# Alkaa: Kotlin and Compose Multiplatform task app architecture

> Alkaa is a task-management application built as a Kotlin Multiplatform reference project, with Compose Multiplatform interfaces for Android, iOS, and desktop. Its main value is its modular Hexagonal Architecture, not a documented set of advanced task-management features.

**igorescodro/alkaa** — Kotlin multiplatform app to manage your tasks

- Repository: https://github.com/igorescodro/alkaa
- Website: https://igorescodro.github.io/alkaa/
- Stars: 1,646 · Forks: 162
- Language: Kotlin
- License: Apache-2.0
- Published: 2026-10-16 · Updated: 2026-10-16 · Language: en
- Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/igorescodro-alkaa

## Alkaa's Kotlin Multiplatform task-management purpose

Alkaa addresses two needs at once. For users, it is a to-do application distributed through Google Play and the App Store, with a desktop application also named in the README. For Kotlin developers, it is an application-shaped study of multiplatform components, architecture, and tooling. That dual purpose matters when judging the project. It is not presented as an extensive project-management suite with documented automation, team assignment, synchronization, or integrations. Its main engineering subject is how one Kotlin codebase can support Android, iOS, and desktop while separating domain rules from data and interface concerns.

The repository identifies Kotlin as the primary language and describes the current application as fully migrated to Kotlin and Compose Multiplatform. Compose Multiplatform supplies the interface layer, while platform modules provide initialization for each target. The product listings make Alkaa useful for examining a distributed multiplatform project rather than a collection of isolated code samples. However, the README does not provide a feature inventory, a textual explanation of the screenshots, import and export options, notification rules, synchronization behavior, or account handling. Those omissions limit assessment as a task manager.

The project name comes from the Finnish words for beginning or starting, according to the README. That context does not add technical capability, but it indicates that Alkaa began as an application and later became a reference for multiplatform development. The relevant question for an adopting team is whether it can serve as an application foundation or mainly as an educational reference.

## Alkaa's Compose Multiplatform interface and navigation stack

The interface layer is built with Compose Multiplatform, and the repository includes dedicated Android, iOS, and desktop modules. The README also lists Compose Multiplatform UI Testing, adaptive layouts through Compose Adaptive, and Navigation3 for navigation. Coroutines handle asynchronous work. This gives the project a recognizable Kotlin interface stack, but the documentation does not describe individual screens, state models, or event flows in enough detail to reconstruct them.

The interface follows Material You guidance and includes dynamic color on Android only. Dynamic color being Android-specific is a useful platform boundary. It also means that visual behavior is not presented as identical across every target. The project publishes its design system as a separate HTML preview at assets/designsystem/alkaa-ds.html. Based on the repository listing, this design work is kept outside the principal application modules rather than embedded solely in one screen implementation.

Coroutines and dependency inversion are relevant to the application data flow. Domain code can describe operations without directly choosing a SQLDelight implementation, while repository implementations connect that behavior to persistence. The README does not expose concrete class names, database schemas, use-case names, or migration procedures. It is therefore possible to explain the intended boundaries, but not to claim a particular task-creation or task-completion sequence without reading the source.

## Alkaa's Hexagonal Architecture across repository modules

Alkaa is organized as a modular implementation of Hexagonal Architecture. The domain modules contain business logic and, according to the README, depend only on themselves. Outside dependencies enter through dependency inversion. Feature modules represent visible and non-visible application functions, while data modules contain persistence and repository logic. Shared code occupies a separate module, and libraries contain reusable pieces such as design system, navigation, and testing support.

The platform boundary is visible in the repository layout. app, ios-app, and desktop-app provide platform-specific initialization. shared, features, domain, data, and libraries contain cross-cutting and reusable code. The README says dependencies point toward the center, with modules closer to the center treated as more important to the application. That is the documented architectural intent, although the README does not enumerate every Gradle dependency needed to verify it.

SQLDelight is the stated database technology. DataStore is listed for local storage, which indicates that Alkaa does not assign every kind of local state to one persistence component, although the README does not say which values use which mechanism. Koin handles dependency injection. AboutLibraries supports license presentation. The application therefore combines several technologies, which gives an architecture example more depth but also creates more dependency and upgrade surfaces.

## Obtaining Alkaa and beginning with the Gradle wrapper

The README directs mobile users to Google Play and the App Store. It says a desktop version is available, but it does not name a desktop installer, package repository, supported operating systems, or desktop release artifact. There are no documented installation commands, JDK versions, Android Studio requirements, Xcode requirements, or packaging instructions. For that reason, the code below does not invent a build flag or claim that one command produces every target.

The repository does contain Gradle wrapper entry points named gradlew and gradlew.bat, alongside settings.gradle.kts, build.gradle.kts, and gradle/libs.versions.toml. On a compatible Unix-like development machine, invoking the wrapper without an invented task can only be described as a wrapper entry point, not as a complete source-build tutorial:

```bash
./gradlew
```

The repository's own Gradle configuration determines what this produces. Before treating it as a build, inspect settings.gradle.kts, gradle.properties, gradle/libs.versions.toml, and the platform modules for target-specific requirements. The README does not confirm that Java, Android SDK, Xcode, or other platform toolchains are already installed, so it would be misleading to present the wrapper as a complete installer.

