# GradleUp/shadow

Gradle plugin for creating fat/uber JARs, transforming files, relocating packages, and optimizing applications with R8/ProGuard. The Gradle counterpart to Maven Shade Plugin.

Repository: https://github.com/GradleUp/shadow
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/gradleup-shadow
Homepage: https://gradleup.com/shadow/
Language: Kotlin
License: Apache-2.0
License Family: permissive
Topics: gradle-plugin, shading, build, bundling, fat-jar, fatjar, gradle, groovy, jar, java, kotlin, uber-jar, uberjar, one-jar, onejar, jvm, packaging, proguard, r8
Last push: 2026-08-26T13:57:59+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 97/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 94, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 5005, "days_push": 7, "days_rel": 43, "gap_med": 8.5, "n_releases_24m": 47}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 4225, forks 425 (observed 2026-08-28T04:08:39.356585+00:00)

## What it is
Shadow is a Gradle plugin for creating fat/uber JARs that combine a project's classes and all its dependencies into a single executable JAR. It also supports file transformation, package relocation to avoid classpath conflicts, and application optimization via R8/ProGuard.

## Use cases
- build a single executable fat jar with gradle
- bundle dependencies into one jar for a java application
- relocate packages in a jar to avoid dependency conflicts
- create an uber jar for a kotlin library
- run my app with java -jar including all dependencies
- shade dependencies in a gradle build like maven shade plugin
- minimize and optimize a jar with R8 or ProGuard

## When to choose
- you use Gradle and need a self-contained executable JAR distribution
- you publish a library and want to bundle/relocate dependencies to prevent classpath conflicts
- you are migrating from the Maven Shade Plugin to a Gradle build
- you want jar transformation and shrinking with R8/ProGuard integrated into your build

## When to avoid
- your project builds with Maven rather than Gradle
- you need a distributable archive (tar/zip) rather than a single jar
- your dependencies use complex service loading or signed jars that don't shade cleanly

## Facets
- artifact type: plugin
- maturity: active
- function: build-tool, package-manager, compression
- domain: developer-tools
- platform: jvm
- tags: gradle-plugin, fat-jar, uber-jar, shading, package-relocation, proguard, r8, jar-bundling, jvm, build-automation, gradle

## Member repositories
- GradleUp/shadow (main) score 97

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:39.356585+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T18:22:22.561991+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/GradleUp/shadow (fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:39.356585+00:00, sha 57b0333a240a)
  - homepage: https://gradleup.com/shadow/ (fetched 2026-08-29T09:12:23.100019+00:00, sha 68a68a9eb29a)
  - site_page: https://gradleup.com/shadow/getting-started (fetched 2026-08-29T09:12:23.102751+00:00, sha 0b43e00bcc4b)
  - site_page: https://gradleup.com/shadow/about (fetched 2026-08-29T09:12:23.104690+00:00, sha 043d0e15c98b)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.