diff --git a/plugin-gradle/CHANGES.md b/plugin-gradle/CHANGES.md
index 7598404841..b07bfb59db 100644
--- a/plugin-gradle/CHANGES.md
+++ b/plugin-gradle/CHANGES.md
@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@ We adhere to the [keepachangelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/) format (
 ### Changes
 - Bump default `cleanthat` version `2.24` -> `2.25`. ([#2903](https://github.com/diffplug/spotless/pull/2903))
 - Bump default `eclipse-jdt` version from `4.35` to `4.39`. ([#2912](https://github.com/diffplug/spotless/pull/2912))
+- Make `spotlessPredeclare` visible to Gradle Kotlin DSL type-safe accessors. ([#2925](https://github.com/diffplug/spotless/pull/2925))
+- Allow `spotlessPredeclare` to be used directly without enabling it first in spotless extension. ([#2925](https://github.com/diffplug/spotless/pull/2925))
 
 ## [8.4.0] - 2026-03-18
 ### Added
diff --git a/plugin-gradle/README.md b/plugin-gradle/README.md
index 3efa2f2438..9f4e4d04d2 100644
--- a/plugin-gradle/README.md
+++ b/plugin-gradle/README.md
@@ -1959,17 +1959,26 @@ spotless {
 By default, Spotless resolves dependencies on a per-project basis. For very large parallel builds, this can sometimes cause problems. As an alternative, Spotless can be configured to resolve all dependencies in the root project like so:
 
 ```gradle
-spotless {
-  ...
-  predeclareDeps()
+spotlessPredeclare {
+  java { eclipse() }
+  kotlin { ktfmt('0.28') }
+}
+```
+
+By default, `spotlessPredeclare` resolves dependencies from the root project's repositories. Alternatively, you can resolve dependencies from the buildscript repositories rather than the project repositories:
+
+```gradle
+buildscript {
+  repositories { mavenCentral() }
 }
 spotlessPredeclare {
+  fromBuildscriptRepositories()
   java { eclipse() }
   kotlin { ktfmt('0.28') }
 }
 ```
 
-Alternatively, you can also use `predeclareDepsFromBuildscript()` to resolve the dependencies from the buildscript repositories rather than the project repositories.
+The older `spotless { predeclareDeps() }` and `spotless { predeclareDepsFromBuildscript() }` APIs are still supported.
 
 If you use this feature, you will get an error if you use a formatter in a subproject which is not declared in the `spotlessPredeclare` block.
 
diff --git a/plugin-gradle/src/main/java/com/diffplug/gradle/spotless/SpotlessExtension.java b/plugin-gradle/src/main/java/com/diffplug/gradle/spotless/SpotlessExtension.java
index 26e91eba8c..e9acc00c24 100644
--- a/plugin-gradle/src/main/java/com/diffplug/gradle/spotless/SpotlessExtension.java
+++ b/plugin-gradle/src/main/java/com/diffplug/gradle/spotless/SpotlessExtension.java
@@ -308,21 +308,46 @@ <T extends FormatExtension> T instantiateFormatExtension(Class<T> clazz) {
 
 	protected abstract void createFormatTasks(String name, FormatExtension formatExtension);
 
+	/**
+	 * Enables predeclared dependency resolution using the root project's {@code buildscript} repositories.
+	 *
+	 * @deprecated Configure the repository policy directly in {@code spotlessPredeclare} instead:
+	 *             <pre>{@code
+	 *             spotlessPredeclare {
+	 *                 fromBuildscriptRepositories()
+	 *                 java { googleJavaFormat("1.17.0") }
+	 *             }
+	 *             }</pre>
+	 */
+	@Deprecated
 	public void predeclareDepsFromBuildscript() {
 		if (project.getRootProject() != project) {
 			throw new GradleException("predeclareDepsFromBuildscript can only be called from the root project");
 		}
+		project.getLogger().info("predeclareDepsFromBuildscript() is deprecated, use 'spotlessPredeclare { fromBuildscriptRepositories() }' directly instead.");
 		predeclare(GradleProvisioner.Policy.ROOT_BUILDSCRIPT);
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * Enables predeclared dependency resolution using the root project's repositories.
+	 *
+	 * @deprecated Declare formats directly in {@code spotlessPredeclare} instead:
+	 *             <pre>{@code
+	 *             spotlessPredeclare {
+	 *                 java { googleJavaFormat("1.17.0") }
+	 *             }
+	 *             }</pre>
+	 */
+	@Deprecated
 	public void predeclareDeps() {
 		if (project.getRootProject() != project) {
 			throw new GradleException("predeclareDeps can only be called from the root project");
 		}
+		project.getLogger().info("predeclareDeps() is deprecated, use 'spotlessPredeclare { ... }' directly instead.");
 		predeclare(GradleProvisioner.Policy.ROOT_PROJECT);
 	}
 