The first documented real use is also incomplete. Store links can lead to an installed Alkaa application, but the README does not describe task creation, editing, completion, deletion, onboarding, permissions, or account registration. The screenshots show the application exists, but their captions do not define the interaction. A prospective user must inspect the store listing, while a developer must read the feature and data source files before choosing an API or schema.

## Alkaa's quality checks, release history, and upgrade burden

The README lists ktlint, detekt, compose-rules, Android lint, and CodeFactor as quality tools. The repository also exposes build, tests, and release workflow badges, but their presence does not establish which targets those workflows cover or whether every current check passes. No coverage figures, supported-platform matrix, compatibility table, or upgrade policy is documented.

The release history provides a limited maintenance signal. Releases v3.4.0 and v3.4.1 were published on 2025-12-31, and v3.4.2 was published on 2026-01-02. The last push was on 2026-10-14, and the repository is not archived. These facts show recent repository activity, but the README does not state who handles maintenance, how support requests are prioritized, or whether store submissions follow every release.

Upgrading the codebase may involve coordinated changes across Compose Multiplatform, Kotlin, Android tooling, SQLDelight, Koin, DataStore, navigation, and Apple integration. gradle/libs.versions.toml is the documented source for the versions used by the project. Alkaa is licensed under Apache-2.0. Its LICENSE includes conditions concerning notices and licensed use, while a distributed application must also account for applicable third-party dependency licenses.

## Why Alkaa differs from a conventional task application

A conventional mobile task product may begin with separate Android and iOS implementations and add another interface later. Alkaa takes a different approach. Kotlin and Compose Multiplatform form the application foundation, and the repository explicitly separates platform initialization from shared, feature, domain, data, and library modules.

That approach makes Alkaa more useful as an architecture reference than as a feature comparison. The documentation gives no evidence of server synchronization, collaboration, reminders, recurring tasks, or third-party service integrations. A team that needs those capabilities would still have to identify and implement them. Alkaa is also a poor choice for a minimal proof of concept because it includes adaptive layouts, widgets, persistence, design-system work, testing tools, static analysis, and platform-specific modules.

For engineers, the main difference is architectural cost. The module boundaries may reduce coupling between business rules and platform details, but they also increase the number of files and build configurations that contributors must understand. The README does not provide a feature-development guide, so the architecture image and existing module structure are the main documented references for understanding that separation.

## Alkaa's clearest limits as an adoption target

The clearest limitation is documentation depth. Alkaa explains its technology choices and broad module roles, but it does not provide a complete command-driven quick start, a worked task example, database schema documentation, release instructions, or production deployment guidance. Adoption therefore depends heavily on reading source files.

There is also a mismatch between product adoption and engineering adoption. Someone choosing a personal task manager needs to know what the application supports, but the README mainly documents how it was built. Someone choosing a production foundation needs migration, testing, and operational guidance beyond the architectural overview. Alkaa does not answer either evaluation completely from its documentation.

The quality-tool list is broad, but it does not disclose which checks cover SQLDelight migrations, iOS behavior, desktop packaging, or release artifacts. Compose Multiplatform UI Testing is named, yet no test inventory or platform-specific execution instructions are provided. Close release dates also do not reveal whether store availability remains consistent across Google Play, the App Store, and desktop distribution. These are concrete verification gaps rather than evidence of implementation failure.

## Conclusion

Developers should adopt Alkaa when they need a concrete Compose Multiplatform example organized around domain logic, repositories, features, and platform entry points. It is a poor fit for teams seeking a fully documented task product or a simple, low-maintenance starter template. Verify first that the versions in gradle/libs.versions.toml support every target, then confirm the corresponding app, ios-app, or desktop-app module builds in your local toolchain.

## FAQ

### Which platforms does Alkaa support?

The README lists Android, iOS, and desktop availability. It also identifies app, ios-app, desktop-app, and shared modules in the repository.

### What UI framework does Alkaa use?

Alkaa uses Compose Multiplatform for its user interface. It also lists Compose Adaptive, Navigation3, Coroutines, Koin, SQLDelight, and DataStore within its stack.

### Does Alkaa document how to build and run it from source?

No. The README links to mobile stores and says a desktop version is available, but it does not provide complete source-build commands, tool versions, or packaging instructions.

## Sources

- [igorescodro/alkaa on GitHub](https://github.com/igorescodro/alkaa)
- [License: Apache-2.0](https://github.com/igorescodro/alkaa/blob/main/LICENSE)
- [Project website](https://igorescodro.github.io/alkaa/)
- [README](https://github.com/igorescodro/alkaa/blob/main/README.md)
- [Releases](https://github.com/igorescodro/alkaa/releases)

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Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/igorescodro-alkaa