Android Studio 3.0 Execution failed for task: unable to merge dex

Question

android studio was getting build error while build execution with following:

Error:Execution failed for task ':app:transformDexArchiveWithExternalLibsDexMergerForDebug'. java.lang.RuntimeException: java.lang.RuntimeException: com.android.builder.dexing.DexArchiveMergerException: Unable to merge dex"

My app:build.gradle file:

apply plugin: 'com.android.application'

android {
    compileSdkVersion 26
    buildToolsVersion '26.0.2'
    defaultConfig {
        applicationId "com.pdroid.foodieschoice"
        minSdkVersion 16
        targetSdkVersion 25
        versionCode 1
        versionName "1.0"
        testInstrumentationRunner "android.support.test.runner.AndroidJUnitRunner"
    }
    buildTypes {
        release {
            minifyEnabled false
            proguardFiles getDefaultProguardFile('proguard-android.txt'), 'proguard-rules.pro'
        }
    }
}

dependencies {
    compile fileTree(dir: 'libs', include: ['*.jar'])
    androidTestCompile('com.android.support.test.espresso:espresso-core:2.2.2', {
        exclude group: 'com.android.support', module: 'support-annotations'
    })
    compile 'com.android.support.constraint:constraint-layout:1.0.2'
    compile 'com.firebaseui:firebase-ui-auth:2.3.0'

    testCompile 'junit:junit:4.12'
}
configurations.all {
    resolutionStrategy {
        force 'com.android.support:appcompat-v7:26.0.1'
        force 'com.android.support:support-compat:26.0.1'
        force 'com.android.support:support-core-ui:26.0.1'
        force 'com.android.support:support-annotations:26.0.1'
        force 'com.android.support:recyclerview-v7:26.0.1'
    }
}

apply plugin: 'com.google.gms.google-services'

any solutions

Edit: i have done with sample through firebase github site and solved

I suggest that you edit your question and post the entire output of your Gradle console, not just that one line. The details of your problem lie elsewhere in the output. — CommonsWare, Nov 02 '17 at 15:39
@CommonsWare i have posted my entire error.. its just two line only. — Anguraj, Nov 13 '17 at 17:14
Try to disabled instant run clean your project and add android { defaultConfig { multiDexEnabled true } } — Tara, Nov 28 '17 at 09:42
I added one dependency two times in my build.gradle. Remove one and sync the project will solve a problem. — meyasir, Aug 07 '18 at 07:04

score 67 · Answer 1 · answered Jun 04 '18 at 02:20

67

For Cordova based project, run cordova clean android before build again, as @mkimmet suggested.

answered Jun 04 '18 at 02:20

sulaiman sudirman

1,826
1
24
32

1

Someone please mark this answer right. It solves the problem. – pamekar Oct 13 '18 at 09:50
2

For me, installing the 'cordova-plugin-androidx' and 'cordova-plugin-androidx-adapter' sovled the problem – ssz Jul 04 '20 at 14:06

Niamatullah Bakhshi · Answer 2 · 2018-03-12T10:57:53.487

59

This error happens when you add an external library which may not be compatible with your compileSdkVersion .

Be careful when you are adding an external library.

I spent 2 days on this problem and finally it got solved following these steps.

Make sure all your support libraries are same as compileSdkVersion of your build.gradle(Module:app) in my case it is 26.
In your defaultConfig category type multiDexEnabled true. This is the important part.
Go to File | Settings | Build, Execution, Deployment | Instant Run and try to Enable/Disable Instant Run to hot swap... and click okay
Sync Your project.
Lastly, Go to Build | click on Rebuild Project.
Note: Rebuild Project first cleans and then builds the project.

edited Mar 12 '18 at 10:57

answered Jan 30 '18 at 21:57

Niamatullah Bakhshi

1,445
16
27

it is helpful me , Thank you. – Sumit Saxena Mar 12 '18 at 07:24
glad to hear that. Happy Androiding. – Niamatullah Bakhshi Mar 12 '18 at 10:49
1

@YajliMaclo great! – Niamatullah Bakhshi Dec 19 '18 at 08:35

score 51 · Answer 3 · answered Nov 02 '17 at 15:53

51

Try to add this in gradle

    android {
      defaultConfig {
        multiDexEnabled true
        }
   }

answered Nov 02 '17 at 15:53

Ishan Fernando

2,758
1
31
38

Did you tried to invalidate cache in android studio? @Anguraj – Ishan Fernando Nov 25 '17 at 18:29
Not the only step to enable multidex. Also not needed in newer API levels – OneCricketeer Feb 08 '18 at 06:41

score 29 · Answer 4 · answered Sep 30 '18 at 10:26

Resolution:

Refer to this link: As there are various options to shut the warning off depending on the minSdkVersion, it is set below 20:

 android {
     defaultConfig {
         ...
         minSdkVersion 15 
         targetSdkVersion 26
         multiDexEnabled true
     }
     ... }

 dependencies {   compile 'com.android.support:multidex:1.0.3' }

If you have a minSdkVersion greater than 20 in your build.gradle set use the following to shut down the warning:

  android {
      defaultConfig {
          ...
          minSdkVersion 21 
          targetSdkVersion 26
          multiDexEnabled true
      }
      ... }

