if I create a

val

outside the plugins block it won't let me use it, and it doesn't seem like I can use extra properties here either...

Define system properties in gradle.properties and can refer it from both plugin and outside like

val kotlinVer: String by System.getProperties()

@suresh ty! is there no other way to keep it in the build.gradle.kts? personally I don't like to externalize versions for things because I like to see them in context

I am not aware of any other methods. The plugins block like a separate build script and you can’t share properties.