Gradle Hero

Are you a Java developer who just wants to build applications in a fast, straightforward way?

Gradle is a powerful build tool, but trying to understand how to use it can be a frustrating experience.

Start now

My struggle learning Gradle

5 years ago I joined my first project using Gradle. Only a few team-members really knew how it worked. And they did some amazing things with the build. But whenever I tried to change the build script, I hit a brick wall. The whole thing was a total mystery to me.

My next project used Maven. I knew it was a step backwards, so finally decided to figure out this Gradle thing. After months of reading docs and trial-and-error, I finally made some breakthroughs. I migrated the whole project to Gradle and got the build running smoothly.

To become a confident Gradle user took me over 2 years. Along the way, it became clear that I wasn't the only one struggling. So that's why I created this course, to help Java developers master Gradle in weeks instead of years.

Introducing Gradle Hero

Zero to Gradle hero in one course

Learn everything to build and maintain your Gradle project effectively.

Aimed primarily at those wanting to master building Java projects, it goes deep teaching you not only what to do, but why to do it.

Gradle Hero gives you a clear mental model of how Gradle works, meaning projects and documentation start to make sense.

If you want to reach a high level of competence and effectiveness with Gradle as quickly as possible, Gradle Hero will get you there.

What exactly is Gradle Hero?

It's an online course, consisting of easy-to-understand video tutorials, practical lessons, quizzes, and more.

Gradle Hero is designed specifically to turn you into a proficient Gradle build engineer fast.

"I recently started a new job where my team heavily relies on a multi-project Gradle structure that include custom plugins. I was a complete beginner in Gradle, and after completing the Gradle Hero course I feel much more confident navigating the codebase."

Alon, recent student

Course outcomes

How you can expect this course to help you

know how to start any new Gradle project on the right foot
understand in-depth the fundamental Gradle concepts
propose and implement better ways of building your project
fix your build to make development fun again
master Java projects in Gradle
progress your career as a build engineer

Gradle Hero overview

5 chapters to Gradle proficiency

1) Understanding the fundamentals

All the key Gradle concepts you might have heard of, properly explained to get you to where you're easily creating simple projects from scratch.
2) Interacting with Gradle

Nailing command line and IDE interaction means you can more effectively work with Gradle projects. Be prepared for any situation, with full understanding of the Gradle wrapper, daemon, and build lifecycle.
3) Mastering Gradle build scripts

Each build script concept is dissected and explained simply, so all those mysterious code snippets now make sense. Prefer Groovy or Kotlin build scripts? Whatever your preference, we'll cover both languages here.
4) Working with Java projects in Gradle

If you work with Java projects, this is the ultimate guide to more effectively building, testing, and running them. And then some. By the end of this chapter, you'll be creating realistic Java projects following all the best-practices.
5) Organising Gradle projects effectively

Prepare your Gradle build for the growth and change expected in a successful software project. Scale up with multi-project builds, and learn to reuse build logic with tasks and plugins.

Learn through real examples

Create real-world applications

You'll create Gradle builds for real applications you can interact with based on a fictional Theme Park company.

Stay engaged

Learn through a variety of presentation techniques

Professionally presented with animated diagrams, slideshows, and screen annotations. You'll want to power through lesson after lesson.

Learn the latest techniques

Up-to-date for 2022

Gradle changes fast. Learn from the course that uses the latest Gradle version 7, so you can implement the best features in your project.

So what do you actually get?

Access to all video lessons, to view at your own pace
Practical lessons, to improve understanding
Additional reference materials (e.g. PDF cheat sheets, step-by-step instructions)
Quizzes, to validate learning
Access to Gradle Hero GitHub repository
Interact with your instructor through lesson comments
Lifetime access, so you can come back any time
Inclusive access to all future course additions and updates

"This course gives a good overview of what can be done with Gradle and how to do it. This is a great way to pick up Gradle skills if you've been frustrated trying to learn it through documentation or outdated books. There really isn't any "fluff" in this course - everything presented will be useful and will help get you up and running with Gradle very quickly."

Steve, recent student

How is this course different?

REINFORCES LEARNING: a mix of theory, demos, practical lessons, and quizzes helps you retain knowledge.

RESPECTS YOUR TIME: concise lessons mean you get what you need to know as efficiently as possible.

KEEPS YOU ENGAGED: presented with animations and annotated screencasts, making learning fun!

GIVES YOU DEEP KNOWLEDGE: learn from an engineer whose been working with Gradle for 5 years+.

Uncover Gradle's mysteries!
Bring clarity to your build script!
Nail those frustrating build issues!

Join Gradle Hero today by clicking the button below. After a simple checkout process you'll be taken to the course where you can start diving into the content.

