Schedule tasks with WorkManager   Part of Android Jetpack.

The WorkManager API makes it easy to schedule deferrable, asynchronous tasks that are expected to run even if the app exits or device restarts.

Key features:

  • Backwards compatible up to API 14
    • Uses JobScheduler on devices with API 23+
    • Uses a combination of BroadcastReceiver + AlarmManager on devices with API 14-22
  • Add work constraints like network availability or charging status
  • Schedule asynchronous one-off or periodic tasks
  • Monitor and manage scheduled tasks
  • Chain tasks together
  • Ensures task execution, even if the app or device restarts
  • Adheres to power-saving features like Doze mode

WorkManager is intended for tasks that are deferrable—that is, not required to run immediately—and required to run reliably even if the app exits or the device restarts. For example:

  • Sending logs or analytics to backend services
  • Periodically syncing application data with a server

WorkManager is not intended for in-process background work that can safely be terminated if the app process goes away or for tasks that require immediate execution. Please review the background processing guide to see which solution meets your needs.

To import the WorkManager library into your Android project, add the following dependencies to your app's build.gradle file:

dependencies {
  def work_version = "2.3.1"

    // (Java only)
    implementation "androidx.work:work-runtime:$work_version"

    // Kotlin + coroutines
    implementation "androidx.work:work-runtime-ktx:$work_version"

    // optional - RxJava2 support
    implementation "androidx.work:work-rxjava2:$work_version"

    // optional - GCMNetworkManager support
    implementation "androidx.work:work-gcm:$work_version"

    // optional - Test helpers
    androidTestImplementation "androidx.work:work-testing:$work_version"
  }

Topics

Basics

How-to guides

Advanced concepts

Migration guides

Additional resources

Samples

  • WorkManagerSample, a simple image-processing app
  • Sunflower, a demo app demonstrating best practices with various architecture components, including WorkManager.

Codelabs

Videos

Blogs