-	protected void predeclare(GradleProvisioner.Policy policy) {
-		project.getExtensions().create(SpotlessExtensionPredeclare.class, EXTENSION_PREDECLARE, SpotlessExtensionPredeclare.class, project, policy);
+	void predeclare(GradleProvisioner.Policy policy) {
+		project.getExtensions().getByType(SpotlessExtensionPredeclare.class).enablePredeclare(policy);
 	}
 }
diff --git a/plugin-gradle/src/main/java/com/diffplug/gradle/spotless/SpotlessExtensionPredeclare.java b/plugin-gradle/src/main/java/com/diffplug/gradle/spotless/SpotlessExtensionPredeclare.java
index ef8589523f..ad3f69e848 100644
--- a/plugin-gradle/src/main/java/com/diffplug/gradle/spotless/SpotlessExtensionPredeclare.java
+++ b/plugin-gradle/src/main/java/com/diffplug/gradle/spotless/SpotlessExtensionPredeclare.java
@@ -18,7 +18,10 @@
 import java.util.SortedMap;
 import java.util.TreeMap;
 
+import javax.annotation.Nullable;
+
 import org.gradle.api.Action;
+import org.gradle.api.GradleException;
 import org.gradle.api.Project;
 import org.gradle.api.tasks.TaskProvider;
 
@@ -26,35 +29,98 @@
 
 public class SpotlessExtensionPredeclare extends SpotlessExtension {
 	private final SortedMap<String, FormatExtension> toSetup = new TreeMap<>();
-	private final RegisterDependenciesTask registerDependenciesTask;
+	private @Nullable GradleProvisioner.Policy policy;
+	private boolean policyExplicit;
+	private @Nullable RegisterDependenciesTask registerDependenciesTask;
 
-	public SpotlessExtensionPredeclare(Project project, GradleProvisioner.Policy policy) {
+	public SpotlessExtensionPredeclare(Project project) {
 		super(project);
-		this.registerDependenciesTask = findRegisterDepsTask().get();
-		SpotlessTaskService taskService = getSpotlessTaskService().get();
-		taskService.registerDependenciesTask = registerDependenciesTask;
-		taskService.predeclaredProvisioner = policy.dedupingProvisioner(project);
-		taskService.predeclaredP2Provisioner = policy.dedupingP2Provisioner(project);
-		project.afterEvaluate(unused -> toSetup.forEach((name, formatExtension) -> {
-			for (Action<FormatExtension> lazyAction : formatExtension.lazyActions) {
-				lazyAction.execute(formatExtension);
+		project.afterEvaluate(unused -> {
+			if (policy == null) {
+				return;
+			}
+			RegisterDependenciesTask task = registerDependenciesTask;
+			if (task == null) {
+				throw new IllegalStateException("spotlessPredeclare was enabled without a register dependencies task.");
 			}
-			registerDependenciesTask.steps.addAll(formatExtension.steps);
-			// needed to fix Deemon memory leaks (#1194), but this line came from https://github.com/diffplug/spotless/pull/1206
-			LazyForwardingEquality.unlazy(registerDependenciesTask.steps);
-		}));
+			toSetup.forEach((name, formatExtension) -> {
+				for (Action<FormatExtension> lazyAction : formatExtension.lazyActions) {
+					lazyAction.execute(formatExtension);
+				}
+				task.steps.addAll(formatExtension.steps);
+				// needed to fix Deemon memory leaks (#1194), but this line came from https://github.com/diffplug/spotless/pull/1206
+				LazyForwardingEquality.unlazy(task.steps);
+			});
+		});
 	}
 
