Compatibility and versions

Compose Multiplatform releases ship separately from Kotlin and Jetpack Compose releases. This page contains information about Compose Multiplatform releases, the compatibility between different releases, and the release cycles.

Supported platforms

Compose Multiplatform 1.6.2 supports the following platforms:

Android
iOS
macOS (x86-64, arm64)
Windows (x86-64)
Linux (x86-64, arm64)
Web browsers

Limitations of Compose Multiplatform releases

The following limitations apply to all Compose Multiplatform releases:

Only 64-bit platforms are supported.
Only JDK 11 or later is supported due to the memory management scheme used in Skia bindings.
Only JDK 17 or later is supported for packaging native distributions due to jpackage limitations.

There is a known issue with OpenJDK 11.0.12 when switching keyboard layouts on macOS. This issue isn't reproducible in OpenJDK 11.0.15.

Kotlin compatibility

Compose Multiplatform needs a compatible version of Kotlin to work correctly. Starting from Compose Multiplatform 1.2.0, Compose Multiplatform supports multiple versions of Kotlin. Earlier versions of Compose Multiplatform can only be used with one specific version of Kotlin. See the following table for a list of Kotlin releases and the minimum supported version of Compose Multiplatform:

Kotlin version	Min. Compose Multiplatform version	Notes
1.9.23	1.6.1
1.9.22	1.5.12
1.9.21	1.5.11
1.9.20	1.5.10
1.9.10	1.5.1
1.9.0	1.4.3
1.8.22	1.4.3
1.8.21	1.4.3
1.8.20	1.4.0
1.8.10	1.3.1
1.8.0	1.3.0	1.3.0 is not supported by earlier Kotlin/Native versions
1.7.20	1.2.1
1.7.20	1.2.0	JavaScript is not supported. (Fixed in release 1.2.1.)
1.7.10	1.2.0
1.6.20	1.1.1
1.5.31	1.0.0

As long as there is a compatible version of Kotlin, Compose Multiplatform automatically configures the Compose Multiplatform compiler plugin. The Compose Multiplatform compiler plugin is responsible for compiling your composable functions. Each Compose Multiplatform compiler plugin is strictly bound to a single version of Kotlin.

As Compose Multiplatform and Kotlin releases ship separately, there may be times when a stable release of Compose Multiplatform doesn't yet support the latest Kotlin release. However, you can still try the latest Kotlin release by manually configuring the compiler plugin for your project. When manually configuring a compiler plugin for your project, you must check that it is compatible with the Kotlin version that you want to use.

Use one of the following approaches to try the latest Kotlin release by manually configuring a different compiler plugin:

Use a developer version of the Compose Multiplatform compiler
Use the Jetpack Compose compiler
Use a compiler version for a different version of Kotlin

Use a developer version of Compose Multiplatform compiler

If there isn't a stable Compose Multiplatform version that supports the Kotlin version that you want to use, you can try a developer (dev) version of the Compose Multiplatform compiler. -dev versions of Compose Multiplatform, such as 1.5.0-dev1084, contain actual version mappings from Kotlin to the Compose Multiplatform compiler. This includes Beta and RC (Release Candidate) versions of Kotlin.

If you want to test a Beta or RC version of Kotlin that isn't directly supported by a stable release of Compose Multiplatform, there are two options:

Use the most recent -dev build of Compose Multiplatform. For information on the latest releases available, see Releases.
Manually specify the kotlinCompilerPlugin version in your build.gradle.kts file. Find the right version by consulting the following table:

Kotlin version	Compose Multiplatform compiler version
2.0.0-RC1	`1.5.11-kt-2.0.0-RC1`
1.9.23	`1.5.10.1`
1.9.22	`1.5.8.1`
1.9.21	`1.5.4`
1.9.20	`1.5.3`
1.9.10	`1.5.2`
1.9.0	`1.5.1`
1.8.22	`1.4.8`
1.8.21	`1.4.7`
1.8.20	`1.4.5`
1.8.10	`1.4.2`
1.8.0	`1.4.0`
1.7.20	`1.3.2.2`
1.7.10	`1.3.0`

