This message was deleted.

Yes, plugins are recommended, but you can use a [pre-compiled script plugin](https://docs.gradle.org/current/userguide/custom_plugins.html#sec:precompiled_plugins) which is a little closer to a normal buildscript. To ensure you have the type to reference, you need to add a dependency on the plugin itself (not the same as applying it -- just adding it to e.g.

implementation

will work)

🙏 Thank you, I'll give that a go.