 	@Override
 	protected void createFormatTasks(String name, FormatExtension formatExtension) {
+		enablePredeclareIfAbsent(GradleProvisioner.Policy.ROOT_PROJECT);
 		toSetup.put(name, formatExtension);
 	}
 
 	@Override
-	protected void predeclare(GradleProvisioner.Policy policy) {
+	void predeclare(GradleProvisioner.Policy policy) {
 		throw new UnsupportedOperationException("predeclare can't be called from within `" + EXTENSION_PREDECLARE + "`");
 	}
 
+	/**
+	 * Resolves predeclared dependencies from the root project's repositories.
+	 * <p>
+	 * This is the default behavior when any format is declared in {@code spotlessPredeclare}.
+	 *
+	 * @see SpotlessExtension#predeclareDeps()
+	 */
+	public void fromProjectRepositories() {
+		enablePredeclare(GradleProvisioner.Policy.ROOT_PROJECT);
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Resolves predeclared dependencies from the root project's {@code buildscript} repositories.
+	 * <p>
+	 * Use this when formatter dependencies should be resolved from {@code buildscript { repositories { ... } }}
+	 * instead of the root project's normal repositories.
+	 *
+	 * @see SpotlessExtension#predeclareDepsFromBuildscript()
+	 */
+	public void fromBuildscriptRepositories() {
+		enablePredeclare(GradleProvisioner.Policy.ROOT_BUILDSCRIPT);
+	}
+
+	void enablePredeclare(GradleProvisioner.Policy policy) {
+		enablePredeclare(policy, true);
+	}
+
+	private void enablePredeclareIfAbsent(GradleProvisioner.Policy policy) {
+		enablePredeclare(policy, false);
+	}
+
+	private void enablePredeclare(GradleProvisioner.Policy policy, boolean explicit) {
+		if (this.policy != null) {
+			if (!explicit || !policyExplicit) {
+				if (explicit) {
+					this.policy = policy;
+					this.policyExplicit = true;
+					configureProvisioners(policy);
+				}
+				return;
+			}
+			throw new GradleException("predeclared dependency resolution can only be configured once.");
+		}
+		this.policy = policy;
+		this.policyExplicit = explicit;
+		registerDependenciesTask = findRegisterDepsTask().get();
+		configureProvisioners(policy);
+	}
+
+	private void configureProvisioners(GradleProvisioner.Policy policy) {
+		SpotlessTaskService taskService = getSpotlessTaskService().get();
+		taskService.registerDependenciesTask = registerDependenciesTask;
+		taskService.predeclaredProvisioner = policy.dedupingProvisioner(project);
+		taskService.predeclaredP2Provisioner = policy.dedupingP2Provisioner(project);
+	}
+
 	private TaskProvider<RegisterDependenciesTask> findRegisterDepsTask() {
 		try {
 			return findRegisterDepsTask(RegisterDependenciesTask.TASK_NAME);
diff --git a/plugin-gradle/src/main/java/com/diffplug/gradle/spotless/SpotlessPlugin.java b/plugin-gradle/src/main/java/com/diffplug/gradle/spotless/SpotlessPlugin.java
index 2bd773f2d3..a5d0e19e7a 100644
--- a/plugin-gradle/src/main/java/com/diffplug/gradle/spotless/SpotlessPlugin.java
+++ b/plugin-gradle/src/main/java/com/diffplug/gradle/spotless/SpotlessPlugin.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2016-2025 DiffPlug
+ * Copyright 2016-2026 DiffPlug
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -50,6 +50,9 @@ public void apply(Project project) {
 
 		// setup the extension
 		project.getExtensions().create(SpotlessExtension.class, SpotlessExtension.EXTENSION, SpotlessExtensionImpl.class, project);
+		if (project.getRootProject() == project) {
+			project.getExtensions().create(SpotlessExtensionPredeclare.class, SpotlessExtension.EXTENSION_PREDECLARE, SpotlessExtensionPredeclare.class, project);
+		}
 
