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KMP Without Compose

Use Anchor DI in a Kotlin Multiplatform project that does not use Compose for UI — for example, SwiftUI on iOS, Views on Android, or shared logic only. This page explains what works, what's different, and what to add. You don't need anchor-di-compose; you'll use Anchor.inject<T>() and manual scope management instead of anchorInject() and viewModelAnchor().

Dependencies​

Add these dependencies to your shared module:

Quick Setup (Convention Plugin)​

// shared/build.gradle.kts
plugins {
    id("anchor-di-convention")
}

// compose defaults to false — no extra config needed

Manual Setup​

kotlin {
    sourceSets {
        commonMain.dependencies {
            implementation(platform("io.github.12345debdut:anchor-di-bom:x.x.x"))
            implementation("io.github.12345debdut:anchor-di-api")
            implementation("io.github.12345debdut:anchor-di-core")
            implementation("io.github.12345debdut:anchor-di-presentation")  // Optional: NavigationScopeRegistry
            implementation("io.github.12345debdut:anchor-di-android")       // Optional: ActivityScope (Android)
        }
    }
}

dependencies {
    add("kspCommonMainMetadata", "io.github.12345debdut:anchor-di-ksp:x.x.x")
    add("kspAndroid", "io.github.12345debdut:anchor-di-ksp:x.x.x")
    add("kspIosArm64", "io.github.12345debdut:anchor-di-ksp:x.x.x")
    add("kspIosSimulatorArm64", "io.github.12345debdut:anchor-di-ksp:x.x.x")
}

What each does:

  • anchor-di-api + anchor-di-core — Core DI. Always required.
  • anchor-di-presentation — NavigationScopeRegistry for navigation-scoped DI without Compose.
  • anchor-di-android — ActivityScope and Android-specific helpers.

What Works​

FeatureUsage
Constructor injection@Inject, @Module, @Provides, @Binds, @InstallIn(SingletonComponent::class)
Singleton scopeAnchor.inject<T>() from root
Custom scopesAnchor.withScope(MyScope::class) { scope -> scope.get<T>() } or Anchor.scopedContainer(MyScope::class)
ViewModel scopeViewModelScopeRegistry.getOrCreate(scopeKey) → resolve from returned container; ViewModelScopeRegistry.dispose(scopeKey) when screen is gone. On Android, use anchor-di-android's getViewModelScope(owner, lifecycle) or viewModelScope() for auto-dispose.
ActivityScope (Android)Anchor.withScope(ActivityScope::class) { ... } or Anchor.scopedContainer(ActivityScope::class)
Navigation scopeNavigationScopeRegistry.getOrCreate(scopeKey) / dispose(scopeKey)
Lazy / ProviderLazy<T>, AnchorProvider<T> injection
Multibinding@IntoSet, @IntoMap, Anchor.injectSet<T>(), Anchor.injectMap<V>()
KSPSame as with Compose: kspCommonMainMetadata, kspAndroid, kspIosArm64, kspIosSimulatorArm64

What's Different​

With ComposeWithout Compose
anchorInject()Use Anchor.inject<T>() directly where you need the dependency (e.g. in a screen factory or service locator).
viewModelAnchor()Use Anchor.withScope(ViewModelComponent::class) { scope -> scope.get<ViewModel>() } or hold a scoped container per screen and dispose it when leaving.
NavigationScopedContent + navigationScopedInject()Use NavigationScopeRegistry.getOrCreate(scopeKey) when entering a screen and dispose(scopeKey) when leaving (e.g. in SwiftUI or native UI).

Summary​

Core DI (api, core, ksp), scopes, and codegen work the same. The main difference is that you don't have Compose-specific helpers (anchorInject(), viewModelAnchor()). Use Anchor.inject<T>() and manual scope management instead. For ViewModel and navigation scopes, use anchor-di-android and anchor-di-presentation as needed. For ViewModel scope without Compose, use ViewModelScopeRegistry.getOrCreate(scopeKey) and dispose(scopeKey) when the screen is gone; on Android, use anchor-di-android's getViewModelScope(owner, lifecycle) or viewModelScope() for auto-dispose.

Next Steps​