Kotlin 2.2.20 brings WebAssembly in beta, Swift export available by default, and more

Kotlin version 2.2.20 introduces substantial advancements for web and multiplatform development. Leading this release, WebAssembly (Wasm) support has reached beta status, bringing enhanced exception handling in JavaScript interoperability, improved npm dependency management, built-in browser debugging tools, and a shared source set for both js and wasmJs targets.

Building on these changes, Kotlin now enables Swift export by default, and offers stable cross-platform compilation for Kotlin libraries. Developers also gain a new approach for declaring common dependencies, easing shared codebase management across platforms such as iOS and Android. In core language developments, overload resolution has been refined for scenarios when lambdas are passed to overloads with suspend function types, improving code clarity and maintainability.

Following these updates, Kotlin receives security and performance improvements: binaries now feature support for stack canaries, and release binaries are notably smaller, which can benefit embedded and performance-sensitive applications. Kotlin can also now compile long values directly into the JavaScript BigInt type, resolving a key numeric compatibility issue in web projects.

To streamline adoption, the Kotlin 2.2.20 plugin ships bundled with the latest IntelliJ IDEA and Android Studio versions, making access to new features immediate for most active Kotlin developers.