Example 11.2. Excluding tasks
Output of gradle dist -x test
> gradle dist -x test :compile
compiling source :dist
building the distribution
BUILD SUCCESSFUL
Total time: 1 secs
You can see from the output of this example, that the test task is not executed, even though it is a dependency of the dist task. You will also notice that the test task's dependencies, such asco are not executed either. Those dependencies of test that are required by another task, such as co
, are still executed.
11.3. Task name abbreviation
When you specify tasks on the command-line, you don't have to provide the full name of the task You only need to provide enough of the task name to uniquely identify the task. For example, in the sample build above, you can execute task dist by running gradle d:
Example 11.3. Abbreviated task name
Output of gradle di
> gradle di :compile compiling source :compileTest
compiling unit tests :test
running unit tests :dist
building the distribution
BUILD SUCCESSFUL
Total time: 1 secs
You can also abbreviate each word in a camel case task name. For example, you can execute task compileTest by running gradle compTest or even gradle cT
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Example 11.4. Abbreviated camel case task name
Output of gradle cT
> gradle cT :compile compiling source :compileTest
compiling unit tests
BUILD SUCCESSFUL
Total time: 1 secs
You can also use these abbreviations with the -x command-line option.
11.4. Selecting which build to execute
When you run the gradle command, it looks for a build file in the current directory. You can use the -b option to select another build file. For example:
Example 11.5. Selecting the project using a build file
subdir/myproject.gradle
task hello << {
println "using build file '$buildFile.name' in '$buildFile.parentFile.name
}
Output of gradle -q -b subdir/myproject.gradle hello
> gradle -q -b subdir/myproject.gradle hello using build file 'myproject.gradle' in 'subdir'.
Alternatively, you can use the -p option to specify the project directory to use:
Example 11.6. Selecting the project using project directory
Output of gradle -q -p subdir hello
> gradle -q -p subdir hello
using build file 'build.gradle' in 'subdir'.
11.5. Obtaining information about your build
Gradle provides several built-in tasks which show particular details of your build. This can be useful for understanding the structure and dependencies of your build, and for debugging problems.
In addition to the built-in tasks shown below, you can also use the project report plugin to add tasks to your project which will generate these reports.
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11.5.1. Listing projects
Running gradle projects gives you a list of the sub-projects of the selected project, displayed
in a hierarchy. Here is an example:
Example 11.7. Obtaining information about projects
Output of gradle -q projects
> gradle -q projects
------------------------------------------------------------
Root project
------------------------------------------------------------
Root project 'projectReports'
+--- Project ':api' - The shared API for the application \--- Project ':webapp' - The Web application implementation
To see a list of the tasks of a project, run gradle <project-path>:tasks For example, try running gradle :api:tasks
The report shows the description of each project, if specified. You can provide a description for a project by setting the description property:
Example 11.8. Providing a description for a project
build.gradle
description = 'The shared API for the application'
11.5.2. Listing tasks
Running gradle tasks gives you a list of the main tasks of the selected project. This report shows the default tasks for the project, if any, and a description for each task. Below is an example of this report:
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Example 11.9. Obtaining information about tasks
Output of gradle -q tasks
> gradle -q tasks
------------------------------------------------------------
All tasks runnable from root project
------------------------------------------------------------
Default tasks: dists
Build tasks
-----------
clean - Deletes the build directory (build) dists - Builds the distribution
libs - Builds the JAR
Help tasks
----------
dependencies - Displays the dependencies of root project 'projectReports'. help - Displays a help message
projects - Displays the sub-projects of root project 'projectReports'. properties - Displays the properties of root project 'projectReports'.
tasks - Displays the tasks runnable from root project 'projectReports' (some o
To see all tasks and more detail, run with --all.
By default, this report shows only those tasks which have been assigned to a task group. You can do this by setting the group property for the task. You can also set the description property, to provide a description to be included in the report.
Example 11.10. Changing the content of the task report
build.gradle
dists {
description = 'Builds the distribution' group = 'build'
}
You can obtain more information in the task listing using the --all task report lists all tasks in the project, grouped by main task, and the Here is an example:
option. With this option, the dependencies for each task.
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Example 11.11. Obtaining more information about tasks
Output of gradle -q tasks --all
> gradle -q tasks --all
------------------------------------------------------------
All tasks runnable from root project
------------------------------------------------------------
Default tasks: dists
Build tasks
-----------
clean - Deletes the build directory (build) api:clean - Deletes the build directory (build) webapp:clean - Deletes the build directory (build)
dists - Builds the distribution [api:libs, webapp:libs] docs - Builds the documentation
api:libs - Builds the JAR
api:compile - Compiles the source files webapp:libs - Builds the JAR [api:libs]
webapp:compile - Compiles the source files
Help tasks
----------
dependencies - Displays the dependencies of root project 'projectReports'. help - Displays a help message
projects - Displays the sub-projects of root project 'projectReports'. properties - Displays the properties of root project 'projectReports'.
tasks - Displays the tasks runnable from root project 'projectReports' (some o
11.5.3. Listing project dependencies
Running gradle dependencies gives you a list of the dependencies of the selected project, broken down by configuration. For each configuration, the direct and transitive dependencies of that configuration are shown in a tree. Below is an example of this report:
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Example 11.12. Obtaining information about dependencies
Output of gradle -q dependencies api:dependencies webapp:dependencies
> gradle -q dependencies api:dependencies webapp:dependencies
------------------------------------------------------------
Root project
------------------------------------------------------------
No configurations
------------------------------------------------------------
Project :api - The shared API for the application
------------------------------------------------------------
compile
\--- org.codehaus.groovy:groovy-all:1.8.4 [default]
------------------------------------------------------------
Project :webapp - The Web application implementation
------------------------------------------------------------
compile |
|
|
+--- |
projectReports:api:1.0-SNAPSHOT [compile] |
|
| |
\--- |
org.codehaus.groovy:groovy-all:1.8.4 [default] |
\--- |
commons-io:commons-io:1.2 [default] |
|
11.5.4. Listing project properties
Running gradle properties gives you a list of the properties of the selected project. This is a
snippet from the output:
Example 11.13. Information about properties
Output of gradle -q api:properties
> gradle -q api:properties
------------------------------------------------------------
Project :api - The shared API for the application
------------------------------------------------------------
allprojects: [project ':api']
ant: org.gradle.api.internal.project.DefaultAntBuilder@12345 antBuilderFactory: org.gradle.api.internal.project.DefaultAntBuilderFactory@12 artifacts: org.gradle.api.internal.artifacts.dsl.DefaultArtifactHandler@12345 asDynamicObject: org.gradle.api.internal.ExtensibleDynamicObject@12345 buildDir: /home/user/gradle/samples/userguide/tutorial/projectReports/api/buil buildFile: /home/user/gradle/samples/userguide/tutorial/projectReports/api/bui
11.5.5. Profiling a build
The --profile command line option will record some useful timing information while your build is running and write a report to the build/reports/profile directory. The report will be named using the time when the build was run.
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