Android Compose Performance
When To Use
- Use this skill when the request is about: compose performance issue, recomposition too much android, slow lazycolumn compose.
- Primary outcome: Profile and improve Compose recomposition, layout, scrolling, startup, and rendering performance in Android apps.
- Handoff skills when the scope expands:
android-performance-observabilityandroid-testing-ui
Workflow
- Identify whether the target surface is Compose, View system, or a mixed interoperability screen.
- Select the lowest-friction UI pattern that satisfies responsiveness, accessibility, and performance needs.
- Build the UI around stable state, explicit side effects, and reusable design tokens.
- Exercise edge cases such as long text, font scaling, RTL, and narrow devices in the fixture apps.
- Validate with unit, UI, and screenshot-friendly checks before handing off.
Guardrails
- Optimize for stable state and predictable rendering before adding animation or abstraction.
- Respect accessibility semantics, contrast, focus order, and touch target guidance by default.
- Do not mix Compose and View system ownership without an explicit interoperability boundary.
- Prefer measured performance work over premature micro-optimizations.
Anti-Patterns
- Embedding navigation or business logic directly in leaf UI components.
- Using fixed dimensions that break on localization or dynamic text.
- Ignoring semantics and announcing only visual changes.
- Porting XML patterns directly into Compose without adapting the mental model.
Remediation Examples
Stabilize list identity
LazyColumn {
items(tasks, key = { it.id }) { task ->
TaskRow(task)
}
}Move heavy work out of composition
@Composable
fun TaskBoard(tasks: List<TaskUiModel>) {
val visibleTasks = remember(tasks) { tasks.sortedBy { it.title } }
LazyColumn { items(visibleTasks, key = { it.title }) { TaskRow(it) } }
}Avoid broad scroll-driven recomposition
Box(
modifier = Modifier.offset {
IntOffset(0, scrollState.value)
}
)Examples
Happy path
- Scenario: Profile the Compose task list for unnecessary recomposition hotspots.
- Command:
cd examples/orbittasks-compose &&./gradlew:app:testDebugUnitTest
Edge case
- Scenario: Evaluate long lists, filter chips, and snackbar churn under repeated state changes.
- Command:
cd examples/orbittasks-compose &&./gradlew:app:assembleDebug
Failure recovery
- Scenario: Separate performance requests from generic Compose or observability prompts.
- Command:
python3 scripts/eval_triggers.py --skill android-compose-performance
Done Checklist
- The implementation path is explicit, minimal, and tied to the right Android surface.
- Relevant example commands and benchmark prompts have been exercised or updated.
- Handoffs to adjacent skills are documented when the request crosses boundaries.
- Official references cover the chosen pattern and the main migration or troubleshooting path.