How to set up Jetpack Compose in your project

Adding Compose dependencies, configuring the build, and writing your first composable

June 25, 2026, updated June 25, 2026

Jetpack Compose is Android’s modern declarative UI toolkit. Here’s how to set it up from scratch or add it to an existing project.

Add Compose to a new project

In Android Studio: File → New → New Project → Empty Compose Activity. This creates a project with Compose pre-configured.

Add Compose to an existing project

1. Configure the build

In your project-level build.gradle.kts:

plugins {
    id("com.android.application") version "8.5.0" apply false
    id("org.jetbrains.kotlin.android") version "2.0.0" apply false
    id("org.jetbrains.kotlin.plugin.compose") version "2.0.0" apply false
}

In your app-level build.gradle.kts:

plugins {
    id("com.android.application")
    id("org.jetbrains.kotlin.android")
    id("org.jetbrains.kotlin.plugin.compose")
}

android {
    namespace = "com.example.myapp"
    compileSdk = 35

    defaultConfig {
        applicationId = "com.example.myapp"
        minSdk = 24
        targetSdk = 35
        versionCode = 1
        versionName = "1.0"
    }

    buildFeatures {
        compose = true
    }

    kotlin {
        jvmToolchain(17)
    }
}

dependencies {
    // Compose BOM — manages all Compose versions
    val composeBom = platform("androidx.compose:compose-bom:2024.06.00")
    implementation(composeBom)

    // Core Compose
    implementation("androidx.compose.ui:ui")
    implementation("androidx.compose.ui:ui-graphics")
    implementation("androidx.compose.ui:ui-tooling-preview")
    implementation("androidx.compose.material3:material3")
    implementation("androidx.compose.foundation:foundation")

    // Activity integration
    implementation("androidx.activity:activity-compose:1.9.0")

    // Tooling (debug only)
    debugImplementation("androidx.compose.ui:ui-tooling")
    debugImplementation("androidx.compose.ui:ui-test-manifest")
}

Your first composable

class MainActivity : ComponentActivity() {
    override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
        setContent {
            MyTheme {
                Greeting(name = "Android")
            }
        }
    }
}

@Composable
fun Greeting(name: String, modifier: Modifier = Modifier) {
    Text(
        text = "Hello, $name!",
        modifier = modifier
    )
}

// Preview in Android Studio
@Preview(showBackground = true)
@Composable
fun GreetingPreview() {
    MyTheme {
        Greeting(name = "World")
    }
}

Compose BOM

The Compose BOM (Bill of Materials) manages compatible versions for all Compose libraries. When you use the BOM, you don’t specify individual library versions:

val composeBom = platform("androidx.compose:compose-bom:2024.06.00")
implementation(composeBom)
implementation("androidx.compose.material3:material3")  // version managed by BOM

Verify your setup

# Check for dependency issues
./gradlew :app:dependencies | grep compose

# Build the project
./gradlew assembleDebug

# Run on device
./gradlew installDebug

If Compose is set up correctly, you should see @Composable functions render in the preview and on the device.