Release Builds

Sidekick strips itself from production builds via dedicated noop modules. There are two layers to swap:

1. core:shell → core:noop — replaces the Sidekick() composable with an empty body. No panel, no overlay UI.
2. network-monitor:{plugin,ktor} → network-monitor:noop and log-monitor:{plugin,kermit} → log-monitor:noop — replaces the recording side with empty stubs. No SQLDelight database opens, no HTTP/log entries are persisted, every recordX / install / log call is a no-op.

The public ABI is identical across shell/noop and across each {api,plugin,ktor|kermit}/noop family — same FQNs, same signatures. Consumer code compiles unchanged in both variants.

Android (single-module app)

debugImplementation / releaseImplementation are Android Gradle Plugin configurations. Wire the swap once in your Android app module's dependencies { } block; the BOM resolves the per-family versions:

// build.gradle.kts (Android app module)
kotlin {
    sourceSets {
        commonMain.dependencies {
            implementation(platform("dev.parez.sidekick:bom:2026.05.17"))
            // `compileOnly` keeps the real plugin jars off the Android release
            // runtime classpath, where they would collide with the noop variant.
            compileOnly("dev.parez.sidekick:network-monitor-ui")
            compileOnly("dev.parez.sidekick:network-monitor-ktor")
            compileOnly("dev.parez.sidekick:log-monitor-ui")
            compileOnly("dev.parez.sidekick:log-monitor-kermit")
        }
    }
}

dependencies {
    debugImplementation("dev.parez.sidekick:shell")
    releaseImplementation("dev.parez.sidekick:noop")

    debugImplementation("dev.parez.sidekick:network-monitor-ui")
    debugImplementation("dev.parez.sidekick:network-monitor-ktor")
    releaseImplementation("dev.parez.sidekick:network-monitor-noop")
    debugImplementation("dev.parez.sidekick:log-monitor-ui")
    debugImplementation("dev.parez.sidekick:log-monitor-kermit")
    releaseImplementation("dev.parez.sidekick:log-monitor-noop")
}

Android (multi-module KMP app)

If the module that calls Sidekick() is a KMP library, you can't put the variant-specific deps there — debugImplementation is an AGP concept that doesn't apply to KMP source sets. Split the wiring across two modules: the library compiles against the compileOnly types, the Android app module provides the per-variant impl. The full pattern is in Installation › Multi-module KMP app.

Non-Android targets (iOS / Desktop JVM / JS / Wasm)

debugImplementation / releaseImplementation only work on Android. AGP owns those configurations; the other KMP targets have no equivalent build-type split, so the consumer is responsible for picking the right module per build.

The recommended pattern is a property-gated swap in each leaf source set. Run prod builds with -Psidekick.noop=true; dev builds use the default (real modules):

val sidekickNoop = (findProperty("sidekick.noop") as? String).toBoolean()

jvmMain.dependencies {
    implementation(platform("dev.parez.sidekick:bom:2026.05.17"))
    if (sidekickNoop) {
        implementation("dev.parez.sidekick:noop")
        implementation("dev.parez.sidekick:network-monitor-noop")
        implementation("dev.parez.sidekick:log-monitor-noop")
    } else {
        implementation("dev.parez.sidekick:shell")
        implementation("dev.parez.sidekick:network-monitor-ui")
        implementation("dev.parez.sidekick:network-monitor-ktor")
        implementation("dev.parez.sidekick:log-monitor-ui")
        implementation("dev.parez.sidekick:log-monitor-kermit")
    }
}

Mirror the same if (sidekickNoop) { … } else { … } block in iosMain.dependencies, jsMain.dependencies, and wasmJsMain.dependencies. Then:

./gradlew :app:packageDmg            # dev build (real plugins)
./gradlew :app:packageDmg -Psidekick.noop=true   # prod build (noop)

Alternative approaches (use what fits your CI):

• Hand-rolled swap. Edit the leaf source set's dependencies before cutting a release. Simplest, no Gradle property logic needed.
• Runtime opt-out. Don't call install(NetworkMonitorKtor) / don't register LogMonitorLogWriter when a feature flag is off. Works cross-platform without changing build config, but the SQLDelight DB still initialises at construction time (NetworkMonitorPlugin(...) runs store.init()).

What gets stripped in noop

Module	Stripped by core:noop?	Stripped by {network,log}-monitor:noop?
Sidekick() composable	✅ Empty body.	—
Plugin host UI (list / detail navigation, theming)	✅ Not present.	—
NetworkMonitorPlugin / LogMonitorPlugin constructors	❌ Still constructed.	✅ Empty init {} — no store.init(), no DB open.
NetworkMonitorKtor Ktor ClientPlugin	❌ Still registers hooks.	✅ Registers no on(...) hooks.
LogMonitorLogWriter	❌ Still records.	✅ log() discards entries.
SQLDelight NetworkMonitorDatabase / LogMonitorDatabase classes	❌ Generated and dexed.	✅ Absent from the binary entirely.

For Android release builds with both swaps wired, NetworkMonitorDatabase and LogMonitorDatabase symbols are absent from the merged DEX. (Verified by inspecting the demo-app's release APK: 0 references in release vs 20 in debug for each.)

Verifying the swap

Confirm release builds are clean by greping the merged DEX:

./gradlew :app:assembleRelease
cd app/build/outputs/apk/release
mkdir -p dex && unzip -q app-release-unsigned.apk 'classes*.dex' -d dex
for f in dex/*.dex; do strings "$f" | grep -c "NetworkMonitorDatabase"; done | paste -sd+ - | bc
# expected: 0

If you need to keep the real modules on the runtime classpath (e.g. for tests) but still skip recording, see the conditional-install recipes in Network Monitor › Conditional install and Log Monitor › Conditional bridge.