Sometimes you need to download a JAR and then immediately use it within the same build (e.g., a code generator). You can combine a download task with a JavaExec task.
If you want to avoid external plugins and only need a simple download, you can use standard Java APIs within a Gradle task.
1. Using a Custom Ivy Repository (Recommended for Dependencies) gradle download jar from url
If you need to use a JAR from a URL as a project dependency (allowing for caching and transitive resolution), the most "native" way is to define a custom Ivy repository with a pattern that matches your URL.
repositories { ivy { url = "https://example.com" patternLayout { artifact "[artifact]-[revision].[ext]" } metadataSources { artifact() // Tells Gradle to look for the JAR directly since there's no POM } } } dependencies { implementation "com.example:my-library:1.0" } Use code with caution. Sometimes you need to download a JAR and
For general-purpose file downloads (like downloading a CLI tool or a data file), the gradle-download-task plugin is the industry standard. It supports progress bars, authentication, and conditional downloads. plugins { id "de.undercouch.download" version "5.4.0" } Use code with caution. Usage:
task runDownloadedJar(type: JavaExec) { dependsOn downloadJar // Ensure it's downloaded first classpath = files("${buildDir}/plugin-2.0.jar") mainClass = "com.example.Main" } Use code with caution. Summary of Approaches For general-purpose file downloads (like downloading a CLI
task downloadJar(type: Download) { src 'https://example.com' dest buildDir overwrite false // Only download if the file doesn't exist } Use code with caution. 3. Using Native Java/Groovy (No Plugins Required)
Downloading a JAR file from a specific URL in Gradle is a common task, whether you're dealing with a legacy library not hosted on Maven Central or a specialized tool required for your build pipeline. While Gradle is designed for structured repository management, it offers several ways to handle arbitrary file downloads.
In this example, Gradle will attempt to download the JAR from https://example.com . 2. Using the gradle-download-task Plugin