For example, to use Kotlin 1.9.20-RC, you need Compose Multiplatform compiler version 1.5.2.1-rc01:

compose {
    kotlinCompilerPlugin.set("1.5.2.1-rc01")
}

Use a Jetpack Compose compiler

If there is no suitable developer version of the Compose Multiplatform compiler plugin, you can try using a Jetpack Compose compiler plugin. Check the pre-release Kotlin compatibility table from Android to find a compatible compiler version. Then, in your build.gradle.kts file, set it in the kotlinCompilerPlugin.set parameter:

compose {
    kotlinCompilerPlugin.set("androidx.compose.compiler:compiler:1.5.4")
}

In this example, Jetpack Compose compiler version 1.5.4 corresponds to Kotlin 1.9.21.

Use a compiler for a different version of Kotlin

If there is no compatible Compose Multiplatform or Jetpack Compose compiler for your Kotlin version (or you encountered errors), you can try to use a compiler for a different version of Kotlin. If you do this, you must disable the Kotlin version compatibility check. This approach can work if you upgrade to a minor version of Kotlin, but probably won't work if you upgrade to a major version of Kotlin.

compose {
    kotlinCompilerPlugin.set(dependencies.compiler.forKotlin("1.7.20"))
    kotlinCompilerPluginArgs.add("suppressKotlinVersionCompatibilityCheck=1.7.21")
}

This example sets a fixed version for the Compose Multiplatform compiler and configures it by specifying additional arguments. The argument suppressKotlinVersionCompatibilityCheck disables the internal Kotlin compatibility check inside the compiler. The argument specifies the version of Kotlin that is applied to your project.

Jetpack Compose and Compose Multiplatform release cycles

Compose Multiplatform shares a lot of code with Jetpack Compose for Android, a framework developed by Google. We align our Compose Multiplatform release cycle with the release cycle of Jetpack Compose so that the common code is properly tested and stabilized.

When a new version of Jetpack Compose is released, we:

Use the release commit as a base for the next Compose Multiplatform version.
Add support for new platform features.
Stabilize all platforms.
Release a new version of Compose Multiplatform.

The gap between a Compose Multiplatform release and a Jetpack Compose release is usually 1–3 months.

When you build your application for Android, the artifacts published by Google are used. For example, if you apply the Compose Multiplatform 1.5.0 Gradle plugin and add implementation(compose.material3) to your dependencies, then your project will use the androidx.compose.material3:material3:1.1.1 artifact in the Android target ( but org.jetbrains.compose.material3:material3:1.5.0 in other targets). See the following table to find out exactly which version of Jetpack Compose artifact is used:

Compose Multiplatform version	Jetpack Compose version	Jetpack Compose Material3 version
1.6.2	1.6.4	1.2.1
1.6.1	1.6.3	1.2.1
1.6.0	1.6.1	1.2.0
1.5.12	1.5.4	1.1.2
1.5.11	1.5.4	1.1.2
1.5.10	1.5.4	1.1.2
1.5.1	1.5.0	1.1.1
1.5.0	1.5.0	1.1.1
1.4.3	1.4.3	1.0.1
1.4.1	1.4.3	1.0.1
1.4.0	1.4.0	1.0.1
1.3.1	1.3.3	1.0.1
1.3.0	1.3.3	1.0.1
1.2.1	1.2.1	1.0.0-alpha14
1.2.0	1.2.1	1.0.0-alpha14
1.1.1	1.1.0	1.0.0-alpha05
1.1.0	1.1.0	1.0.0-alpha05
1.0.1	1.1.0-beta02	1.0.0-alpha03
1.0.0	1.1.0-beta02	1.0.0-alpha03

Last modified: 11 April 2024