Execution failed for task ':app:mergeExtDexDebug'.

[xchwarze]

Hello! I've been using the library for 3 or 4 years without any problem, but it ended up in version 18.x 🤣

No matter what I try in my environment I always get this error.

ERROR:D8: com.android.tools.r8.kotlin.H

FAILURE: Build failed with an exception.

* What went wrong:
Execution failed for task ':app:mergeExtDexDebug'.
> Could not resolve all files for configuration ':app:debugRuntimeClasspath'.
   > Failed to transform play-services-measurement-api-21.5.0.aar (com.google.android.gms:play-services-measurement-api:
21.5.0) to match attributes {artifactType=android-dex, asm-transformed-variant=NONE, dexing-enable-desugaring=true, dexi
ng-enable-jacoco-instrumentation=false, dexing-is-debuggable=true, dexing-min-sdk=21, org.gradle.status=release, org.gra
dle.usage=java-runtime}.
      > Execution failed for DexingWithClasspathTransform: C:\Users\DSR\.gradle\caches\transforms-3\d47e52d3aa86c58c6644
a452e92d421c\transformed\jetified-play-services-measurement-api-21.5.0-runtime.jar.
         > Error while dexing.

* Try:
> Run with --stacktrace option to get the stack trace.
> Run with --info or --debug option to get more log output.
> Run with --scan to get full insights.

* Get more help at https://help.gradle.org

BUILD FAILED in 25s
error Failed to install the app.
info Run CLI with --verbose flag for more details.
error Command failed with exit code 1.
info Visit https://yarnpkg.com/en/docs/cli/run for documentation about this command.

I tried to solve it by trying several things that I found by googling and I always end up at the same point.
Did this happen to anyone?

[mikehardy]

There are lots of things about your environment and versions that are not specified (https://stackoverflow.com/help/how-to-ask)

My hunch is an old android toolchain (that is, JDK out of date). I'm currently building everything everywhere with JDK17 and would recommend using that

[xchwarze]

I have the environment set up according to React Native recommendations, it's windows and it's all installed with choco.

choco install -y nodejs-lts yarn temurin17 microsoft-openjdk11

$ node -v
v18.14.0

$ java -version
openjdk version "11.0.20" 2023-07-18 LTS
OpenJDK Runtime Environment Microsoft-8035250 (build 11.0.20+8-LTS)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM Microsoft-8035250 (build 11.0.20+8-LTS, mixed mode)

Java I tried with 11 and 17 and the error persists in both (that's why I have installed both versions with choco).

This is the content of android/build.gradle

// Top-level build file where you can add configuration options common to all sub-projects/modules.

buildscript {
    ext {
        buildToolsVersion = "33.0.0"
        minSdkVersion = 21
        compileSdkVersion = 34
        targetSdkVersion = 33

        // We use NDK 23 which has both M1 support and is the side-by-side NDK version from AGP.
        ndkVersion = "23.1.7779620"

        // AsyncStorage Room support
        // from https://react-native-async-storage.github.io/async-storage/docs/advanced/next
        kotlinVersion = "1.8.10"
    }
    repositories {
        google()
        mavenCentral()
    }
    dependencies {
        classpath "com.android.tools.build:gradle"
        classpath "com.facebook.react:react-native-gradle-plugin"

        // from https://rnfirebase.io/
        // https://rnfirebase.io/#configure-firebase-with-android-credentials
        // https://rnfirebase.io/crashlytics/android-setup#adding-firebase-crashlytics-gradle-tools
        classpath "com.google.gms:google-services:4.4.0"
        classpath "com.google.firebase:firebase-crashlytics-gradle:2.9.9"

        // AsyncStorage Room support
        // from https://react-native-async-storage.github.io/async-storage/docs/advanced/next
        classpath "org.jetbrains.kotlin:kotlin-gradle-plugin:$kotlinVersion"
    }
}

I will switch back to java 17 and try compiling with android studio to see if the error persists.

[mikehardy]

I do not think JDK11 will work anymore. Vast parts of the android libraries have moved on to JDK17 as a minimum requirement.

[xchwarze]

I cloned the repo on the notebook I use when I travel and was able to update and compile correctly.
I guess something is broken in my local desktop environment.
Thank you very much @mikehardy for your quick response! <3

[xchwarze]

the error ONLY occurs when the development build (run-android) is done and the solution was to upgrade the minSdkVersion from 21 to 24

firebase/firebase-android-sdk#5322

buildscript {
    ext {
        buildToolsVersion = "33.0.0"
        minSdkVersion = 24

[xchwarze]

The only way I got ./gradlew assembleDebug to run was by making that change.
I have no idea what causes it yet but that way may fix it.

Then before I make the move to production with I try other changes like buildToolsVersion to see if it can be fixed without having to change my minimum version.

[mikehardy]

I would definitely give buildTools 34 a shot to see if that does it - otherwise, feel free to scan through the build.gradle that I linked - that's all known-working stuff, it runs every commit here

[xchwarze]

from android/build.gradle

// Top-level build file where you can add configuration options common to all sub-projects/modules.

buildscript {
    ext {
        buildToolsVersion = "34.0.0" <-- changed
        minSdkVersion = 21
        compileSdkVersion = 34
        targetSdkVersion = 34
        ndkVersion = "25.1.8937393"  <-- changed

        // AsyncStorage Room support
        // from https://react-native-async-storage.github.io/async-storage/docs/advanced/next
        kotlinVersion = "1.8.22"  <-- changed
    }
    repositories {
        google()
        mavenCentral()
    }
    dependencies {
        classpath "com.android.tools.build:gradle"
        classpath "com.facebook.react:react-native-gradle-plugin"

        // from https://rnfirebase.io/
        // https://rnfirebase.io/#configure-firebase-with-android-credentials
        // https://rnfirebase.io/crashlytics/android-setup#adding-firebase-crashlytics-gradle-tools
        classpath "com.google.gms:google-services:4.4.0"
        classpath "com.google.firebase:firebase-crashlytics-gradle:2.9.9"

        // AsyncStorage Room support
        // from https://react-native-async-storage.github.io/async-storage/docs/advanced/next
        classpath "org.jetbrains.kotlin:kotlin-gradle-plugin:$kotlinVersion"
    }
}

build output

> Task :app:mergeExtDexDebug FAILED

FAILURE: Build failed with an exception.