One time purchase for course lifetime access.
RISK-FREE sign up with Gradle Mastery Guarantee included (see below).

Buy $68.00

Oh yeah, and there's even more...

Bonus 1: troubleshooting masterclass

How to solve any Gradle build issue

This bonus chapter goes deeper into troubleshooting your build issues. Get to the root of the problem with logging, dependency analysis, and the task graph.

Bonus 2: Gradle in the real world

How to take your project even further

This bonus chapter shows you how to overcome common real-world challenges, like ensuring code quality and building Docker images.

With you all the way

Reference materials for when you get stuck

These helpful cheat sheets summarise learnings on a single page. Print them out and stick them on your wall!

"I've run Gradle in production environments for several years, but wanted to learn needed adjustments for the latest version. This course shows many "best in practice" techniques to speed up and organize enterprise builds. Clear, concise examples illustrate how to improve code even for an "expert" in earlier releases. Well worth the time!"

Kurt, recent student

Course lessons in detail

Your path to becoming a Gradle Hero

1. How to make the most of your course
2. Building software with Gradle: not just another build tool
1. Introduction
2. The Gradle project
3. The Gradle build script
4. The Gradle task
5. The Gradle plugin
6. Practical: creating a simple Gradle project
7. Quiz
8. "Zip" challenge
1. Introduction
2. gradle init: create projects in seconds
3. Gradle wrapper introduction
4. Managing the Gradle wrapper
5. Project layout
6. Command line interaction
7. Build lifecycle introduction
8. Gradle Daemon
9. IntelliJ IDEA Gradle integration
10. Practical "start from scratch"
11. Quiz
1. Introduction
2. Groovy build scripts
3. Kotlin build scripts
4. Groovy or Kotlin. Which to choose?
5. Configuring your project
6. Defining tasks
7. Locating tasks
8. Task dependencies & ordering
9. Task inputs & outputs
10. Applying plugins
11. Repositories & dependencies
12. Quiz
1. Introduction
2. The Java plugin
3. Practical: building a Java project
4. Tasks in Java projects
5. Dependencies in Java projects
6. Build customisations
7. Running Java applications
8. Testing Java applications
9. Adding integration tests to a project
10. Controlling Java versions
11. Publishing to Maven
12. Practical: building Spring Boot applications
13. Deployment using .war files
14. Building Java libraries
15. Advanced dependency resolution
16. Quiz
1. Introduction
2. Project properties
3. Multi-project builds
4. Practical: creating a multi-project build
5. Working with files
6. buildSrc and convention plugins
7. Creating custom tasks
8. Creating custom plugins
9. Sharing custom plugins
10. Testing custom plugins
11. Quiz
1. Introduction
2. Logging
3. Viewing the task graph
4. Investigating dependencies
1. Introduction
2. Code coverage analysis with Jacoco
3. Code style validation with Checkstyle
4. Code quality validation with PMD
5. Build & push Docker images
1. Overview
2. Version catalogs
1. What now?
2. Quick course survey

About this course

$68.00
73 lessons
7 hours of video content

Watch Intro Video

How this course can help you

What students are saying

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5/5 (24 reviews)

Comprehensive and very well explained

Elyasin Shaladi

The course is comprehensive and will teach you a lot about Gradle and how to use it. It is one of the best courses I have done about Gradle. The explanations...

The course is comprehensive and will teach you a lot about Gradle and how to use it. It is one of the best courses I have done about Gradle. The explanations are very helpful, the practices are great. If you are looking for a great Gradle course, this is one I can recommend.

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No longer a Gradle newbie

Alon Eitan

I recently started a new job where my team heavily relies on a multi-project Gradle structure that include custom plugins. I was a complete beginner in G...

I recently started a new job where my team heavily relies on a multi-project Gradle structure that include custom plugins. I was a complete beginner in Gradle, and after completing the Gradle Hero course I feel much more confident navigating the codebase. Thanks Tom!

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Fantastic course!

Lawrence A

Tom is hands down the best Gradle content creator out there. This course is straight 🔥🔥🔥. Sent me down rabbit holes I would not have thought of exploring mys...

Tom is hands down the best Gradle content creator out there. This course is straight 🔥🔥🔥. Sent me down rabbit holes I would not have thought of exploring myself otherwise. Worth every penny!

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Excellent introduction to Gradle

Steve Dearth

Tom's content is always great. This course gives a good overview of what can be done with Gradle and how to do it. This is a great way to pick up Gradle skil...

Tom's content is always great. This course gives a good overview of what can be done with Gradle and how to do it. This is a great way to pick up Gradle skills if you've been frustrated trying to learn it through documentation or outdated books. There really isn't any "fluff" in this course - everything presented will be useful and will help get you up and running with Gradle very quickly.

