using-stability-analyzer-ide-plugin
Using the Stability Analyzer IDE Plugin — live in-editor stability feedback
The Compose Compiler reports tell the developer about stability after a build completes. The skydoves/compose-stability-analyzer IntelliJ plugin tells them while they edit. Gutter icons mark every @Composable with a color, hover docs render the per-parameter table with reasons, inline hints render colored badges next to each parameter type, and the UnstableComposable weak-warning inspection surfaces actionable problems with quick fixes.
The plugin uses the Kotlin K2 Analysis API to evaluate the same stability rules that drive ../understanding-stability-inference/SKILL.md, so editor feedback agrees with what ../diagnosing-compose-stability/SKILL.md would later show in the compiler reports. This shortens the loop from "ship → build → read reports" to "type → see the gutter".
When to use this skill
- The developer wants real-time stability feedback while editing a Composable file.
- A reviewer is reading a PR locally and wants the inline signal next to each composable.
- A new joiner wants to see at a glance which composables in the file are non-skippable.
- The user asks why the editor flagged a function with a weak warning called
UnstableComposable. - The user mentions gutter icons, inline hints, the stability inspection, the IDEA plugin, the K2 Analysis API for Compose, or the
Compose Stability Analyzertool window.
When NOT to use this skill
More from skydoves/compose-performance-skills
diagnosing-compose-stability
Use this skill to diagnose Jetpack Compose stability problems by enabling and reading the Compose Compiler Reports (classes.txt, composables.txt, composables.csv, module.json). Covers the Gradle DSL, the release-only build requirement, and how to interpret per-class and per-composable stability annotations including stable, unstable, runtime, restartable, skippable, readonly, @static, and @dynamic markers. Use when the developer asks "why does this recompose", reports jank, dropped frames, slow scroll, high recomposition count, suspects an unstable parameter, mentions Compose Compiler Reports, classes.txt, composables.txt, module.json, or wants to know which composables are non-skippable. The fix lives in a sibling skill — this one only diagnoses.
10deferring-state-reads
Use this skill to push frequently-changing Jetpack Compose state reads (scroll position, animation values, drag offsets) out of the Composition phase and down into Layout or Draw using lambda-based modifiers like Modifier.offset { }, Modifier.layout { }, Modifier.graphicsLayer { }, Modifier.drawBehind { }, and Modifier.drawWithCache { }. Covers the three-phase model (Composition, Layout, Draw), why a state read at phase N invalidates phase N and every phase below, the modifier-phase cheat sheet, and lambda providers (() -> T) for hoisting hot values across composables. Use when the developer mentions every-frame work, scroll jank, animation jank, dropped frames, animated alpha or offset, "the whole subtree recomposes on scroll", Modifier.alpha(state.value), Modifier.offset(x.dp), or graphicsLayer.
10collecting-flows-safely
Use this skill to migrate Compose UI from `collectAsState()` to `collectAsStateWithLifecycle()`, hoist `Flow<T>` parameters out of composables, and apply `.conflate()` / `.distinctUntilChanged()` / `snapshotFlow` so background CPU and battery stop draining and chatty flows stop invalidating the UI per emission. Covers ViewModel `StateFlow`/`SharedFlow` consumers, sensor and location streams, and the "Flow as composable parameter" antipattern. Trigger when the user mentions `collectAsState`, `collectAsStateWithLifecycle`, lifecycle-aware flow collection, `Lifecycle.State.STARTED`, background battery drain from a Compose screen, `snapshotFlow`, `Flow` parameter on a composable, conflate, or distinctUntilChanged.
10debugging-recompositions
Use this skill to find which Jetpack Compose composables are recomposing and why, using Android Studio Layout Inspector recomposition counts and skip counts, the per-parameter Argument Change Reasons (Changed / Unchanged / Uncertain / Static / Unknown) introduced in Android Studio Hedgehog and later, and runtime `@TraceRecomposition` from `compose-stability-analyzer` for production-like measurement. Walks through enabling counts, mapping each Argument Change Reason to a fix, and confirming the result in a release build. Use when the developer says "this should be skipping but isn't", "I want to see recomposition counts", asks what "Uncertain" or "Unknown" means in the inspector, or needs to confirm a stability or strong-skipping fix actually worked end-to-end.
10auditing-compose-performance
Use this skill to run an end-to-end Jetpack Compose performance audit when the symptom is broad ("the app feels sluggish", "scroll is rough everywhere", "we're starting a perf sprint", "what should we fix first?"). Orchestrates the four-phase Measure → Diagnose → Fix → Verify loop by sequencing the 25 focused skills (release-mode setup, R8, Baseline Profiles, Compose Compiler reports, stability inference, Layout Inspector, `@TraceRecomposition`, stabilization, strong skipping, phase-deferral, derivedStateOf, lazy layouts, lazy prefetch, Modifier.Node, modifier ordering, flow collection, effects, CI gates, hot-reload) and produces a written audit report with Before/After Macrobenchmark numbers. Use when the developer wants a perf sprint kickoff, a pre-release perf gate, onboarding to a perf-troubled codebase, or a written deliverable. Use when the user mentions "audit", "perf review", "perf sprint", "where do I start", or has no specific symptom yet.
10configuring-lazy-prefetch
Use this skill to tune Jetpack Compose lazy-layout prefetch with LazyLayoutCacheWindow (Compose Foundation 1.9+, @ExperimentalFoundationApi) and pausable composition in prefetch (Compose Foundation 1.10+, default on). Covers configurable Dp-based ahead/behind cache windows plumbed through rememberLazyListState(cacheWindow = ...), NestedPrefetchScope for items containing inner lazy layouts (HorizontalPager inside a LazyColumn row), version requirements, and the trade-off between memory pressure and idle-frame work. Use when the developer mentions dropped frames at high scroll velocity, prefetch window, ahead/behind extents, LazyLayoutCacheWindow, NestedPrefetchScope, pausable composition for prefetch, or wants composition retained for items briefly scrolled past. Item-level fixes (keys, contentType) live in a sibling skill.
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