Learn Jetpack Compose - Pre-Requisites Skills & Environment Setup

#Introduction

Welcome to the Learn Jetpack Compose series! This series will take you to mastery of Jetpack Compose — a modern declarative UI toolkit for Android written entirely in Kotlin — from foundational concepts to production readiness. A total of 23 episodes are organized into six phases.

But before writing your first composable, there are some basic skills and software you need to prepare. Why do these prerequisites matter? Because Compose is not just a UI library: it changes the way you think about interfaces — from declaring XML layouts to writing reactive Kotlin functions. A solid Kotlin and Android foundation will make this transition feel natural.

Episode 0 is your roadmap: we will make sure your basic skills are in place, set up Android Studio, the JDK, the Android SDK, an emulator, and Git, then verify everything. Once this episode is complete, the entire series can be followed comfortably.

#Basic Skills You Must Master

#Kotlin and Android Fundamentals

You should be comfortable with Kotlin — Android's official language since 2019. Master functions, lambdas, data classes, nullable types, and extension functions. Compose is built on all of these features, so your fluency in Kotlin determines how quickly you absorb the material.

Second, understand the basics of the Android lifecycle: how an Activity is created, paused, and destroyed. Compose does not remove the lifecycle; it sits on top of it. Concepts like configuration changes also still exist and become a topic of discussion in episode 5.

#UI Concepts and Build Tools

Before Compose, Android UI was written with XML layouts: LinearLayout, TextView, and RecyclerView with adapters. You don't have to memorize all of them, but understanding the view hierarchy concept will speed up your grasp of Compose architecture in episode 2.

Finally, get comfortable with Gradle and the command line. All Android builds are driven by Gradle, and this skill will be used in episode 3 when you add Compose dependencies.

java -version
git --version
gradle --version

The command java -version shows the installed JDK, git --version shows the version control tool, and gradle --version shows the build tool. You will use all three frequently throughout the series.

#Software to Prepare

#Android Studio and the JDK

Install the latest Android Studio from the official Android Developer website. Android Studio bundles the Compose plugin, SDK Manager, and emulator in one package — no additional plugins need to be installed manually.

Android Studio requires JDK 17 as a minimum. The recommended version follows what is bundled with Android Studio, but make sure JAVA_HOME points to the correct JDK:

echo $JAVA_HOME
java -version

If java -version shows version 17 or newer, the JDK is ready. Compose's first compilation can be quite heavy, so using a modern JDK is strongly recommended.

#Android SDK, Emulator, and Device

Open the SDK Manager in Android Studio and make sure Android SDK Platform and Android SDK Build-Tools are installed. To run applications, prepare at least one emulator (AVD) through Device Manager, or connect a physical device with developer mode enabled.

The emulator is configured through Android Studio's Device Manager. When it's ready, verify the device connection:

adb devices

adb devices lists the emulators or devices that are detected. Seeing a line with the device status means the device is ready to run applications. You can also create an emulator from the command line with avdmanager create avd -n pixel -k "system-images;android-35;google_apis;x86_64" if you prefer the terminal.

#Git for Version Control

Every project in this series will be managed with Git. Initialize the repository from the start so each episode can be committed and rolled back:

git init
git add .
git commit -m "chore: init project"

The habit of git commit -m "chore: init project" with descriptive messages will help you track the evolution of your code across 23 episodes.

#Verifying the Environment

Run a complete verification to make sure the whole toolchain works:

java -version
./gradlew --version
adb devices

./gradlew --version confirms the Gradle wrapper is ready, and the combination of all three commands signals that the JDK, build tool, and device are connected. If anything errors out, recheck that part of the installation before moving on to episode 1.

One important thing: some Android Studio distributions hide Gradle inside the IDE. Make sure gradle-wrapper.jar is present in your project's gradle/wrapper folder so the ./gradlew command always works in the terminal.

#Summary of Skills to Master

Here's a recap of the prerequisites you set up in episode 0:

• Kotlin: functions, lambdas, data classes, nullable types, extension functions.
• Android fundamentals: the Activity lifecycle and view hierarchy concepts.
• JDK 17+ and Gradle as the build chain.
• Android Studio with the SDK Platform and Build-Tools installed.
• An emulator or device detected by adb.
• Git for version control from day one.

If anything is missing, stop and complete it before continuing. A solid foundation will make the next 22 episodes feel much lighter.

#Closing

In this episode 0 you set the footing for the entire series: making sure your basic Kotlin and Android skills are in place, installing Android Studio with the JDK and SDK, preparing an emulator or device, initializing Git, and verifying the whole toolchain from the terminal.

Key takeaways:

• Compose is written entirely in Kotlin, so master Kotlin before moving on.
• Android Studio bundles the Compose plugin, SDK, and emulator together.
• JDK 17 or newer is required for modern Compose projects.
• adb devices is the gateway to verifying emulators and devices.
• The Gradle wrapper is used throughout the series for build commands.
• Initializing Git from the start makes it easy to track the material.

In episode 1 we will discuss the history, background, and why choose Jetpack Compose — the evolution of Android UI from XML to declarative, its advantages over the old approach, and its position against cross-platform frameworks. Make sure your environment is ready, because the Learn Jetpack Compose journey is just beginning!