Getting Application Context in Kotlin with Hilt – The Modern Way

Back in 2013, we used a static Java singleton to access the application context anywhere in the project. In 2026, if you’re using Hilt, this is a one-liner — and a much safer one at that.

Why the Old Singleton Pattern Was Problematic

The classic ApplicationContextProvider approach stored a static Context reference, which could cause memory leaks and made unit testing painful. Hilt solves all of this out of the box.

Setup: Add Hilt to Your Project

In your project-level build.gradle.kts:

plugins {
    id("com.google.dagger.hilt.android") version "2.51" apply false
}

In your app-level build.gradle.kts:

dependencies {
    implementation("com.google.dagger:hilt-android:2.51")
    ksp("com.google.dagger:hilt-compiler:2.51")
}

Annotate your Application class:

@HiltAndroidApp
class MyApp : Application()

Getting Application Context Anywhere in Your Project

In any Hilt-injected class — a repository, a use case, a helper — simply inject it using @ApplicationContext:

class MyRepository @Inject constructor(
    @ApplicationContext private val context: Context
) {
    fun getAppName(): String = context.getString(R.string.app_name)
}

No static references, no singletons, no memory leak risks. Hilt manages the lifecycle and you get a clean, fully testable class.

Bonus: Injecting Context into a ViewModel

@HiltViewModel
class MyViewModel @Inject constructor(
    @ApplicationContext private val context: Context
) : ViewModel() {
    val appName = context.getString(R.string.app_name)
}

Note: Only use @ApplicationContext for resources, shared preferences, or system services — never for inflating views or anything UI-related. For UI work, always prefer the Activity or Fragment context.

Summary

Hilt’s @ApplicationContext annotation is the cleanest way to access context anywhere in your Android Kotlin project in 2025. It replaces fragile static singletons with a dependency-injected, lifecycle-aware, and testable alternative.

This is a 2025 Kotlin update to our original Android Get Application Context tutorial from 2013.