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Kotlin Academy · Lesson

Converting Cold Flow to Hot with shareIn and stateIn

Transform cold Flows into hot streams with sharing operators.

Converting Cold Flow to Hot with shareIn and stateIn is a free Kotlin Academy lesson on CoddyKit — lesson 3 of 4. You can read the complete lesson below for free — then practise it hands-on in the browser with a built-in code editor and a 24/7 AI tutor. It is part of the Kotlin Academy learning path, one of 4 lessons in the course, and your progress syncs across the web and the CoddyKit app.

Cold vs Hot Flows

Cold flows restart for each collector; hot flows share one upstream subscription. Converting cold to hot avoids redundant work when multiple collectors subscribe.

import kotlinx.coroutines.*
import kotlinx.coroutines.flow.*
fun expensiveFlow() = flow {
    println("Starting upstream work")  // runs once if shared
    repeat(3) { delay(100); emit(it) }
}
fun main() = runBlocking {
    val cold = expensiveFlow()
    // Two collectors = two executions:
    launch { cold.collect { } }
    launch { cold.collect { } }
    delay(500)
    coroutineContext.cancelChildren()
}

shareIn Basics

flow.shareIn(scope, started, replay) converts a cold Flow to a SharedFlow, sharing one upstream subscription.

import kotlinx.coroutines.*
import kotlinx.coroutines.flow.*
fun main() = runBlocking {
    val cold = flow {
        println("Upstream started once")
        repeat(5) { delay(100); emit(it) }
    }
    val hot = cold.shareIn(this, SharingStarted.Eagerly, replay = 0)
    launch { hot.collect { println("A: $it") } }
    launch { hot.collect { println("B: $it") } }
    delay(600)
    coroutineContext.cancelChildren()
}

stateIn Basics

flow.stateIn(scope, started, initialValue) converts to a StateFlow — always has a value, replays 1.

import kotlinx.coroutines.*
import kotlinx.coroutines.flow.*
fun main() = runBlocking {
    val cold = flow { delay(100); emit(42) }
    val state: StateFlow<Int> = cold.stateIn(
        scope = this,
        started = SharingStarted.Eagerly,
        initialValue = 0
    )
    println(state.value)  // 0 immediately
    delay(200)
    println(state.value)  // 42 after upstream emits
    coroutineContext.cancelChildren()
}

SharingStarted.Eagerly

Eagerly: upstream starts immediately when shareIn/stateIn is called, regardless of subscribers.

import kotlinx.coroutines.*
import kotlinx.coroutines.flow.*
fun main() = runBlocking {
    val flow = flow {
        println("Eagerly started")
        emit(1)
    }.shareIn(this, SharingStarted.Eagerly)
    // Upstream already running even before any collect
    delay(50)
    launch { flow.collect { println(it) } }
    delay(100)
    coroutineContext.cancelChildren()
}

SharingStarted.Lazily

Lazily: upstream starts on the first subscriber and never stops (even if subscribers drop to zero).

import kotlinx.coroutines.*
import kotlinx.coroutines.flow.*
fun main() = runBlocking {
    val flow = flow {
        println("Lazily started on first subscriber")
        repeat(3) { delay(100); emit(it) }
    }.shareIn(this, SharingStarted.Lazily, replay = 1)
    delay(50)  // no subscriber yet — not started
    launch { flow.collect { println(it) } }  // triggers start
    delay(400)
    coroutineContext.cancelChildren()
}

SharingStarted.WhileSubscribed

WhileSubscribed(stopTimeout): upstream starts when first subscriber joins, stops stopTimeout ms after the last subscriber leaves. Perfect for ViewModels.

import kotlinx.coroutines.*
import kotlinx.coroutines.flow.*
fun main() = runBlocking {
    val flow = flow {
        println("Started")
        repeat(10) { delay(100); emit(it) }
    }.shareIn(this, SharingStarted.WhileSubscribed(500))
    val job = launch { flow.collect { print("$it ") } }
    delay(300)
    job.cancel()    // subscriber left
    delay(200)      // within 500ms stop timeout — still running
    launch { flow.collect { print("resume $it ") } }
    delay(500)
    coroutineContext.cancelChildren()
}

Typical ViewModel Pattern

In Android ViewModels, convert repository flows with stateIn(viewModelScope, WhileSubscribed(5000), initialValue) to share and survive configuration changes.

