Gradle Build Optimization: Speed Up Android Builds (2026)

Slow Gradle builds are one of the biggest productivity killers for Android developers. In 2026, with increasingly complex apps and dependencies, build optimization is more important than ever.

This comprehensive guide covers proven techniques to dramatically reduce your Android build times.

Understanding Gradle Build Process

Gradle builds consist of three phases:

• Initialization: Determines which projects to build
• Configuration: Configures project objects and task graph
• Execution: Executes selected tasks

Measure Current Build Performance

Before optimizing, measure your baseline:

./gradlew assembleDebug --profile

This generates a report in `build/reports/profile/`.

Top 15 Optimization Techniques

1. Enable Build Cache

# gradle.properties
org.gradle.caching=true

Expected savings: 20-50% on clean builds

2. Enable Parallel Execution

# gradle.properties
org.gradle.parallel=true

Expected savings: 10-30% on multi-module projects

3. Increase Heap Size

# gradle.properties
org.gradle.jvmargs=-Xmx4096m -XX:MaxMetaspaceSize=512m

Expected savings: 5-15% by reducing GC pauses

4. Use Configuration Cache

# gradle.properties
org.gradle.configuration-cache=true

Expected savings: 30-50% on configuration phase

5. Enable Daemon

# gradle.properties
org.gradle.daemon=true

Expected savings: Eliminates JVM startup time

6. Optimize Dependencies

// Use specific modules instead of entire libraries
implementation 'com.google.android.gms:play-services-maps:18.1.0'
// Instead of
// implementation 'com.google.android.gms:play-services:12.0.1'

7. Use Implementation Instead of API

// Prefer implementation
dependencies {
    implementation 'com.squareup.retrofit2:retrofit:2.9.0'
    // Only use api when needed
    api 'com.example:shared-library:1.0'
}

8. Disable Unused Build Features

android {
    buildFeatures {
        aidl = false
        renderScript = false
        resValues = false
        shaders = false
    }
}

9. Use R8 Instead of ProGuard

android {
    buildTypes {
        release {
            minifyEnabled true
            // R8 is default, much faster than ProGuard
        }
    }
}

10. Optimize Annotation Processors

// Use kapt for Kotlin
kapt {
    correctErrorTypes = true
    useBuildCache = true
}

11. Modularize Your App

Split large modules into smaller ones:

• Feature modules
• Core/common modules
• Data layer modules

12. Use Composite Builds

// settings.gradle
includeBuild('../library-project')

13. Optimize Resource Processing

android {
    aaptOptions {
        cruncherEnabled = false // Disable PNG crunching
    }
}

14. Use Build Variants Wisely

android {
    flavorDimensions "environment"
    productFlavors {
        dev {
            dimension "environment"
            // Minimal resources for dev builds
        }
        prod {
            dimension "environment"
        }
    }
}

15. Disable Unnecessary Tasks

tasks.whenTaskAdded { task ->
    if (task.name.contains("lint") || task.name.contains("test")) {
        task.enabled = false // For dev builds only
    }
}

Advanced Optimizations

Remote Build Cache

# gradle.properties
org.gradle.caching=true

# settings.gradle
buildCache {
    remote(HttpBuildCache) {
        url = 'https://your-cache-server.com/cache/'
        push = true
    }
}

Gradle Enterprise

For teams, consider Gradle Enterprise for:

• Build scans
• Performance analytics
• Failure analytics
• Remote caching

Development vs Production Builds

Fast Debug Builds:

android {
    buildTypes {
        debug {
            minifyEnabled false
            shrinkResources false
            crunchPngs false
        }
    }
}

Optimized Release Builds:

android {
    buildTypes {
        release {
            minifyEnabled true
            shrinkResources true
            proguardFiles getDefaultProguardFile(
                'proguard-android-optimize.txt'),
                'proguard-rules.pro'
        }
    }
}

Monitoring Build Performance

Build Scan:

./gradlew build --scan

Provides detailed insights into:

• Task execution times
• Dependency resolution
• Cache effectiveness
• Build environment

Continuous Monitoring:

Track build times over time to detect regressions.

Common Build Performance Issues

Issue 1: Slow Dependency Resolution

Solution: Use dependency locking and version catalogs.

Issue 2: Annotation Processors Slow

Solution: Minimize annotation processor usage, use kapt caching.

Issue 3: Resource Processing Slow

Solution: Disable PNG crunching, use WebP, reduce resource count.

Best Practices

1. Measure first – Use –profile to identify bottlenecks
2. Enable caching – Both local and remote
3. Optimize dependencies – Use specific modules
4. Modularize wisely – Balance granularity
5. Use latest Gradle – New versions bring optimizations
6. Monitor continuously – Track build times
7. Educate team – Share optimization knowledge

Expected Results

After implementing these optimizations:

• Clean builds: 40-60% faster
• Incremental builds: 50-70% faster
• Configuration time: 30-50% reduction
• Developer productivity: Significantly improved

Conclusion

Gradle build optimization is an ongoing process. Start with the quick wins (caching, parallel execution, heap size), then tackle more complex optimizations like modularization.

Every second saved on builds multiplies across your entire team. Invest in build optimization to boost productivity and developer satisfaction.

For more Android optimization tips, check out our free WebP converter tool.