How to create Java gradle project
Solution 1:
To create a Java project: create a new project directory, jump into it and execute
gradle init --type java-library
Source folders and a Gradle build file (including a wrapper) will be build.
Solution 2:
The gradle guys are doing their best to solve all (y)our problems ;-). They recently (since 1.9) added a new feature (incubating): the "build init" plugin.
See: build init plugin documentation
Solution 3:
Unfortunately you cannot do it in one command. There is an open issue for the very feature.
Currently you'll have to do it by hand. If you need to do it often, you can create a custom gradle plugin, or just prepare your own project skeleton and copy it when needed.
EDIT
The JIRA issue mentioned above has been resolved, as of May 1, 2013, and fixed in 1.7-rc-1. The documentation on the Build Init Plugin is available, although it indicates that this feature is still in the "incubating" lifecycle.