settings.

- When more workflows are stable, reverse this approach:

  - Enable the Configuration Cache by default.

  - Configure CI to disable it where needed.

  - Communicate any unsupported workflows that require disabling the Configuration Cache.

Once everything is stable locally and within your team, consider enabling the Configuration Cache on CI:

- This ensures your builds stays CC compliant, and developers can’t introduce problems accidentally!

- CC overhead is compensated for by the intra-project task parallelism.

- Getting cache hits may not be possible initially (this is normal).

When you are ready to focus on hit rates:

- Consider reducing or removing build logic inputs.

- Track hit rates with Develocity’s Reporting & Visualization Kit.

- Fix issues with Build Scan.

### Reacting to the Configuration Cache in the Build

Build logic or plugin implementations can detect whether the Configuration Cache is enabled for a given build and adjust behavior accordingly.

The active status of the Configuration Cache is provided in the corresponding build feature. You can access it by injecting the `BuildFeatures` service into your code.

This information can be used to:

- Configure plugin features differently when the Configuration Cache is enabled.

- Disable an optional feature that is not yet compatible with the Configuration Cache.

- Provide additional guidance to users, such as informing them of temporary limitations or suggesting adjustments to their setup.

### Adopting changes in the Configuration Cache behavior

Gradle releases continuously enhance the Configuration Cache by detecting more cases where configuration logic interacts with the environment. These improvements increase cache correctness by preventing false cache hits but also introduce stricter rules that plugins and build logic must follow for optimal caching.

Some newly detected configuration inputs may not impact the configured tasks but can still cause cache invalidation. To minimize unnecessary cache misses, follow these steps:

- Identify problematic configuration inputs using the Configuration Cache report.

  - Fix undeclared configuration inputs accessed by project build logic.

  - Report issues caused by third-party plugins to their maintainers and update plugins once they are fixed.

- Use opt-out options for specific cases to temporarily revert to earlier behavior and prevent Gradle from tracking certain inputs. This can help mitigate performance issues caused by outdated plugins.

It is possible to temporarily opt out of configuration input detection in the following cases:

1. Gradle now tracks file system interactions, including checks such as `File.exists()` or `File.isFile()`, as configuration inputs.

   To prevent input tracking from invalidating the cache due to these file system checks, use the `org.gradle.configuration-cache.inputs.unsafe.ignore.file-system-checks` property in `gradle.properties`. List the paths to be ignored, relative to the root project directory, separated by `;`. Wildcards (`*` for segments, `**` for multiple segments) are supported. Paths prefixed with `~/` are relative to the user’s home directory. For example:

   gradle.properties

       org.gradle.configuration-cache.inputs.unsafe.ignore.file-system-checks=\
           ~/.third-party-plugin/*.lock;\
           ../../externalOutputDirectory/**;\
           build/analytics.json

2. Prior to Gradle 8.4, some undeclared configuration inputs that were never used during configuration could still be read when the Configuration Cache serialized the task graph. However, these changes did not invalidate the cache.

   Starting in Gradle 8.4, these undeclared inputs are correctly tracked and now cause cache invalidation.

   To temporarily revert to the previous behavior, set the Gradle property `org.gradle.configuration-cache.inputs.unsafe.ignore.in-serialization` to `true`.

With the evolution of the Configuration Cache, Gradle may impose additional restrictions on build logic. To make adoption smoother, it is possible to temporarily opt out of these restrictions in specific cases:

1. Starting with Gradle 9.0.0, it is an error to use any provider, except a provider of `BuildService` returned from `BuildServiceRegistry.registerIfAbsent` or `BuildServiceRegistration.getService` as an argument for `BuildEventsListenerRegistry.onTaskCompletion`.

   Prior to Gradle 9, unsupported providers were silently discarded and never received events during cache-hit builds.

   To temporarily revert to the previous behavior, set the Gradle property:

       org.gradle.configuration-cache.unsafe.ignore.unsupported-build-events-listeners=true

Use these opt-out options sparingly and only when they do not impact task execution results. These options are intended as temporary workarounds and will be removed in future Gradle releases.