AboutLibraries is a Gradle plugin that automatically collects all dependencies and licenses from Kotlin Multiplatform projects and provides ready-made UI components for displaying them.
The tool solves the problem of manually tracking and displaying third-party licenses in applications. It works by running at build time to gather dependency and license metadata across your entire Gradle project, generating this information into a structured format that can then be rendered through pre-built Compose UI components. This approach eliminates runtime overhead since all collection happens during the build phase and results are cached.
The tool suits teams building Android apps, Compose Multiplatform applications, or other Kotlin Multiplatform projects who need to display license information to users. It provides Material 2 and Material 3 themed UI components out of the box, along with Wear support, though developers can also build custom interfaces on top of the core library. The project includes compliance-focused features such as CSV and text export capabilities, compliance reporting, and a strict mode for license validation. It also surfaces funding information from projects you depend on. If you need a lightweight solution that handles license attribution across multiple platforms without runtime cost, this tool eliminates the manual work of tracking and displaying dependencies.
The project maintains active development with regular updates to support new Kotlin Multiplatform targets including WebAssembly. The codebase shows consistent refinement of the Gradle plugin integration and the Compose UI layer. Documentation is comprehensive, including migration guides for version upgrades and detailed reference materials for multiplatform setup. The sample application demonstrates the full range of UI customization options through Paparazzi screenshot previews, showing how the same component adapts across different Material versions and display modes.
