compose-navigation

Compose Navigation

Type-safe navigation prevents the most common navigation bugs in AI-built apps. These rules cover the complete navigation pattern from setup to --- name: compose-navigation description: | Jetpack Compose Navigation for Android AI agents — complete patterns. Use this skill for any navigation: NavHost, NavController, type-safe @Serializable routes, back stack, deep links, navigation arguments, composable(), nested graphs, shared ViewModels, navigateUp, navigateTopLevel, launchSingleTop, popUpTo, shared element transitions, predictive back gesture, transition animations between screens, bottom navigation, navigation with Hilt, passing arguments, result passing via SavedStateHandle, or any navigation pattern in Compose. Always apply before writing any NavHost or route.

Compose Navigation — Complete Guide

Type-safe navigation with shared element transitions and predictive back. These rules cover every pattern from simple routes to complex multi-graph apps.

Setup

[versions]
navigationCompose = "2.8.5"
[libraries]
navigation-compose = { group = "androidx.navigation", name = "navigation-compose", version.ref = "navigationCompose" }

Rule 1: All routes are @Serializable — zero string routes

// navigation/Routes.kt — ALL routes defined here, nowhere else

@Serializable object HomeRoute
@Serializable object SearchRoute
@Serializable object InboxRoute
@Serializable object ProfileRoute
@Serializable object SettingsRoute

// Routes with required arguments
@Serializable data class ItemDetailRoute(val itemId: String)
@Serializable data class EditItemRoute(val itemId: String, val isNew: Boolean = false)
@Serializable data class UserProfileRoute(val userId: String, val fromNotification: Boolean = false)

// Graph containers
@Serializable object AuthGraph
@Serializable object LoginRoute
@Serializable object SignUpRoute
@Serializable object ForgotPasswordRoute

@Serializable object OnboardingGraph
@Serializable object OnboardingStep1Route
@Serializable object OnboardingStep2Route
@Serializable object OnboardingStep3Route

// ❌ NEVER use string routes
navController.navigate("detail/$itemId")           // typo-prone, no type safety
composable("detail/{itemId}") { backStackEntry ->
    backStackEntry.arguments?.getString("itemId")  // nullable, untyped
}