Android Coroutines Flow
When To Use
- Use this skill when the request is about: android flow collection, fix coroutine scope in android, structured concurrency in viewmodel.
- Primary outcome: Use coroutines, Flow, structured concurrency, dispatchers, and cancellation-safe Android async pipelines.
- Handoff skills when the scope expands:
android-state-managementandroid-workmanager-notifications
Workflow
- Map the request to the current Android stack, module boundaries, and minimum supported API level.
- Inspect the existing implementation for implicit assumptions, duplicate helpers, and outdated patterns.
- Apply the smallest change that improves correctness, readability, and long-term maintainability.
- Validate the result against the relevant showcase app path and repo benchmarks.
- Hand off adjacent work to the next specialized skill only after the core foundation is stable.
Guardrails
- Prefer official Android and Kotlin guidance over custom local conventions when they conflict.
- Keep public APIs boring and explicit; avoid clever abstractions that hide Android lifecycle costs.
- Do not mix architectural cleanup with product behavior changes unless the request explicitly needs both.
- Document any compatibility constraints that will affect old modules or generated code.
Anti-Patterns
- Sprinkling helpers across modules without a clear ownership boundary.
- Introducing framework-specific code into pure domain or data layers.
- Refactoring every adjacent file when only one contract needed to change.
- Leaving migration notes implied instead of writing them down.
Remediation Examples
Inject dispatchers instead of hard-coding them
class TaskRepository(
private val ioDispatcher: CoroutineDispatcher = Dispatchers.IO,
) {
suspend fun refresh(): List<TaskUiModel> = withContext(ioDispatcher) { loadTasks() }
}
Collect flows with lifecycle awareness
viewLifecycleOwner.lifecycleScope.launch {
viewLifecycleOwner.repeatOnLifecycle(Lifecycle.State.STARTED) {
viewModel.uiState.collect { render(it) }
}
}
Preserve cancellation in generic error handling
try {
repository.refresh()
} catch (error: CancellationException) {
throw error
} catch (error: Exception) {
emit(UiState.Error(error))
}
Examples
Happy path
- Scenario: Model task updates as StateFlow and shared event channels in the Compose fixture.
- Command:
cd examples/orbittasks-compose &&./gradlew:app:testDebugUnitTest
Edge case
- Scenario: Recover from cancellation and configuration changes in the XML activity flow.
- Command:
cd examples/orbittasks-xml &&./gradlew:app:testDebugUnitTest
Failure recovery
- Scenario: Disambiguate coroutine requests from state-management and WorkManager prompts.
- Command:
python3 scripts/eval_triggers.py --skill android-coroutines-flow
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.
Official References
