android

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title: "Android" description: "worker-kmp on Android is a thin adapter over androidx.work.WorkManager + JobScheduler — OS-scheduled, reboot-persistent, survives process death."

Android

worker-kmp on Android is a thin adapter over androidx.work.WorkManager (+ JobScheduler). OS-scheduled, persistent across reboots, and survives app process death — the WorkManager you already know, exposed through the commonMain API.

Requirements

• minSdk ≥ 21 (Android 5.0 Lollipop)
• AndroidX WorkManager 2.9+ (transitively included by cmp-worker-android)
• AndroidX Startup (transitively included; used for zero-config initialization)

Dependency

// commonMain
api(libs.worker.kmp)
api(libs.worker.koin)

// androidMain
api(libs.worker.android)

Manifest additions

For most workers, no Manifest changes are required — cmp-worker-android declares the necessary <provider> and <receiver> entries via manifest-merger.

For foreground service workers (long-running tasks), add the following:

<!-- AndroidManifest.xml -->
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.FOREGROUND_SERVICE" />

<!-- API 34+: declare service type -->
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.FOREGROUND_SERVICE_DATA_SYNC" />
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.FOREGROUND_SERVICE_MEDIA_PLAYBACK" />
<!-- … add other types your foreground workers use -->

<application>
    <!-- The library's foreground service is auto-declared via manifest-merger.
         Consumers may override foregroundServiceType per build variant: -->
    <service
        android:name="androidx.work.impl.foreground.SystemForegroundService"
        tools:replace="android:foregroundServiceType"
        android:foregroundServiceType="dataSync" />
</application>

See Foreground Tasks for the full per-type matrix.

Android setup (v4 single-API)

The worker wiring lives in your commonMain shared init via WorkerKmpAuto.install() (see the Quick start / Single-API Guide). The Android app class's only worker-related job is to bind the Koin androidContext — the generated Android installer reads the Application from that binding and selects androidWorkManagerFactory automatically:

// androidMain — no worker code; just supply the Koin Android context.
class App : Application() {
    override fun onCreate() {
        super.onCreate()
        initApp { androidContext(this@App) }   // commonMain initApp calls WorkerKmpAuto.install()
    }
}

Under the hood the generated installer uses androidWorkManagerFactory(context), which handles:

• WorkManager.getInstance(context) lookup
• Mapping commonMain Constraints → androidx.work.Constraints
• Registry-based worker instantiation from the @WorkerKmpWorkers codegen
• Wiring WorkObserver SAMs through WorkManager.getWorkInfosByTagFlow(...)

Permissions you may also need

• POST_NOTIFICATIONS (API 33+) if your foreground worker shows a notification
• INTERNET (almost always, for network-constrained workers)
• ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE for NetworkType.CONNECTED / UNMETERED constraints

See also

• Platform API Matrix — full per-API support
• True Background Matrix — Android's guarantees vs other platforms
• Foreground Tasks — per-foregroundServiceType setup