[android-studio] What are .iml files in Android Studio?

What are .iml files in Android Studio project? I read that it is configuration file for modules. I do not understand how it works, and can't I just use gradle scripts to integrate with external modules that you add to your project.

Also, most of the time AS generates them, so I cannot control project behaviour. If I have a team that works in different IDEs like Eclipse and AS, is it possible to setup my project so it's IDE agnostic?

I don't fully understand how this system works.

This question is related to android-studio intellij-idea

The answer is


They are project files, that hold the module information and meta data.

Just add *.iml to .gitignore.

In Android Studio: Press CTRL + F9 to rebuild your project. The missing *.iml files will be generated.


Those files are created and used by Android Studio editor.

You don't need to check in those files to version control.

Git uses .gitignore file, that contains list of files and directories, to know the list of files and directories that don't need to be checked in.

Android studio automatically creates .gitingnore files listing all files and directories which don't need to be checked in to any version control.


Add .idea and *.iml to .gitignore, you don't need those files to successfully import and compile the project.


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