During January 2025, this developer modernized the Gradle build configuration for the spring-data-rest repository by migrating all build samples from the deprecated 'compile' dependency to the recommended 'implementation' configuration. This update aligned the project with current Gradle best practices, reduced technical debt, and simplified future dependency upgrades. The work involved hands-on use of Gradle, Groovy, and Markdown to update build scripts and documentation, ensuring compatibility with newer Gradle versions. By focusing on dependency management and repository maintenance, the developer improved the maintainability of the codebase and streamlined the onboarding process for contributors working with Spring Boot projects.