jetc.dev Newsletter Issue #303

Published: 2026-02-24

This week, we look at reducing development friction, rendering line graphs, and replacing ViewModel with retain. We also see an IDE plugin with Compose Multiplatform resource helpers and a Compose Multiplatform syntax highlighter that supports TextMate’s 600+ languages.

Composable Commentary

Posts, videos, and other new information related to Jetpack Compose!

Jetpack Compose and the Speed of Thinking

Annyce Davis (Mastodon, Bluesky) writes about how Compose reduced the mental friction involved in Android app development, friction that many developers and teams had simply written off as “the cost of doing business”. Reducing that friction can deliver better results, as you spend less time fighting the platform and more time focusing on what you are supposed to be delivering.

Medium: Creating Custom Line Graphs in Jetpack Compose & Kotlin Multiplatform | Compose Multiplatform

Medium user Developer Chunk describes how to use the author’s JetCo library for rendering charts and graphs in Compose Multiplatform. In particular, it explores many of the configuration options for the LineGraph() composable, including configurations for the lines, points, shaded areas, axes, and more.

Goodbye ViewModel. Hello retain!

Abhi explores how the new retain APIs in Compose can help eliminate pointless viewmodels, allowing presenters and other items to be directly injectable into composables.

Other Interesting Links

• Building StickerExplode(Part 1): Gestures, physics, and making stickers feel real
• How to Confidently Test Jetpack Compose UI with Espresso
• Medium: How does Compose’s rendering pipeline work under the hood?
• Medium: How Keyboard actions handling can trick you in Jetpack Compose
• Medium: Jetpack Compose MeasurePolicy Explained
• Medium: Jetpack Compose Navigation 3: The Hidden Trap of State Loss (and How to Fix It)
• Medium: KMP vs CMP — The Difference Most Developers Don’t Understand (Yet)
• Medium: Master Adaptive Layouts in Compose Multiplatform: Build Truly Responsive UIs
• Medium: Mastering BoxWithConstraints in Jetpack Compose: Build Truly Responsive UIs
• Medium: MVI with Jetpack Compose: Keep Your App Simple and Clean
• Medium: State Hoisting in Jetpack Compose: Why Your UI Needs a ViewModel
• Medium: What I Learned Implementing LazyHorizontalStaggeredGrid on a Real Android Project
• Video: Perfecting the Wait: Loading Animations with Kinnera Priya Putti

Resource Roundup

100% pure code!

GitHub: jordond / compose-resources-kit

Jordon de Hoog is building an IDE plugin for IDEA/Android Studio that helps with various Compose Multiplatform development annoyances related to resources, from missing resource accessors to mismatched format specifiers or argument counts in string resources.

GitHub: ivan-magda / kotlin-textmate

Ivan Magda is working on a new TextMate-compatible source code tokenizer for Compose for Android (with possible future Compose Multiplatform support). This includes a CodeBlock() composable for rendering the tokenized results with syntax highlighting.

GitHub: shaunburch / switchkraft

Shaun Burch (Mastodon) created a Form() composable that gives you separate view and edit renditions of the same form content, with revert and commit support.

GitHub: rootachieve / Koraph

GitHub user rootachieve offers us a library for rendering node/link diagrams (graphs) in Compose Multiplatform (supports Android, iOS, Web/JS, and Web/Wasm).

Other Interesting Links

• GitHub: anwarpro / mvvmate (MVI framework for Compose Multiplatform)
• GitHub: kalist28 / bubbles-compose (design system for Compose Multiplatform)
• GitHub: kdroidFilter / Nucleus (installer for Compose for Desktop apps)
• GitHub: PhysicsBox (composables as 2D physics bodies for Compose Multiplatform)

Notable Releases

Circuit is up to 0.33.1. It adds a hook to allow you to override the LocalRecordLifecycle, adds an option to initialize a nav stack from an existing snapshot, and includes other bug fixes and improvements.