Visualizing Gradle Dependency Differences! Introducing 'gradle-dependency-diff-action'

This GitHub Action, gradle-dependency-diff-action, simplifies the process of identifying Gradle dependency changes introduced by pull requests. Because Gradle's transitive dependency resolution can lead to unforeseen alterations, this action provides a visual representation of these hidden changes.

The Problem: Hidden Dependency Changes

Gradle's transitive dependency resolution means updating a single library can trigger updates in its dependencies. For example, upgrading library 'tink' might inadvertently update 'protobuf-java' to a potentially incompatible version. This isn't always obvious from a code diff.

The Solution: gradle-dependency-diff-action

This action solves this by comparing Gradle dependencies between the base branch and the pull request branch. It highlights these differences, preventing unexpected issues. The action offers several notification methods:

• GitHub Checks: Displays dependency differences directly in GitHub Checks.
• Pull Request Comments: Posts a comment on the pull request summarizing the changes.
• Pull Request Labels: Adds a label to the pull request to flag dependency changes.
• GitHub Actions Artifacts: Uploads dependency differences as text and HTML artifacts.

How to Use

1. Apply the project-report plugin: Add the project-report plugin to your Gradle project:

<code class="language-gradle">plugins {
    //...
    id 'project-report' // HERE !
}</code>

2. Create a GitHub Workflow: A simple workflow looks like this:

<code class="language-yaml">name: CI
on:
  pull_request:

jobs:
  dependencies-diff:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-java@v4
        with:
          distribution: temurin
          java-version: 17
      - uses: be-hase/gradle-dependency-diff-action@v1</code>

Technical Details

The action leverages the dependencyReport task (provided by the project-report plugin) to generate dependency reports for both branches. dependency-tree-diff is then used to create a human-readable diff of these reports. The dependencyReport task was chosen over the dependencies task due to its superior support for multi-project setups.

Summary

gradle-dependency-diff-action is a valuable tool for improving the code review process by making hidden Gradle dependency changes visible. By proactively identifying these potential issues, developers can avoid integration problems and ensure smoother pull request merges. Try it out!

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