Kotlin Academy · Lesson

Enums with when

Exhaustive handling.

Lesson 3 of 413 steps

Enums with when is a free Kotlin Academy lesson on CoddyKit. This is lesson 3 of 4. Any 3 lessons of this learning path are free to read in full — after that, CoddyKit PRO unlocks every lesson, plus hands-on practice with a built-in code editor and a 24/7 AI tutor. It is part of the Kotlin Academy learning path, and your progress syncs across the web and the CoddyKit app. The Kotlin Academy course includes 4 lessons in total.

Enums Pair Well with when

The when expression is the natural way to branch on an enum. Each constant gets its own branch.

enum class Light { RED, YELLOW, GREEN }

fun action(l: Light) = when (l) {
    Light.RED -> "Stop"
    Light.YELLOW -> "Slow"
    Light.GREEN -> "Go"
}

fun main() {
    println(action(Light.GREEN))
}

Exhaustiveness

When when is used as an expression on an enum and covers every constant, no else branch is needed. The compiler verifies completeness.

enum class Coin { HEADS, TAILS }

fun flip(c: Coin) = when (c) {
    Coin.HEADS -> "Win"
    Coin.TAILS -> "Lose"
}

fun main() {
    println(flip(Coin.HEADS))
}

The Compiler Has Your Back

If you add a new constant later but forget a branch, the compiler reports an error. This makes enums plus when very safe to evolve.

enum class Size { S, M, L }

fun label(s: Size) = when (s) {
    Size.S -> "Small"
    Size.M -> "Medium"
    Size.L -> "Large"
}

fun main() {
    println(label(Size.M))
}

Importing Constants

You can import enum members to drop the type prefix inside when, making branches shorter.

enum class Dir { UP, DOWN }

import Dir.UP
import Dir.DOWN

fun move(d: Dir) = when (d) {
    UP -> "y + 1"
    DOWN -> "y - 1"
}

fun main() {
    println(move(Dir.UP))
}

Grouping Branches

Several constants can share one branch by listing them with commas.

enum class Day { MON, TUE, WED, SAT, SUN }

fun kind(d: Day) = when (d) {
    Day.SAT, Day.SUN -> "Weekend"
    else -> "Weekday"
}

fun main() {
    println(kind(Day.SAT))
}

Returning Different Types

Each branch can produce a value; the whole when becomes that value.

enum class Tier { FREE, PRO }

fun limit(t: Tier): Int = when (t) {
    Tier.FREE -> 10
    Tier.PRO -> 1000
}

fun main() {
    println(limit(Tier.PRO))
}

when Without an Argument

You can also branch on conditions, but for enums the subject form is cleanest and enables exhaustiveness checking.

enum class Mood { HAPPY, SAD }

fun emoji(m: Mood) = when (m) {
    Mood.HAPPY -> ":)"
    Mood.SAD -> ":("
}

fun main() {
    println(emoji(Mood.HAPPY))
}

Side Effects in Branches

Branches can run statements, not just return values.

enum class Cmd { START, STOP }

fun run(c: Cmd) {
    when (c) {
        Cmd.START -> println("Starting...")
        Cmd.STOP -> println("Stopping...")
    }
}

fun main() {
    run(Cmd.START)
}

Avoid else When Possible

Using else defeats exhaustiveness checking: a new constant would silently fall into else. Prefer explicit branches for enums.

enum class State { ON, OFF }

fun text(s: State) = when (s) {
    State.ON -> "on"
    State.OFF -> "off"
}

fun main() {
    println(text(State.OFF))
}

A Realistic Router

Routing user roles to permissions is a clean use of exhaustive when.

enum class Role { ADMIN, USER, GUEST }

fun canDelete(r: Role) = when (r) {
    Role.ADMIN -> true
    Role.USER -> false
    Role.GUEST -> false
}

fun main() {
    println(canDelete(Role.ADMIN))
}

Combining with Properties

You can branch on an enum and also use its properties inside branches.

enum class Coin(val cents: Int) { PENNY(1), DIME(10) }

fun describe(c: Coin) = when (c) {
    Coin.PENNY -> "Worth ${c.cents}"
    Coin.DIME -> "Worth ${c.cents}"
}

fun main() {
    println(describe(Coin.DIME))
}

Quick Check

Test your understanding of enums with when.

Answer it in the interactive lesson

Recap

You learned to combine enums with when:

when on an enum can be exhaustive without else.
The compiler enforces coverage of all constants.
Group constants with commas; each branch yields a value.
Avoid else to keep exhaustiveness safety.

enum class Light { RED, GREEN }

fun go(l: Light) = when (l) {
    Light.RED -> false
    Light.GREEN -> true
}

fun main() {
    println(go(Light.GREEN))
}

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Exhaustive handling. 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.

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