What is a Kotlin DSL?

A Kotlin DSL (Domain-Specific Language) is an API designed using Kotlin language features to read like a natural language for a specific domain. The key features that enable DSLs are: lambdas with receivers (providing a specific this context inside a block), infix functions (readable binary operations), and operator overloading. Well-known Kotlin DSLs include Gradle build scripts (build.gradle.kts), Jetpack Compose, Ktor routing, and the HTML builder. They allow domain experts to write declarative configuration without boilerplate, while still being type-safe and IDE-supported.