explaingit

kotlin/kotlinx.coroutines

13,750KotlinAudience · developerComplexity · 3/5LicenseSetup · moderate

TLDR

Official Kotlin library for writing asynchronous code in a readable, sequential style, lets apps fetch data or do slow work in the background without freezing the screen.

Mindmap

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  root((repo))
    What it does
      Async without freezing
      Pause and resume tasks
      Stream values with Flow
    Tech Stack
      Kotlin
      JVM and Android
      JavaScript and Native
    Modules
      Core coroutines
      Testing tools
      RxJava bridge
    Use Cases
      Network calls
      Background tasks
      Real-time streams
    Audience
      Android developers
      Backend Kotlin devs
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Things people build with this

USE CASE 1

Add async network calls to a Kotlin Android app without freezing the UI while data loads.

USE CASE 2

Process streams of real-time data using Kotlin Flow for live search results or sensor readings.

USE CASE 3

Write async code that runs on Android, backend JVM, browser, and native platforms from the same codebase.

USE CASE 4

Bridge existing RxJava code to Kotlin coroutines using the included interop module.

Tech stack

KotlinJVMJavaScriptNativeAndroidRxJavaGradleMaven

Getting it running

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

Requires Gradle or Maven and an existing Kotlin project, setup assumes familiarity with Kotlin build tools.

Use freely for any purpose, including commercial use, as long as you keep the copyright notice.

In plain English

kotlinx.coroutines is an official library from JetBrains, the company that created the Kotlin programming language. It adds coroutines to Kotlin, which are a way of writing code that has to wait for slow operations, like loading data from a network or a database, without freezing the rest of the program while it waits. The problem it solves is common: when an app fetches data from the internet, that request might take a second or more. If the program stopped and waited, the screen would lock up and users would think it crashed. Traditional solutions involve threads and callbacks that are difficult to write and reason about. Coroutines let a developer write waiting code in a straight top-to-bottom style that reads almost like normal step-by-step instructions, while the library handles pausing and resuming work in the background. The README shows a short example where one piece of code waits a second and prints a message while the rest of the program continues running in the meantime. The library ships as several modules. The core module provides the main building blocks: starting and cancelling tasks, passing data between them, and a feature called Flow for working with values that arrive over time as a stream. Separate modules add testing tools for writing automated tests of async code, debugging utilities that can list and inspect currently running tasks, bridges to reactive libraries like RxJava and Project Reactor, and integration modules for Android, JavaFX, and Swing so that updates to user interfaces happen on the correct thread. The library also supports multiple platforms: the same code can run on the Java Virtual Machine, in a browser via JavaScript, and on native platforms. The README includes setup instructions for Maven and Gradle build tools, extra notes for Android projects, links to the full API documentation, and links to conference talks and written guides for developers who want to learn coroutines from scratch. The project is open source under the Apache 2.0 license.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Show me how to fetch data from an API in a Kotlin Android app using kotlinx.coroutines without blocking the main thread.
Prompt 2
Write a Kotlin coroutine that runs two API calls in parallel and combines the results using async and await.
Prompt 3
How do I write and test coroutine code using the kotlinx-coroutines-test module with virtual time?
Prompt 4
Convert this RxJava Observable chain to Kotlin Flow using the kotlinx.coroutines RxJava bridge.
Prompt 5
Show me how to use kotlinx.coroutines Flow to stream results from a database query and update the UI live.
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