The Infinum Android Sweets newsletter flagged three threads worth attention: the MDXA team's 3,500-module Gradle migration, the Molecule state library opening for Cash App testing, and the GoDaddy Studio team's transition to Mobius for one-way data flow. None of this is dramatic. All of it will shape tooling choices over the next year.
Quick take
- The MDXA team at Infinum has been modernising Gradle build logic for about seven months.
- The Molecule library has been in internal use for roughly five months and is now open for external integration, including in the Cash App.
- The GoDaddy Studio team has documented its move from MVVM to Spotify's Mobius framework for one-way data flow.
- Kotlin/kotlinx-kover is a Gradle plugin combining IntelliJ and JaCoCo coverage tools.
- A new "Icon Kitchen" tool generates app icons across multiple platforms.
The 3,500-module Gradle project, briefly
Modularisation on Android is not new, but a build with thousands of modules exposes every weakness in Gradle's configuration phase. The MDXA team's write-up walks through the slow grind of modernising build logic at that scale. The lesson for most teams is smaller: even at 200 modules, the same Gradle seams (configuration cache, build cache, version catalog) start to matter.
Tools like Kotlin/kotlinx-kover reflect the same trend. Coverage tooling is finally catching up to Kotlin and Compose era code. Worth trying if your team still wrestles with JaCoCo configuration files.
Molecule and the state of state
The Molecule library has spent months in internal use at Cash App and is now open for broader testing. The team is upfront that it is not 1.0 yet: the API shape and the way Compose plays with it are still being weighed. That honesty is a good sign.
For anyone building Compose-heavy features, the question is always whether to lean on the framework's built-in state holders or pull in a reactive runtime. Molecule is one of several betas trying to thread that needle. Watch adoption before adopting.
GoDaddy Studio's Mobius pivot
The Studio team's blog post is a useful case study in MVVM fatigue. They found their MVVM setup allowed too many leaky abstractions, especially around UI state, and the early MVI attempts brought their own problems. Mobius ended up winning because the one-way data flow model matched the shape of their screens.
That outcome lines up with what most Android teams eventually discover. Stateful UI code without a clear loop is the bug surface. Frameworks that force a loop are not always fun, but they pay for themselves at scale.
Why it matters
The three stories point in different directions, but they share a theme: Android platform stability means the interesting decisions have moved to the architecture layer.
| Approach | Best for | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Gradle modularisation | Large teams with slow builds | Configuration complexity |
| Molecule | Compose-heavy apps needing reactive state | Pre-1.0 API risk |
| Mobius | Complex stateful UIs with clear event models | Steeper initial learning curve |
Modularisation is not about scale for its own sake. It is about controlling what changes when. The 3,500-module write-up is worth reading not because most teams will hit that number, but because the same principles apply at 50.
For state management, the pattern is clear: frameworks that make state changes explicit win over frameworks that hide them. Molecule and Mobius take different routes to the same destination. Whether you adopt either depends on where your team sits on the Compose adoption curve.
The Kover plugin is the quiet winner here. Coverage tooling that works out of the box for Kotlin and Compose removes one of the friction points that slows down test-driven workflows.
What to watch next
Now in Android episode 51 recaps the Android Developer Summit 2021 announcements. The remote IDE debate (browser-mediated development environments) is also rising—worth watching if your team supports remote engineers or wants to standardise machine images.
Most of all, watch adoption signals for Molecule. If Cash App reports smooth results, the library will move from interesting to practical fast.
Key takeaways
- Gradle performance issues at scale surface lessons applicable to smaller builds—configuration caching and version catalogs matter everywhere.
- Molecule is promising for Compose teams but not ready for production without evaluation; watch Cash App's experience.
- Mobius solves real MVVM pain points; one-way data flow is worth the upfront structure if your UI state is complex.
- Coverage tooling has caught up with Kotlin—Kover is worth adopting if JaCoCo configuration is slowing your team.
Frequently asked questions
What is Molecule on Android?
It is an open-source library for managing Compose-driven state using a reactive runtime. It is currently in pre-1.0 testing with Cash App as an early integrator.
Why is a 3,500-module Gradle project news?
It surfaces real-world Gradle performance work that affects smaller builds too, especially around configuration caching.
Is Mobius better than MVVM?
The GoDaddy Studio team found Mobius a better fit because MVVM let state abstractions leak. Your team's needs may differ; Mobius requires more upfront structure.
What is Kover?
A Gradle plugin combining IntelliJ and JaCoCo for Kotlin code coverage. It is described in the Kotlin/kotlinx-kover project.
Should a small team modularise its app?
Only when build times or team boundaries justify it. Modularity adds friction; it is not a goal on its own.