Kotzilla : Koin & Kotzilla Platform

Koin IDE Plugin: A Koin Configuration Tree

Written by Art Shendrik | Dec 9, 2024 12:26:20 PM

Since we announced that we’re developing a Koin IDE Plugin, we've been hard at work. So we thought we’d share a sneak peek of what’s happening with you. We're targeting to have  V.1 of this plugin available in Q1 2025.

For this first release, we plan to deliver Configuration Tree View and Contextual Navigation. This will be:

🌳  A tree view to help you visualize your Koin configurations including modules, components, and dependencies for each app. This view will also include an initial validation check to ensure no configurations are missing.

🌳  Easy navigation between components and their configuration details, including dependencies, without manually searching through the codebase.

We now have a Koin configuration tree view, which will display all your modules and their dependencies. This tree covers most of the regular declaration variants, such as the constructor DSL, with argument detection and type resolution — which will make it a breeze to navigate your Koin setup.

You’ll be able to easily navigate, understand, and validate the dependencies in your Kotlin application.

The Koin IDE Plugin will provide this tree-like visualization, along with real-time correctness checks to catch issues like circular references or missing declarations early in the development process.

 

Why are we developing the Koin IDE Plugin?

As the Koin ecosystem continues to grow, we've been listening closely to your feedback. One thing has become clear — Kotlin devs are craving more robust dependency management tooling. And we’re responding with an even more targeted solution — Configuration Safety.

Configuration safety means catching dependency issues before compilation, directly in your integrated development environment (IDE). Unlike traditional compile safety, which happens during the compilation process, our approach will analyze Koin configurations in real time as you write your code.

The Koin IDE Plugin will perform static code analysis, identifying issues like circular references or missing declarations early—before they become runtime errors. This proactive approach will streamline your workflow-catching issues before they ever reach the compilation stage, rather than waiting for them to surface during compilation time.

By integrating immediately into your development workflow, we're not just checking code—we'll be preventing configuration errors at their source.

 

The Technical Advantage

✅ Immediate configuration analysis

✅ Errors detected in real-time, before compilation

✅ Instant visual feedback in your IDE

✅ Zero runtime surprises

 

Help us build the Koin IDE Plugin

We're now at the stage where we'd love to get this tool into the hands of Koin users like you to test it and let us know what you think. Your feedback and real-world testing will be really helpful as we work towards the official release.

Become an early tester and your feedback could help you win a ticket to KotlinConf 2025.

 

What’s Next?

Our next focus is on implementing correctness checks within this configuration tree. This will allow us to catch issues like circular references or missing declarations early, directly in your IDE. No more waiting for problems to surface during the build process — we're tackling them right as you're writing your code.

Stay tuned for more updates as we progress on the Koin IDE Plugin.