Update dependencies as follows:

     dependencies {
        implementation 'com.android.support:multidex:1.0.3'
     }

Again the only difference is the keywords in dependencies:

minSdkVersion below 20: use compile

minSdkVersion above 20: use implementation

I hope this was helpful, please upvote if it solved your issue, Thank you for your time.
Also for more info, on why this occurs, please read the first paragraph in the link, it will explain thoroughly why? and what does this warning mean.

score 24 · Answer 5 · answered Nov 08 '17 at 09:50

24

Simply try doing a "Build -> Clean Project". That solved the problem for me.

answered Nov 08 '17 at 09:50

Anas

354
1
7

5

Thanks this worked for me in an Ionic/Cordova project by running *cordova clean android* while I also had cordova-android-support-gradle-release plugin installed. – mkimmet May 31 '18 at 15:02
Love it when something simple fixes things!! Thanks! – tonejac Jun 20 '18 at 05:00
This fixed it for me when working with React Native. – Michael Auderer Oct 21 '18 at 19:40
Thanks, it's the easiest solution for this issue, I spent my 3 days to solve this issue and your answer solves my all problem. Once again thank you my bro!!! – gautamsinh mori Sep 01 '20 at 06:25
Thanks. Helped me on Android Studio 4.1. Saved my day. – Atif Oct 31 '20 at 09:29

score 7 · Answer 6 · answered Dec 04 '17 at 06:47

For me, adding

multiDexEnabled true

and

packagingOptions {
        exclude 'META-INF/NOTICE' 
        exclude 'META-INF/LICENSE'
        exclude 'META-INF/notice'
        exclude 'META-INF/notice.txt'
        exclude 'META-INF/license'
        exclude 'META-INF/license.txt'
    }

into the app level Build.gradle file solved the issue

score 6 · Answer 7 · answered Sep 02 '19 at 16:13

Go to your module level build.gradle file and add the following lines to the code

    defaultConfig {
        ...
        minSdkVersion 15 
        targetSdkVersion 28
        multiDexEnabled true
    }
    ...
}

dependencies {
  implementation 'com.android.support:multidex:1.0.3'
}

That solved the problem easily. Check this documentation

score 4 · Answer 8 · answered Jul 25 '18 at 10:48

Use multiDexEnabled true as below.

{
 minSdkVersion 17
    targetSdkVersion 28
    versionCode 1
    versionName "1.0"
    testInstrumentationRunner "android.support.test.runner.AndroidJUnitRunner"
    multiDexEnabled true
}

and

implementation 'com.android.support:multidex:1.0.3'

this Solution worked for me.

score 4 · Answer 9 · answered Nov 04 '18 at 19:29

I tried many solutions as mentioned above including the multiDexEnabled true but none of that worked for me.

Here is the solution which worked for me - copy this code in app\build.gradle file

configurations.all {
    resolutionStrategy.eachDependency { DependencyResolveDetails details ->
        def requested = details.requested
        if (requested.group == 'com.android.support' && requested.name != 'multidex') {
            details.useVersion "${rootProject.ext.supportLibVersion}"
        }
    }
}

Make sure to run gradlew clean before running the code

I changed minSdkVersion, it's enough – Mr Special Dec 27 '19 at 08:56 — Mr Special, Dec 27 '19 at 08:56

score 2 · Answer 10 · answered Nov 23 '17 at 05:17

2

Same thing happened to me, figured out that I was in the middle of updating to AS 3.0.1 and after I did the update, cleaned and rebuilt the app, everything was fixed.

answered Nov 23 '17 at 05:17

Tian Pretorius

31
3

HedeH · Answer 11 · 2018-05-03T06:20:23.850

2

For me what fixed this error was changing one line in my app's gradle dependencies.

from this:

compile('com.google.android.gms:play-services-gcm:+') {
    force = true
}

To this:

compile('com.google.android.gms:play-services-gcm:11.8.0') {
    force = true
}

edited May 03 '18 at 06:20

answered Mar 22 '18 at 07:46

HedeH

2,869
16
25

Only that worked for me. I did not need to add force = true – Paulo Linhares - Packapps May 03 '18 at 01:20

score 1 · Answer 12 · answered Jul 05 '18 at 03:14

Also be sure your app is subclassing MultiDexApplication

import android.support.multidex.MultiDexApplication

class App : MultiDexApplication()

or if not subclassing Application class, add to AndroidManifest.xml

<application
  android:name="android.support.multidex.MultiDexApplication"

score 1 · Answer 13 · answered Apr 08 '19 at 10:48

1

This is what works for me. clean prepare and run.

cordova clean android;
ionic cordova prepare andriod;
ionic cordova run andriod;

hope it helps.

answered Apr 08 '19 at 10:48

Sankha Karunasekara

1,636
18
19

Shriram Navaratnalingam · Answer 14 · 2020-04-27T16:36:04.550

1

I also got the similar error.

