Introduction to Keeper
Keeper is a specialized Gradle plugin developed to enhance the development and optimization process of Android applications. Its primary function is to infer Proguard/R8 keep rules specifically for androidTest sources. These keep rules are crucial in ensuring that the necessary code paths are retained during the obfuscation process, which can otherwise strip away valuable code needed for testing.
What is Keeper?
Keeper stands as a crucial tool in the Android development ecosystem, especially for developers who heavily rely on testing to maintain robust and error-free applications. By automatically generating the necessary keep rules for androidTest sources, Keeper removes the manual burden of specifying which parts of the codebase must be preserved. This ensures that tests remain effective and the application behaves as expected during the testing phase, without unnecessary exclusions during code minification.
Features of Keeper
- Automated Keep Rules Inference: Keeper intelligently infers the necessary Proguard/R8 keep rules needed for
androidTestsource files. This automation saves developers time and reduces errors associated with manually written rules. - Seamless Integration: As a Gradile plugin, it seamlessly integrates with existing Android build processes, making it accessible and easy to adopt for any Android project.
- Focus on Testing Integrity: By focusing on
androidTestsources, Keeper prioritizes the integrity and functionality of test suites, ensuring that no critical paths are obfuscated away during the build process.
Benefits of Using Keeper
- Efficiency: By automating the keep rules generation, Keeper allows developers to focus more on writing and maintaining tests rather than managing configuration files.
- Reliability: Helps in maintaining a high level of reliability in tests by ensuring that necessary components are always retained during the app’s build process.
- Open Source Availability: Keeper is licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0, making it free to use and contribute to. This fosters a community of developers who can collaborate to improve its functionality and adapt it to future needs.
Conclusion
Keeper significantly streamlines a critical aspect of the Android development process—ensuring that androidTest keep rules are handled automatically and efficiently. By using Keeper, developers can maintain focus on building and testing their applications rather than on the minutiae of build configurations. Its integration as a Gradle plugin makes it a natural choice for any Android project looking to maintain robust testing practices.
For more details and to get started with Keeper, you can visit their official website.