Improvements in the Build Configuration Input Tracking

Gradle's configuration cache improves build performance by caching the configuration phase. This post covers improvements to build configuration input tracking in Gradle 8.1–8.4, explaining what counts as a configuration input, how incorrect tracking leads to false cache hits or misses, and how to fix common plugin patterns. Two major use cases are covered: File API tracking (tracking file existence checks like File.exists) and store-time input tracking (inputs accessed while serializing the task graph). For each, temporary opt-out Gradle properties are provided, along with proper fixes using ValueSource, task-based file creation, and built-in providers like fileContents.