Problem :

Solution :

Main root cause for this issue ismultiDex is not enabled. So in the Project/android/app/build.gradle, enable the multiDex

For further information refer the documentation: https://developer.android.com/studio/build/multidex#mdex-gradle

edited Apr 27 '20 at 16:36

answered Mar 28 '20 at 08:56

Shriram Navaratnalingam

2,847
2
15
20

For me, just add the line multiDexEnabled=true in defaultConfig – AndroLogiciels Jun 07 '22 at 14:51

score 0 · Answer 15 · answered Nov 08 '17 at 13:22

0

Are you in between SDK or platform updates? If yes complete those completely and then try to continue. I normally update the individual packages that need to be updated as to taking the entire update which could go up to 2.5 GB sometimes. Doing this complete update sometimes fails. I had a number of SDK updates once I upgraded to Android Studio 3.0 and was getting the above error since all packages had not been updated. Once I updated all packages the above error was gone.

answered Nov 08 '17 at 13:22

Vineet Jain

59
1
7

Hope you have cleared or invalidated your cache and restarted Android Studio ? For me Android Studio 3 seems buggy as compared to the previous versions. – Vineet Jain Nov 14 '17 at 07:42
anyone ever fix this? cannot get past it! – 68060 Nov 16 '17 at 09:52

score 0 · Answer 16 · answered Nov 27 '17 at 18:39

0

In my case changing firebase library version from 2.6.0 to 2.4.2 fixed the issue

answered Nov 27 '17 at 18:39

Persiaware

55
6

score 0 · Answer 17 · answered Nov 28 '17 at 09:29

For me, the problem was the use of Java 1.8 in a module, but not in the app module. I added this to the app build gradle and worked:

android{
    compileOptions {
        sourceCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_1_8
        targetCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_1_8
    }

score 0 · Answer 18 · edited Jan 13 '18 at 23:03

Same problem. I have enabled multidex: defaultConfig { applicationId "xxx.xxx.xxxx" minSdkVersion 24 targetSdkVersion 26 multiDexEnabled true

I have cleared cache, ran gradle clean, rebuild, make, tried to make sure no conflicts in imported libraries (Removed all transitive dependencies) and made all updates. Still:

Error:Execution failed for task ':app:transformDexArchiveWithExternalLibsDexMergerForDebug'. java.lang.RuntimeException: com.android.builder.dexing.DexArchiveMergerException: Unable to merge dex

Turns out the build did not like: implementation 'org.slf4j:slf4j-android:1.7.21'

score 0 · Answer 19 · answered Jan 15 '18 at 07:15

0

When the version of Android Studio is 3.0.1, Gradle Version is 4.1 and Android PluginVersion is 3.0.0, it will encounter this problem. Then I downgrade Gradle Version is 3.3, Android Android is zero, there is no such problem.

answered Jan 15 '18 at 07:15

Qian Zhang

159
1
6

score 0 · Answer 20 · answered Feb 23 '18 at 23:32

I had this when requested SDK version didn't match the dependencies. You can click the line highlighted and fix this clicking the red light bulb. No need to find the actual version, just let the IDE figure it out for you. And add google repo to maven config.

score 0 · Answer 21 · answered Mar 14 '18 at 18:05

I was receiving the same error and in my case, the error was resolved when I fixed a build error which was associated with a different build variant than the one I was currently building.

I was building the build variant I was looking at just fine with no errors, but attempting to debug caused a app:transformDexArchiveWithExternalLibsDexMergerForDebug error. Once I switched to build the other build variant, I caught my error in the build process and fixed it. This seemed to resolve my app:transformDexArchiveWithExternalLibsDexMergerForDebug issue for all build variants.

Note that this error wasn't within the referenced external module but within a distinct source set of a build variant which referenced an external module. Hope that's helpful to someone who may be seeing the same case as me!

score 0 · Answer 22 · answered Apr 08 '18 at 06:18

0

I Have Done and fixed this issue by just doing this jobs in my code

Open ->build.gradle Change value from

compile 'com.google.code.gson:gson:2.6.1'

to

compile 'com.google.code.gson:gson:2.8.2'

answered Apr 08 '18 at 06:18

Mahboob Ahmed Toor

1
1

user8363370 · Answer 23 · 2018-07-05T07:24:11.860

1)Please add multiDexEnabled true
2)if you get compilation error then check your app level build.gradle weather same dependencies are implemented with different versions.
3)Remove one if you find same dependencies.

android { compileSdkVersion 28 defaultConfig {

    minSdkVersion 17
    targetSdkVersion 28
    versionCode 1
    versionName "1.0"
    testInstrumentationRunner "android.support.test.runner.AndroidJUnitRunner"
    multiDexEnabled true
}

hope it works fine :) Happy Coding

Sarojini2064130 · Answer 24 · 2018-08-02T11:21:36.740

0

The easiest way to avoid suck kind of error is:

-Change library combilesdkversion as same as your app compilesdkversion

-Change library's supportLibrary version as same as your build.gradle(app)

edited Aug 02 '18 at 11:21

answered Aug 02 '18 at 09:53

Sarojini2064130

221
3
7

Android Studio 3.0 Execution failed for task: unable to merge dex

24 Answers24

Resolution:

Linked