 		// clear spotless' cache when the user does a clean
 		// resolution for: https://github.com/diffplug/spotless/issues/243#issuecomment-564323856
diff --git a/plugin-gradle/src/test/java/com/diffplug/gradle/spotless/MultiProjectTest.java b/plugin-gradle/src/test/java/com/diffplug/gradle/spotless/MultiProjectTest.java
index 35bf2708b4..3403bbfaad 100644
--- a/plugin-gradle/src/test/java/com/diffplug/gradle/spotless/MultiProjectTest.java
+++ b/plugin-gradle/src/test/java/com/diffplug/gradle/spotless/MultiProjectTest.java
@@ -92,37 +92,60 @@ public void predeclaredFails() throws IOException {
 	}
 
 	@Test
-	public void predeclaredSucceeds() throws IOException {
+	public void predeclaredSucceeds_deprecatedAPI() throws IOException {
 		setFile("build.gradle").toLines(
 				"plugins {",
 				"    id 'com.diffplug.spotless'",
 				"}",
 				"repositories { mavenCentral() }",
 				"spotless { predeclareDeps() }",
+				"",
 				"spotlessPredeclare {",
-				" java { googleJavaFormat('1.17.0') }",
+				"    java { googleJavaFormat('1.17.0') }",
 				"}");
 		createNSubprojects();
 		gradleRunner().withArguments("spotlessApply").build();
 	}
 
 	@Test
-	public void predeclaredFromBuildscriptSucceeds() throws IOException {
+	public void predeclaredFromBuildscriptSucceeds_deprecatedAPI() throws IOException {
 		setFile("build.gradle").toLines(
+				"buildscript {",
+				"    repositories { mavenCentral() }",
+				"}",
 				"plugins {",
 				"    id 'com.diffplug.spotless'",
 				"}",
 				"repositories { mavenCentral() }",
 				"spotless { predeclareDepsFromBuildscript() }",
 				"spotlessPredeclare {",
-				" java { googleJavaFormat('1.17.0') }",
+				"    java { googleJavaFormat('1.17.0') }",
+				"}");
+		createNSubprojects();
+		gradleRunner().withArguments("spotlessApply").build();
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	public void predeclaredFromBuildscriptInPredeclareBlockSucceeds() throws IOException {
+		setFile("build.gradle").toLines(
+				"buildscript {",
+				"    repositories { mavenCentral() }",
+				"}",
+				"plugins {",
+				"    id 'com.diffplug.spotless'",
+				"}",
+				"repositories { mavenCentral() }",
+				"",
+				"spotlessPredeclare {",
+				"    fromBuildscriptRepositories()",
+				"    java { googleJavaFormat('1.17.0') }",
 				"}");
 		createNSubprojects();
 		gradleRunner().withArguments("spotlessApply").build();
 	}
 
 	@Test
-	public void predeclaredOrdering() throws IOException {
+	public void predeclaredOrderingIsFlexible() throws IOException {
 		setFile("build.gradle").toLines(
 				"plugins {",
 				"    id 'com.diffplug.spotless'",
@@ -131,10 +154,9 @@ public void predeclaredOrdering() throws IOException {
 				"spotlessPredeclare {",
 				" java { googleJavaFormat('1.17.0') }",
 				"}",
-				"spotless { predeclareDepsFromBuildscript() }");
+				"spotless { predeclareDeps() }");
 		createNSubprojects();
-		Assertions.assertThat(gradleRunner().withArguments("spotlessApply").buildAndFail().getOutput())
-				.contains("Could not find method spotlessPredeclare() for arguments");
+		gradleRunner().withArguments("spotlessApply").build();
 	}
 
 	@Test
@@ -168,7 +190,7 @@ public void predeclaredDepsRegression() throws IOException {
 	}
 
