Step-by-Step Guide: Adding Kotlin to Your Maven Project

In this tutorial, we’ll guide you through adding Kotlin to your Maven project. By following these instructions, you can seamlessly integrate Kotlin into your Java project and leverage its powerful features.

Why Add Kotlin to Your Maven Project?

Kotlin is a modern programming language that offers concise syntax, null safety, and interoperability with Java. Adding Kotlin to your Maven project can enhance your codebase’s productivity, readability, and maintainability.

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have:

• Java Development Kit (JDK) installed on your system
• Apache Maven installed and configured

Step 1: Adding Kotlin Plugin to Your Maven Project

Open your Maven project’s pom.xml file and add the Kotlin plugin configuration within the <build> section:

<properties>
    <kotlin.version>1.9.20</kotlin.version>
</properties>


<build>
    <plugins>        
        <plugin>
            <artifactId>kotlin-maven-plugin</artifactId>
            <groupId>org.jetbrains.kotlin</groupId>
            <version>${kotlin.version}</version>
            <executions>
                <execution>
                    <id>compile</id>
                    <goals>
                        <goal>compile</goal>
                    </goals>
                    <configuration>
                        <sourceDirs>
                            <sourceDir>${project.basedir}/src/main/kotlin</sourceDir>
                            <sourceDir>${project.basedir}/src/main/java</sourceDir>
                        </sourceDirs>
                    </configuration>
                </execution>
                <execution>
                    <id>test-compile</id>
                    <goals>
                        <goal>test-compile</goal>
                    </goals>
                    <configuration>
                        <sourceDirs>
                            <sourceDir>${project.basedir}/src/test/kotlin</sourceDir>
                            <sourceDir>${project.basedir}/src/test/java</sourceDir>
                        </sourceDirs>
                    </configuration>
                </execution>
            </executions>
        </plugin>        
    </plugins>
</build>

This configuration enables Kotlin compilation during Maven build.

Step 2: Adding Kotlin Dependencies

Add Kotlin dependencies to your pom.xml file:

<dependency>
    <groupId>org.jetbrains.kotlin</groupId>
    <artifactId>kotlin-stdlib</artifactId>
    <version>${kotlin.version}</version>
</dependency>

These dependencies include Kotlin Standard Library for runtime support.

Step 3: Writing Kotlin Code

Create Kotlin source files (*.kt) in the src/main/kotlin directory. You can start writing Kotlin code and leverage its features.

Step 4: Building Your Project

Execute Maven build to compile Kotlin code and package your project:

mvn clean package

This command compiles Kotlin code and generates a Maven package.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You’ve successfully added Kotlin to your Maven project. Start exploring Kotlin’s capabilities and enjoy enhanced development experience.

You can download a version of the code showcased in this article from my GitHub repository.

If you want another interesting and valuable tool to view detailed coverage metrics for your codebase, look at Step-by-Step Guide: Adding JaCoCo to a Maven Project.

Stay tuned for more tutorials and insights on Kotlin development. Thank you for reading this article!