Read Less

Gradle 7 Shines Through

Kurt Fickie

I've run Gradle in production environments for several years, but wanted to learn needed adjustments for the latest version. This course shows many "best i...

I've run Gradle in production environments for several years, but wanted to learn needed adjustments for the latest version. This course shows many "best in practice" techniques to speed up and organize enterprise builds. Clear, concise examples illustrate how to improve code even for an "expert" in earlier releases. Well worth the time!

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Gradle Course

Michael Wiesendanger

Great informative course with lots of densely packed information

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A good starting point

Albert Attard

This course is a good starting point for anyone using Gradle. Experienced or no, I recommend taking this course as it will help you understand things that y...

This course is a good starting point for anyone using Gradle. Experienced or no, I recommend taking this course as it will help you understand things that you may have overlooked.

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awesome Gradle course

Amit Sharon

Tom is an excellent instructor, he really take you from zero to hero without wasting your valuable time.

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Simply excellent

Iwan Littel

Absolutely loved this course. It starts with the basics and expands on those later on, which (unfortunately) is very different from the official Gradle docs....

Absolutely loved this course. It starts with the basics and expands on those later on, which (unfortunately) is very different from the official Gradle docs. Also, theory and hands-on practice lessons are clearly separated. Together with a touch of Tom's humor, this really helps to digest everything. The bonus material and latest updates are great as well. Highly recommended!

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Complete Gradle Course

Vasudeva chowdary Annam

Tom has explained Gradle in-depth to customize it as needed. Most of these topics are not available elsewhere. We mostly find only basics in other places, no...

Tom has explained Gradle in-depth to customize it as needed. Most of these topics are not available elsewhere. We mostly find only basics in other places, not like this where you can optimize the code so effectively.

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A really useful and well explained course.

Andres Rivera

A really useful course that explains in detail everything you need to know about Gradle. All material is well explained and if you have any doubt, just ask T...

A really useful course that explains in detail everything you need to know about Gradle. All material is well explained and if you have any doubt, just ask Tom. Highly recommend it.

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Great course !

Jose Cano

Complete, clear, and elegant course. Thanks !!

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FAQ

How long do I get access for?

You’ll have access for the lifetime of the course, for as long as I continue to run Gradle Hero, and guaranteed access for AT LEAST one year after you enroll. Of course you'll also benefit from any updates I make to the course too.
What if I don't get on with the course?

While I've made every effort to make this course as approachable as possible, I understand you may change your mind. You can request a full refund within 30 days of purchase and I will return the full course fee. No hard feelings. I'd appreciate if you let me know why so I can continue to improve the course.
Who is this course for?

It's ideal for anyone currently working with Gradle at a beginner or intermediate level, wanting to take it to the next level. The focus is on Java projects, not Android, but the fundamentals learnt help with any type of project.

Some basic knowledge of Java will help to get the most from the course.

If you're frustrated with your build, and are willing to put in the work to make a difference, then this course is for you.
How long does it take to complete the course?

This depends on your learning style. There are 5 chapters each with on average 10 lessons. Each lesson is approximately 6 minutes long.

An hour a day for 2-3 weeks should give you enough time to understand in full the lessons, complete the practicals, and take the quizzes. It's up to you though.
Can you issue me an invoice with my company details?

Yes sure! Once you've placed your order, please email the company details you'd like to appear on the invoice to tom@tomgregory.com. I'll send you the invoice within 24 hours.
Who is Tom Gregory anyway?

Tom, the course instructor, is originally from a Java development background. He made the switch to working full-time on Gradle after suffering the frustrations of inefficient builds, and wanting to improve things.

Now he helps thousands of engineers create software more effectively through in-depth tutorials, videos, and courses. Slow builds are his itch, Gradle is his preferred tool for scratching them.
Does the world need another Gradle course?

In short, yes. Most of the other courses available right now are out-of-date and don't have a good learning experience.

Gradle Hero is different as it was designed from the ground up to get engineers to proficiency in Gradle as soon as possible, whilst making that journey enjoyable. The course also has a depth that other courses don't, since it was created by an engineer who is 100% focussed on the technology.
What if I still have questions?

No problem, just email me on tom@tomgregory.com and I'll be happy to answer your question.

Take back control of your Gradle build.

Every build deserves a hero.

Buy $68.00

Joining is risk free

The Gradle Mastery Guarantee

I put a lot of value into Gradle Hero because I want to ensure anyone who takes it is successful in mastering Gradle.

If you're serious about learning Gradle, then to make your decision easier you get my Gradle Mastery Guarantee.

That means that if you're not 100% satisfied that this course has helped you master building Java applications with Gradle, email me and I'll refund the full course fee within 24 hours.