Detecting if a dependency is valid in Gradle

build.gradle

def doesModuleExist(def notation) {
  try {
    def dep = project.dependencies.create(notation)
    def conf = project.configurations.detachedConfiguration(dep)

    // force resolution
    def files = conf.files
  } catch (Exception e) {
    e.printStackTrace()
    return false
  }

  return true
}

repositories {
  mavenCentral()
}

task testDeps() << {
  println doesModuleExist('invalid~notation~1.0.0')
  println doesModuleExist('com.darylteo.vertx:vertx-gradle-plugin:0.1.0') // exists - returns true
  println doesModuleExist('com.darylteo.vertx:vertx-gradle-plugin:0.1.1') // does not exist - returns false
}