Thalarch Kotlin

Use the Kotlin version, target platforms, compiler options, and libraries declared by the repository. Do not assume Android, Compose, KMP, coroutines, KSP, or a specific architecture.

Preflight

Identify:

• Kotlin/compiler/plugin version;
• JVM/Android/Native/JS/multiplatform targets;
• Gradle wrapper and version catalogs;
• coroutine/serialization/Compose/KSP/KAPT usage;
• test libraries and configured lint/static-analysis tools;
• Java interoperability requirements.

Preserve the existing build model unless the task explicitly changes it.

Idiomatic Kotlin

Prefer language features when they improve clarity rather than merely shorten code:

• null-safe operators and explicit boundary validation instead of routine !!;
• data/value classes for real value semantics;
• sealed types for closed state/result models;
• exhaustive when where it strengthens correctness;
• collection operators for clear transformations;
• sequences only when laziness materially avoids work/allocation;
• scope functions only when receiver/return semantics stay obvious.

Do not nest scope functions until ownership becomes difficult to read. Do not replace a simple loop with a chain that hides control flow or allocates unnecessarily on a hot path.

Coroutines and Flow

Structured concurrency is the default.

Review explicitly:

• scope owner and lifetime;
• dispatcher ownership/injection;
• cancellation propagation;
• exception supervision semantics;
• concurrent mutation/shared state;
• backpressure/buffering;
• hot vs cold stream semantics;
• replay and event-loss behavior;
• blocking work on inappropriate dispatchers.

Avoid GlobalScope and detached jobs unless the lifecycle is deliberately process-wide and documented. Do not launch work from constructors/init blocks without a proven owner.

Never swallow CancellationException; if caught by a broad handler, rethrow it unless the runtime/library contract requires a different explicit mechanism.

Use async only for genuine concurrency. An immediate async { ... }.await() is usually just a suspending call with extra machinery.

For state, preserve atomic update semantics and understand whether the code needs StateFlow, SharedFlow, Channel, or a cold Flow. Do not treat them as interchangeable.

Android / Compose overlay

When Android or Compose is actually present, combine this skill with thalarch-android and thalarch-ui as appropriate.

Review:

• state ownership/hoisting;
• lifecycle-aware collection;
• effect keys and cancellation;
• remember/derivedStateOf only where they provide real stability/work savings;
• lazy-list stable keys;
• snapshot state boundaries;
• unnecessary recomposition or expensive work during composition;
• semantics, touch targets, insets, adaptive layouts, localization.

Runtime UI claims require emulator/device/render evidence when possible.

Multiplatform

For KMP projects:

• keep common code platform-neutral;
• inspect actual source-set hierarchy;
• use expect/actual only for true platform boundaries;
• avoid leaking Android/JVM APIs into common code;
• verify at least the affected target(s), not only the host target.

Java interoperability

Use JVM annotations only when a Java caller/framework actually needs them. Preserve nullability, SAM, overload, checked-exception, and binary-compatibility behavior across public boundaries.

Testing

Use repository-native libraries. When present/appropriate:

• runTest for suspend/coroutine tests;
• virtual time instead of real sleeps;
• Flow assertions that prove ordering/cancellation/completion;
• Turbine only when it is already installed or justified;
• instrumentation/device tests for Android runtime behavior.

Avoid tests whose only proof is that a mocked collaborator returned the value configured in the mock.

Verification

Run the actual Gradle tasks/configured linters/tests for the affected module and target. Report Kotlin/compiler/target context for any version-sensitive claim.