Appendix C. Gradle Command Line

The gradle command has the following usage:

gradle [option...] [task...]

The command-line options available for the gradle command are listed below:

-?, -h, --help: Shows a help message.
-C, --cache: Specifies how compiled build scripts should be cached. Possible values are: rebuild or on. Default value is on. See Section 12.7, “Caching”.
-D, --system-prop: Sets a system property of the JVM, for example -Dmyprop=myvalue.
-I, --init-script: Specifies an initialization script. See Chapter 40, Initialization Scripts.
-P, --project-prop: Sets a project property of the root project, for example -Pmyprop=myvalue.
-S, --full-stacktrace: Print out the full (very verbose) stacktrace for any exceptions. See Chapter 16, Logging.
-a, --no-rebuild: Do not rebuild project dependencies.
--all: Shows additional detail in the task listing. See Section 10.5.2, “Listing tasks”.
-b, --build-file: Specifies the build file. See Section 10.4, “Selecting which build to execute”.
-c, --settings-file: Specifies the settings file.
-d, --debug: Log in debug mode (includes normal stacktrace). See Chapter 16, Logging.
-e, --embedded: Specify an embedded build script.
-g, --gradle-user-home: Specifies the Gradle user home directory.
--gui: Launches the Gradle GUI. See Chapter 11, Using the Gradle Graphical User Interface.
-i, --info: Set log level to info. See Chapter 16, Logging.
-m, --dry-run: Runs the build with all task actions disabled.
--no-color: Do not use color in the console output.
-p, --project-dir: Specifies the start directory for Gradle. Defaults to current directory. See Section 10.4, “Selecting which build to execute”.
--profile: Profiles build execution time and generates a report in the <build_dir>/reports/profile directory.
-q, --quiet: Log errors only. See Chapter 16, Logging.
-s, --stacktrace: Print out the stacktrace also for user exceptions (e.g. compile error). See Chapter 16, Logging.
-u, --no-search-upwards: Don't search in parent directories for a settings.gradle file.
-v, --version: Prints version info.
-x, --exclude-task: Specifies a task to be excluded from execution. See Section 10.2, “Excluding tasks”.

The above information is printed to the console when you execute gradle -h.

C.1. Deprecated command-line options

The following options are deprecated and will be removed in a future version of Gradle:

-n, --dependencies: (deprecated) Show list of all project dependencies. You should use gradle dependencies instead. See Section 10.5.3, “Listing project dependencies”.
-r, --properties: (deprecated) Show list of all available project properties. You should use gradle properties instead. See Section 10.5.4, “Listing project properties”.
-t, --tasks: (deprecated) Show list of available tasks. You should use gradle tasks instead. See Section 10.5.2, “Listing tasks”.

C.2. Experimental command-line options

The following options are experimental:

--daemon: Uses the Gradle daemon to run the build. Starts the daemon if not running.
--foreground: Starts the Gradle daemon in the foreground.
--no-daemon: Do not use the Gradle daemon to run the build.
--stop: Stops the Gradle daemon if it is running.

C.3. System properties

The following system properties are available for the gradle command. Note that command-line options take precedence over system properties.

gradle.user.home

Specifies the Gradle user home directory.

org.gradle.daemon

When set to true, use the Gradle daemon to run the build.

C.4. Environment variables

The following environment variables are available for the gradle command. Note that command-line options and system properties take precedence over environment variables.

GRADLE_HOME: Specifies the root directory of the Gradle installation to use.
GRADLE_OPTS: Specifies command-line arguments to use to start the JVM. This can be useful for setting the system properties to use for running Gradle. For example you could set GRADLE_OPTS="-Dorg.gradle.daemon=true" to use the Gradle daemon without needing to use the --daemon option every time you run Gradle.
GRADLE_USER_HOME: Specifies the Gradle user home directory.