 	@Test
-	public void predeclaredUndeclared() throws IOException {
+	public void predeclaredWithoutSpotlessBlockSucceeds() throws IOException {
 		setFile("build.gradle").toLines(
 				"plugins {",
 				"    id 'com.diffplug.spotless'",
@@ -178,7 +200,6 @@ public void predeclaredUndeclared() throws IOException {
 				" java { googleJavaFormat('1.17.0') }",
 				"}");
 		createNSubprojects();
-		Assertions.assertThat(gradleRunner().withArguments("spotlessApply").buildAndFail().getOutput())
-				.contains("Could not find method spotlessPredeclare() for arguments");
+		gradleRunner().withArguments("spotlessApply").build();
 	}
 }
diff --git a/plugin-gradle/src/test/java/com/diffplug/gradle/spotless/SpotlessPredeclareIntegrationTest.java b/plugin-gradle/src/test/java/com/diffplug/gradle/spotless/SpotlessPredeclareIntegrationTest.java
index c1bfcf906e..4970b6bb5b 100644
--- a/plugin-gradle/src/test/java/com/diffplug/gradle/spotless/SpotlessPredeclareIntegrationTest.java
+++ b/plugin-gradle/src/test/java/com/diffplug/gradle/spotless/SpotlessPredeclareIntegrationTest.java
@@ -511,38 +511,68 @@ target file('test.java')
 	@Nested
 	class EdgeCases {
 		@Test
-		void predeclareRequiresPredeclareDepsCall() throws IOException {
+		void predeclareBlockEnablesPredeclareDeps() throws IOException {
 			setFile("build.gradle").toContent("""
 					plugins {
 					    id 'com.diffplug.spotless'
 					}
 					repositories { mavenCentral() }
 					spotlessPredeclare {
-					    java { googleJavaFormat('1.17.0') }
+					    format('misc') { trimTrailingWhitespace() }
 					}
 					""");
 
-			BuildResult result = gradleRunner().withArguments("spotlessApply").buildAndFail();
-			assertThat(result.getOutput())
-					.contains("Could not find method spotlessPredeclare() for arguments");
+			BuildResult result = gradleRunner().withArguments("help").build();
+			assertThat(result.getOutput()).contains("BUILD SUCCESSFUL");
 		}
 
 		@Test
-		void predeclareBlockMustComeAfterPredeclareDeps() throws IOException {
+		void predeclareBlockCanComeBeforePredeclareDeps() throws IOException {
 			setFile("build.gradle").toContent("""
 					plugins {
 					    id 'com.diffplug.spotless'
 					}
 					repositories { mavenCentral() }
 					spotlessPredeclare {
-					    java { googleJavaFormat('1.17.0') }
+					    format('misc') { trimTrailingWhitespace() }
 					}
 					spotless { predeclareDeps() }
 					""");
 
-			BuildResult result = gradleRunner().withArguments("spotlessApply").buildAndFail();
-			assertThat(result.getOutput())
-					.contains("Could not find method spotlessPredeclare() for arguments");
+			BuildResult result = gradleRunner().withArguments("help").build();
+			assertThat(result.getOutput()).contains("BUILD SUCCESSFUL");
+		}
+
+		@Test
+		void predeclareBlockHasKotlinDslAccessor() throws IOException {
+			setFile("build.gradle.kts").toContent("""
+					plugins {
+					    id("com.diffplug.spotless")
+					}
+					repositories { mavenCentral() }
+					spotlessPredeclare {
+					    format("misc") { trimTrailingWhitespace() }
+					}
+					""");
+
+			BuildResult result = gradleRunner().withArguments("help").build();
+			assertThat(result.getOutput()).contains("BUILD SUCCESSFUL");
+		}
+
+		@Test
+		void predeclareBlockCanSelectBuildscriptRepositories() throws IOException {
+			setFile("build.gradle.kts").toContent("""
+					plugins {
+					    id("com.diffplug.spotless")
+					}
+					spotlessPredeclare {
+					    format("misc") { trimTrailingWhitespace() }
+					    fromBuildscriptRepositories()
+					}
+					""");
+
+			BuildResult result = gradleRunner().withArguments("help").build();
+			assertThat(result.getOutput()).contains("BUILD SUCCESSFUL");
 		}
 
 		@Test