Compose Multiplatform Patterns Patterns for building shared UI across Android, iOS, Desktop, and Web using Compose Multiplatform and Jetpack Compose. Covers state management, navigation, theming, and performance. When to Activate Building Compose UI (Jetpack Compose or Compose Multiplatform) Managing UI state with ViewModels and Compose state Implementing navigation in KMP or Android projects Designing reusable composables and design systems Optimizing recomposition and rendering performance State Management ViewModel + Single State Object Use a single data class for screen state. Expose it as StateFlow and collect in Compose: data class ItemListState ( val items : List < Item
= emptyList ( ) , val isLoading : Boolean = false , val error : String ? = null , val searchQuery : String = "" ) class ItemListViewModel ( private val getItems : GetItemsUseCase ) : ViewModel ( ) { private val _state = MutableStateFlow ( ItemListState ( ) ) val state : StateFlow < ItemListState
= _state . asStateFlow ( ) fun onSearch ( query : String ) { _state . update { it . copy ( searchQuery = query ) } loadItems ( query ) } private fun loadItems ( query : String ) { viewModelScope . launch { _state . update { it . copy ( isLoading = true ) } getItems ( query ) . fold ( onSuccess = { items -> _state . update { it . copy ( items = items , isLoading = false ) } } , onFailure = { e -> _state . update { it . copy ( error = e . message , isLoading = false ) } } ) } } } Collecting State in Compose @Composable fun ItemListScreen ( viewModel : ItemListViewModel = koinViewModel ( ) ) { val state by viewModel . state . collectAsStateWithLifecycle ( ) ItemListContent ( state = state , onSearch = viewModel :: onSearch ) } @Composable private fun ItemListContent ( state : ItemListState , onSearch : ( String ) -> Unit ) { // Stateless composable — easy to preview and test } Event Sink Pattern For complex screens, use a sealed interface for events instead of multiple callback lambdas: sealed interface ItemListEvent { data class Search ( val query : String ) : ItemListEvent data class Delete ( val itemId : String ) : ItemListEvent data object Refresh : ItemListEvent } // In ViewModel fun onEvent ( event : ItemListEvent ) { when ( event ) { is ItemListEvent . Search -> onSearch ( event . query ) is ItemListEvent . Delete -> deleteItem ( event . itemId ) is ItemListEvent . Refresh -> loadItems ( _state . value . searchQuery ) } } // In Composable — single lambda instead of many ItemListContent ( state = state , onEvent = viewModel :: onEvent ) Navigation Type-Safe Navigation (Compose Navigation 2.8+) Define routes as @Serializable objects: @Serializable data object HomeRoute @Serializable data class DetailRoute ( val id : String ) @Serializable data object SettingsRoute @Composable fun AppNavHost ( navController : NavHostController = rememberNavController ( ) ) { NavHost ( navController , startDestination = HomeRoute ) { composable < HomeRoute
{ HomeScreen ( onNavigateToDetail = { id -> navController . navigate ( DetailRoute ( id ) ) } ) } composable < DetailRoute
{ backStackEntry -> val route = backStackEntry . toRoute < DetailRoute
( ) DetailScreen ( id = route . id ) } composable < SettingsRoute
{ SettingsScreen ( ) } } } Dialog and Bottom Sheet Navigation Use dialog() and overlay patterns instead of imperative show/hide: NavHost ( navController , startDestination = HomeRoute ) { composable < HomeRoute
{ / ... / } dialog < ConfirmDeleteRoute
{ backStackEntry -> val route = backStackEntry . toRoute < ConfirmDeleteRoute
( ) ConfirmDeleteDialog ( itemId = route . itemId , onConfirm = { navController . popBackStack ( ) } , onDismiss = { navController . popBackStack ( ) } ) } } Composable Design Slot-Based APIs Design composables with slot parameters for flexibility: @Composable fun AppCard ( modifier : Modifier = Modifier , header : @Composable ( ) -> Unit = { } , content : @Composable ColumnScope . ( ) -> Unit , actions : @Composable RowScope . ( ) -> Unit = { } ) { Card ( modifier = modifier ) { Column { header ( ) Column ( content = content ) Row ( horizontalArrangement = Arrangement . End , content = actions ) } } } Modifier Ordering Modifier order matters — apply in this sequence: Text ( text = "Hello" , modifier = Modifier . padding ( 16 . dp ) // 1. Layout (padding, size) . clip ( RoundedCornerShape ( 8 . dp ) ) // 2. Shape . background ( Color . White ) // 3. Drawing (background, border) . clickable { } // 4. Interaction ) KMP Platform-Specific UI expect/actual for Platform Composables // commonMain @Composable expect fun PlatformStatusBar ( darkIcons : Boolean ) // androidMain @Composable actual fun PlatformStatusBar ( darkIcons : Boolean ) { val systemUiController = rememberSystemUiController ( ) SideEffect { systemUiController . setStatusBarColor ( Color . Transparent , darkIcons ) } } // iosMain @Composable actual fun PlatformStatusBar ( darkIcons : Boolean ) { // iOS handles this via UIKit interop or Info.plist } Performance Stable Types for Skippable Recomposition Mark classes as @Stable or @Immutable when all properties are stable: @Immutable data class ItemUiModel ( val id : String , val title : String , val description : String , val progress : Float ) Use key() and Lazy Lists Correctly LazyColumn { items ( items = items , key = { it . id } // Stable keys enable item reuse and animations ) { item -> ItemRow ( item = item ) } } Defer Reads with derivedStateOf val listState = rememberLazyListState ( ) val showScrollToTop by remember { derivedStateOf { listState . firstVisibleItemIndex
5 } } Avoid Allocations in Recomposition // BAD — new lambda and list every recomposition items . filter { it . isActive } . forEach { ActiveItem ( it , onClick = { handle ( it ) } ) } // GOOD — key each item so callbacks stay attached to the right row val activeItems = remember ( items ) { items . filter { it . isActive } } activeItems . forEach { item -> key ( item . id ) { ActiveItem ( item , onClick = { handle ( item ) } ) } } Theming Material 3 Dynamic Theming @Composable fun AppTheme ( darkTheme : Boolean = isSystemInDarkTheme ( ) , dynamicColor : Boolean = true , content : @Composable ( ) -> Unit ) { val colorScheme = when { dynamicColor && Build . VERSION . SDK_INT = Build . VERSION_CODES . S -> { if ( darkTheme ) dynamicDarkColorScheme ( LocalContext . current ) else dynamicLightColorScheme ( LocalContext . current ) } darkTheme -> darkColorScheme ( ) else -> lightColorScheme ( ) } MaterialTheme ( colorScheme = colorScheme , content = content ) } Anti-Patterns to Avoid Using mutableStateOf in ViewModels when MutableStateFlow with collectAsStateWithLifecycle is safer for lifecycle Passing NavController deep into composables — pass lambda callbacks instead Heavy computation inside @Composable functions — move to ViewModel or remember {} Using LaunchedEffect(Unit) as a substitute for ViewModel init — it re-runs on configuration change in some setups Creating new object instances in composable parameters — causes unnecessary recomposition References See skill: android-clean-architecture for module structure and layering. See skill: kotlin-coroutines-flows for coroutine and Flow patterns.