Simpler JVM Project Setup with Mill

Wed, 13 May 2026 09:08:19 +0000

Java and other JVM languages like Scala or Kotlin are often used for large enterprise codebases, but the friction of configuring their tooling means they are less often used for small programs or scripts. The Mill build tool contains two features that try to improve upon this pain point, allowing your projects to be configured via a compact build.mill.yaml file, rather than a verbose pom.xml:

build.mill.yaml

CODE

extends: JavaModule
mvnDeps:
- org.jsoup:jsoup:1.7.2
- org.slf4j:slf4j-nop:2.0.7

And letting single-file programs be configured by a //| build header comment at the top of the file:

Untapped Potential in the Java Build Tool Experience

Thu, 23 Oct 2025 07:00:01 +0000

The Java language is known to be fast, safe, and easy, but Java build tools like Maven or Gradle don’t always live up to that reputation. This article will explore what “could be”: where current Java build tools fall short in performance, extensibility, and IDE experience, and the reasons to believe that we can do better. We will end with a demonstration of an experimental build tool “Mill” that makes use of these ideas, proving out the idea that Java build tooling has the potential to be much faster and easier to use than it is today.

Haoyi Li on JAVAPRO International

Simpler JVM Project Setup with Mill

Untapped Potential in the Java Build Tool Experience