import kotlinx.coroutines.flow.*
// In ViewModel:
// val uiState: StateFlow<UiState> = repository
//     .dataFlow()
//     .map { UiState.Success(it) }
//     .stateIn(
//         scope = viewModelScope,
//         started = SharingStarted.WhileSubscribed(5_000),
//         initialValue = UiState.Loading
//     )
fun main() { println("WhileSubscribed(5000) is the recommended ViewModel pattern") }

shareIn vs stateIn

shareIn → SharedFlow (no current value, configurable replay). stateIn → StateFlow (always has a value, replay=1). Choose based on whether consumers need a current state.

import kotlinx.coroutines.*
import kotlinx.coroutines.flow.*
fun main() = runBlocking {
    val cold = (1..3).asFlow().map { it * 10 }

    // SharedFlow — no initial value:
    val shared: SharedFlow<Int> = cold.shareIn(this, SharingStarted.Eagerly, replay = 1)

    // StateFlow — always has a value:
    val state: StateFlow<Int> = cold.stateIn(this, SharingStarted.Eagerly, 0)

    delay(100)
    println("shared cache: ${shared.replayCache}")
    println("state value: ${state.value}")
    coroutineContext.cancelChildren()
}

Replay Cache Tradeoffs

Higher replay means late subscribers see more history but more memory is used. For UI state, replay=1 (stateIn) is enough. For event logs, higher replay may be needed.

import kotlinx.coroutines.flow.*
// replay=0: no history, only future events
// replay=1: last value (equivalent to stateIn)
// replay=N: last N events — use for message feeds, logs

// Trade-off: memory vs subscriber freshness
fun main() { println("Choose replay based on late-subscriber requirements") }

Unshared Flow Risk

Without sharing, each Compose collector or ViewModel observer re-runs the upstream — redundant network calls, DB queries. Always share expensive flows.

import kotlinx.coroutines.*
import kotlinx.coroutines.flow.*
fun expensiveApi() = flow {
    println("API CALL")  // without sharing: once per collector
    emit("data")
}
fun main() = runBlocking {
    val shared = expensiveApi().shareIn(this, SharingStarted.Lazily, replay = 1)
    launch { shared.collect { } }  // one API call, shared
    launch { shared.collect { } }  // same emission
    delay(200)
    coroutineContext.cancelChildren()
}

Resource Cleanup on Sharing

When the shared flow's scope is cancelled, the upstream flow is cancelled and its finally blocks run — resources are cleaned up properly.

import kotlinx.coroutines.*
import kotlinx.coroutines.flow.*
fun resourceFlow() = flow {
    try { repeat(10) { delay(100); emit(it) } }
    finally { println("Upstream cleaned up") }
}
fun main() = runBlocking {
    val scope = CoroutineScope(SupervisorJob())
    val shared = resourceFlow().shareIn(scope, SharingStarted.Eagerly)
    launch { shared.collect { print("$it ") } }
    delay(250)
    scope.cancel()  // upstream cleanup runs
    delay(100)
}

Quick Check

Which SharingStarted strategy is recommended for Android ViewModels?

Recap

shareIn converts to SharedFlow; stateIn converts to StateFlow. Use WhileSubscribed in ViewModels to save resources. Sharing prevents redundant upstream executions when multiple collectors subscribe.

Frequently asked questions

Is the “Converting Cold Flow to Hot with shareIn and stateIn” lesson free?

Yes — the full text of “Converting Cold Flow to Hot with shareIn and stateIn” is free to read here on the web, and the Kotlin Academy course includes 4 lessons in total. To practise it interactively (a built-in code editor and a 24/7 AI tutor) and unlock the rest of the Kotlin Academy course, upgrade to CoddyKit PRO.

What will I learn in “Converting Cold Flow to Hot with shareIn and stateIn”?

Transform cold Flows into hot streams with sharing operators. You practise Kotlin Academy with hands-on code you run directly in the browser, and a 24/7 AI tutor answers your questions as you work through the lesson.

Do I need any experience to start Kotlin Academy?

No prior experience is required. Kotlin Academy on CoddyKit is structured for beginners through advanced learners; this is — lesson 3 of 4, so you can start here or from the beginning and move at your own pace.

How long does the “Converting Cold Flow to Hot with shareIn and stateIn” lesson take?

Most CoddyKit lessons take about 5–10 minutes. Each one is bite-sized and interactive, so you make steady progress and pick up exactly where you left off across the web and the app.

Can I write and run code in this Kotlin Academy lesson?

Yes. Every Kotlin Academy lesson includes a built-in code editor, so you write and run real code right in your browser and get instant AI feedback — no local setup required.

All lessons in this course

  1. StateFlow: Hot State Holder for UI
  2. SharedFlow: Event Buses and One-Shot Events
  3. Converting Cold Flow to Hot with shareIn and stateIn
  4. Testing StateFlow and SharedFlow with Turbine
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