Configure Gradle to use Depot Cache

Gradle is the build tool of choice for Java, Android, and Kotlin. Many large projects use it, including Android itself, and optimizes for incremental builds, advanced local and remote caching, and parallel execution. Gradle supports many different languages and platforms, and is highly configurable, scaling to codebases of any size.

Depot Cache provides a remote cache service that works with Gradle, allowing you to incrementally cache and reuse parts of your builds. This cache is accessible from anywhere, both on your local machine and on CI/CD systems.

Note: You need a Depot API token to authenticate with the cache service.

Local workstation

First, enable caching in your gradle.properties file:

org.gradle.caching=true

Then, configure Gradle to use the Depot Cache service in your settings.gradle file:

buildCache {
    remote(HttpBuildCache) {
        url = 'https://cache.depot.dev'
        enabled = true
        push = true
        credentials {
            username = ''
            password = 'DEPOT_TOKEN'
        }
    }
}

If you are a member of multiple organizations and authenticating with a user token, specify which organization ID to use for cache storage in the username:

buildCache {
    remote(HttpBuildCache) {
        url = 'https://cache.depot.dev'
        enabled = true
        push = true
        credentials {
            username = 'DEPOT_ORG_ID'
            password = 'DEPOT_TOKEN'
        }
    }
}

After you configure Gradle to use Depot Cache, run your builds as you normally would. Gradle automatically communicates with Depot Cache to fetch and reuse any stored build artifacts from your previous builds.

Local workstation with containerized builds

When building Docker images that contain Gradle projects locally, your build needs access to Gradle's remote cache credentials to benefit from caching. Containerized builds execute in isolated environments that require explicit configuration.

Gradle configuration

Enable caching in your gradle.properties file:

org.gradle.caching=true

Update your settings.gradle to read the Depot token from an environment variable:

buildCache {
    remote(HttpBuildCache) {
        url = 'https://cache.depot.dev'
        enabled = true
        push = true
        credentials {
            username = ''
            password = System.getenv('DEPOT_TOKEN')
        }
    }
}

Dockerfile configuration

Update your Dockerfile to copy Gradle configuration files and mount the secret:

# syntax=docker/dockerfile:1

# ... other Dockerfile instructions

# Copy Gradle configuration and run build with mounted secret
COPY gradle.properties settings.gradle ./
RUN --mount=type=secret,id=DEPOT_TOKEN,env=DEPOT_TOKEN \
    ./gradlew build

Adding # syntax=docker/dockerfile:1 as the first line of your Dockerfile enables mounting secrets as environment variables.

Depot CLI

depot build --secret id=DEPOT_TOKEN,env=DEPOT_TOKEN -t your-image:tag .

Docker buildx

docker buildx build --secret id=DEPOT_TOKEN,env=DEPOT_TOKEN -t your-image:tag .

Bake

Define the secret in your docker-bake.hcl file:

target "default" {
  context    = "."
  dockerfile = "Dockerfile"
  tags       = ["your-image:tag"]
  secret = [
    {
      type = "env"
      id   = "DEPOT_TOKEN"
    }
  ]
}

Then run the build:

DEPOT_TOKEN=your_token depot bake

Depot GitHub Actions runners

Depot GitHub Actions runners are pre-configured to use Depot Cache with Gradle. Each runner launches with an init.gradle file pre-populated with the connection details for Depot Cache.

Enable caching in your gradle.properties file:

org.gradle.caching=true

Then run your Gradle builds as normal:

jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: depot-ubuntu-24.04
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-java@v4
        with:
          distribution: 'temurin'
          java-version: '17'
      - run: ./gradlew build

To disable automatic configuration, turn off Allow Actions jobs to automatically connect to Depot Cache in your organization settings page. You can then manually configure Gradle as described in the Local workstation section.

Depot GitHub Actions runners with containerized builds

When running containerized builds on Depot GitHub Actions runners, your build needs access to Gradle's remote cache credentials. These credentials aren't automatically available inside your Docker build environment.

Gradle configuration

Enable caching in your gradle.properties file:

org.gradle.caching=true

Update your settings.gradle to read the Depot token from an environment variable:

buildCache {
    remote(HttpBuildCache) {
        url = 'https://cache.depot.dev'
        enabled = true
        push = true
        credentials {
            username = ''
            password = System.getenv('DEPOT_TOKEN')
        }
    }
}

Dockerfile configuration

Update your Dockerfile to copy Gradle configuration files and mount the secret:

# syntax=docker/dockerfile:1

# ... other Dockerfile instructions

# Copy Gradle configuration and run build with mounted secret
COPY gradle.properties settings.gradle ./
RUN --mount=type=secret,id=DEPOT_TOKEN,env=DEPOT_TOKEN \
    ./gradlew build

Adding # syntax=docker/dockerfile:1 as the first line of your Dockerfile enables mounting secrets as environment variables.

depot/build-push-action

Store the Depot token in a GitHub Secret named DEPOT_TOKEN, then configure your workflow:

- name: Build and push
  uses: depot/build-push-action@v1
  with:
    context: .
    file: ./Dockerfile
    push: true
    tags: your-image:tag
    secrets: |
      "DEPOT_TOKEN=${{ secrets.DEPOT_TOKEN }}"

depot/bake-action

Define the secret in your docker-bake.hcl file:

target "default" {
  context    = "."
  dockerfile = "Dockerfile"
  tags       = ["your-image:tag"]
  secret = [
    {
      type = "env"
      id   = "DEPOT_TOKEN"
    }
  ]
}

Then configure your workflow:

- name: Bake
  uses: depot/bake-action@v1
  with:
    files: docker-bake.hcl
  env:
    DEPOT_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.DEPOT_TOKEN }}

Docker CLI

Store the Depot token in a GitHub Secret named DEPOT_TOKEN, then configure your workflow:

- name: Build
  run: |
    docker buildx build \
      --secret id=DEPOT_TOKEN,env=DEPOT_TOKEN \
      -t your-image:tag .
  env:
    DEPOT_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.DEPOT_TOKEN }}