Automate dependency updates

Upgrading dependencies can be a complex and time-consuming task.

Android apps rely on various external library dependencies for things like networking, image loading, and UI components. These libraries are constantly evolving, with new versions offering bug fixes, performance improvements, and new features.

The agent automates and simplifies the dependency update process, eliminating tedious work and improving project maintainability.

How the agent helps you

The agent reliably automates dependency management to keep your project current, allowing you to focus on building high-quality apps. With a single click, you can seamlessly update all your dependencies and get the benefits of the latest versions.

How the update works

The agent intelligently handles the update process as follows:

  • Identifies and updates dependencies: Automatically identifies dependencies that can be updated and updates them to the latest compatible version.
  • Resolves build errors: Iterates through the build process, resolving any build errors that arise from the updates.
  • Validates the project: Runs tests to validate that the updated project still functions as expected.
  • Generates an update report: After the process is complete, the agent provides a detailed report of all the changes. You can review these changes at a high level or drill down to individual file-level diffs before accepting them.

You start the update process from the Refactor menu by selecting Update All Libraries with AI:

The Refactor menu, showing the Update All Libraries with AI menu item.
Figure 1. Select Update All Libraries with AI from the Refactor menu.

Or, from the libs.versions.toml file, hover over a version that is underlined, click the Show Context Actions menu that appears, and then click Update all libraries with AI.

Update libraries from the version catalog.
Figure 2. Update libraries from the version catalog.

Whichever way you start the process, the agent provides a high-level overview of its update plan so you can adjust the plan, monitor progress step by step, and review all changes before applying them:

A checklist of the libraries the agent has proposed to update. You can uncheck items to remove them from the update.
Figure 3. Review, modify, approve, or cancel the agent's plan.

You can review, accept, or roll back changes, or stop the process at any point.

Additional resources