Migration from org.jetbrains.compose

Nucleus is a drop-in extension of the official JetBrains Compose Desktop plugin. All existing configuration is preserved — Nucleus only adds new capabilities.

Step 1: Add the Plugin

 plugins {
     id("org.jetbrains.kotlin.jvm") version "2.3.10"
     id("org.jetbrains.kotlin.plugin.compose") version "2.3.10"
     id("org.jetbrains.compose") version "1.10.1"
+    id("io.github.kdroidfilter.nucleus") version "1.0.0"
 }

The official org.jetbrains.compose plugin remains — Nucleus extends it, not replaces it.

Step 2: Use the Nucleus DSL

Replace the compose.desktop.application block with nucleus.application:

-compose.desktop.application {
+nucleus.application {
     mainClass = "com.example.MainKt"

     nativeDistributions {
         targetFormats(TargetFormat.Dmg, TargetFormat.Msi, TargetFormat.Deb)
         packageName = "MyApp"
         packageVersion = "1.0.0"

         macOS {
             bundleID = "com.example.myapp"
             iconFile.set(project.file("icons/app.icns"))
         }

         windows {
             iconFile.set(project.file("icons/app.ico"))
         }

         linux {
             iconFile.set(project.file("icons/app.png"))
         }
     }
 }

Step 3: Add Nucleus Features (Optional)

Enable the features you need. All are opt-in:

nucleus.application {
    mainClass = "com.example.MainKt"

    nativeDistributions {
        targetFormats(TargetFormat.Dmg, TargetFormat.Nsis, TargetFormat.Deb)
        packageName = "MyApp"
        packageVersion = "1.0.0"

        // --- New Nucleus features ---
        cleanupNativeLibs = true
        enableAotCache = true
        splashImage = "splash.png"
        compressionLevel = CompressionLevel.Maximum
        artifactName = "${name}-${version}-${os}-${arch}.${ext}"

        // Deep links
        protocol("MyApp", "myapp")

        // File associations
        fileAssociation(
            mimeType = "application/x-myapp",
            extension = "myapp",
            description = "MyApp Document",
        )

        // New Linux targets
        targetFormats(
            TargetFormat.Dmg, TargetFormat.Nsis, TargetFormat.Deb,
            TargetFormat.AppImage, TargetFormat.Snap, TargetFormat.Flatpak, // NEW
        )

        // Publishing
        publish {
            github {
                enabled = true
                owner = "myorg"
                repo = "myapp"
            }
        }

        // NSIS customization
        windows {
            nsis {
                oneClick = false
                allowToChangeInstallationDirectory = true
                createDesktopShortcut = true
            }
        }
    }
}

Step 4: Add Runtime Libraries (Optional)

dependencies {
    implementation(compose.desktop.currentOs)

    // Executable type detection
    implementation("io.github.kdroidfilter:nucleus-core-runtime:1.0.0")

    // AOT cache runtime (if using enableAotCache)
    implementation("io.github.kdroidfilter:nucleus-aot-runtime:1.0.0")

    // Auto-update (if using publish)
    implementation("io.github.kdroidfilter:nucleus-updater-runtime:1.0.0")
}

What Changes

Feature	Before (compose)	After (nucleus)
DSL entry point	compose.desktop.application	nucleus.application
Target formats	DMG, PKG, MSI, EXE, DEB, RPM	+ NSIS, AppX, Portable, AppImage, Snap, Flatpak, archives
Native lib cleanup	Manual	cleanupNativeLibs = true
AOT cache	Not available	enableAotCache = true
Splash screen	Not available	splashImage = "splash.png"
Deep links	Manual Info.plist	protocol("name", "scheme")
File associations	Limited	Cross-platform fileAssociation()
NSIS config	Not available	Full nsis { } DSL
AppX config	Not available	Full appx { } DSL
Snap config	Not available	Full snap { } DSL
Flatpak config	Not available	Full flatpak { } DSL
Auto-update	Not available	Built-in with YML metadata
Code signing	macOS only	+ Windows PFX / Azure Trusted Signing
Artifact naming	Fixed	Template with artifactName

What Stays the Same

Everything from the official plugin works unchanged:

• mainClass, jvmArgs
• nativeDistributions block (metadata, icons, resources)
• buildTypes / ProGuard configuration
• modules() / includeAllModules
• All existing Gradle tasks (run, packageDmg, packageDeb, etc.)
• compose.desktop.currentOs dependency
• Source set configuration