Android Navigation 3

Jetpack Navigation 3

Priority: P1 (HIGH)

Guide for implementing and migrating to Navigation 3 in Jetpack Compose.

Core concepts

Navigation 3 replaces the previous NavHost/NavController pattern with a simpler, state-driven approach:

• Routes are Kotlin data objects/classes (not strings).
• Back stack is a plain mutableStateListOf<Any>.
• NavDisplay renders the current route based on a lambda.

Basic usage

val backStack = remember { mutableStateListOf<Any>(RouteHome) }

NavDisplay(
    backStack = backStack,
    onBack = { backStack.removeLastOrNull() },
    entryProvider = { key ->
        when (key) {
            is RouteHome -> NavEntry(key) { HomeScreen(onNavigate = { backStack.add(it) }) }
            is RouteDetail -> NavEntry(key) { DetailScreen(key.id) }
            else -> error("Unknown route: $key")
        }
    }
)

Migration from Navigation 2

See migration guide for step-by-step conversion from NavHost/NavController to NavDisplay.

Key changes:

• Replace string routes with data objects/classes.
• Replace NavHost with NavDisplay.
• Replace NavController.navigate() with direct list manipulation.
• Replace navArgument with data class properties.

Common patterns

See recipes for code examples:

• Basic navigation with arguments
• Bottom navigation with multiple backstacks
• Deep links (basic and with synthetic backstack)
• Dialogs and bottom sheets
• Conditional navigation (auth flows)
• Returning results between screens
• Modularized navigation with Hilt or Koin

Verification

• [ ] Routes are data objects/classes, no string-based routing.
• [ ] Back stack is a mutableStateListOf<Any>.
• [ ] NavDisplay handles all routes in entryProvider.
• [ ] ./gradlew build succeeds.

Anti-Patterns

• No string-based routes: Use Kotlin data objects/classes for type safety.
• No NavController for new projects: Use NavDisplay with a state list.
• No remember { navController() }: Navigation 3 doesn't use NavController.

References

• Migration Guide (Nav2 → Nav3)
• Recipes