* What went wrong:
Execution failed for task ':app:mergeExtDexDebug'.
> Could not resolve all files for configuration ':app:debugRuntimeClasspath'.
   > Failed to transform play-services-measurement-api-21.5.0.aar (com.google.android.gms:play-services-measurement-api:21.5.0) to match attributes {artifactType
=android-dex, asm-transformed-variant=NONE, dexing-enable-desugaring=true, dexing-enable-jacoco-instrumentation=false, dexing-is-debuggable=true, dexing-min-sdk=
21, org.gradle.status=release, org.gradle.usage=java-runtime}.
      > Execution failed for DexingWithClasspathTransform: C:\Users\DSR\.gradle\caches\transforms-3\4ace3bfe5e359cc3178879ba6727ebf0\transformed\jetified-play-se
rvices-measurement-api-21.5.0-runtime.jar.
         > Error while dexing.

* Try:
> Run with --stacktrace option to get the stack trace.
> Run with --info or --debug option to get more log output.
> Run with --scan to get full insights.

* Get more help at https://help.gradle.org

only compiles when I upgrade the minSdkVersion to 24

[xchwarze]

I also tried setting these and it still does not compile

          supportLibVersion = '1.12.0' // this maps to androidx.core https://developer.android.com/jetpack/androidx/releases/core
          appCompatVersion = '1.6.1' // this maps to androidx.appcompat https://developer.android.com/jetpack/androidx/releases/appcompat
          supportVersion = ext.supportLibVersion
          frescoVersion = '3.1.3' // https://github.com/facebook/fresco/releases
          fragmentVersion = '1.6.1' // https://developer.android.com/jetpack/androidx/releases/fragment
          vectordrawableVersion = '1.1.0' // https://developer.android.com/jetpack/androidx/releases/vectordrawable
          androidxAnnotationVersion = '1.7.0' // https://developer.android.com/jetpack/androidx/releases/annotation
          googlePlayServicesLocationVersion = '21.0.1' // https://developers.google.com/android/guides/setup
          googlePlayServicesVersion = '18.2.0' // play-services-base
          googlePlayServicesAuthVersion = '20.7.0' // play-services-auth
          googlePlayServicesVisionVersion = '20.1.3' // play-services-vision
          googlePlayServicesIidVersion = '17.0.0' // play-services-iid - deprecated, device-info only
          mediaCompatVersion = '1.6.0' // https://developer.android.com/jetpack/androidx/releases/media
          supportV4Version = '1.0.0' // https://developer.android.com/jetpack/androidx/releases/legacy androidx.legacy:legacy-support-v4
          swiperefreshlayoutVersion = '1.1.0' // https://developer.android.com/jetpack/androidx/releases/swiperefreshlayout

in case it helps at all, this is the content of package.json

{
  "name": "xxxxxxxxxx",
  "version": "xxxxxx",
  "private": true,
  "scripts": {
    "start": "adb reverse tcp:8081 tcp:8081 && npx react-native start --no-interactive  --reset-cache",
    "test": "npx jest",
    "release-apk": "cd android && ./gradlew assembleRelease",
    "release": "cd android && ./gradlew bundleRelease",
    "android": "npx react-native run-android",
    "android-prod": "npx react-native run-android --variant release",
    "android-log": "npx react-native log-android",
    "android-emul": "emulator -netdelay none -netspeed full -avd Pixel_3a_API_33_x86_64 -dns-server 8.8.8.8",
    "ios": "npx react-native run-ios",
    "po-extract": "lingui extract --clean",
    "po-compile": "lingui compile",
    "clean": "npx react-native-clean-project",
    "devtools": "adb reverse tcp:8097 tcp:8097 && npx react-devtools",
    "depcheck": "npx depcheck",
    "version-bump": "node bin/version-bump.js",
    "white-label-sources": "node bin/white-label-sources.js",
    "eslint-check": "eslint --print-config .eslintrc.js",
    "pretty": "prettier --write \"src/**/*.js\""
  },
  "dependencies": {
    "@intercom/intercom-react-native": "^6.1.0",
    "@lingui/core": "^3.10.4",
    "@lingui/macro": "^3.10.2",
    "@lingui/react": "^3.10.2",
    "@material/material-color-utilities": "0.2.7",
    "@notifee/react-native": "^7.8.0",
    "@react-native-async-storage/async-storage": "^1.17.6",
    "@react-native-community/datetimepicker": "^7.4.1",
    "@react-native-firebase/analytics": "^18.7.0",
    "@react-native-firebase/app": "^18.7.0",
    "@react-native-firebase/crashlytics": "^18.7.0",
    "@react-native-firebase/messaging": "^18.7.0",
    "@react-native-google-signin/google-signin": "^10.0.1",
    "@react-native-picker/picker": "^2.4.2",
    "@react-navigation/bottom-tabs": "^6.5.1",
    "@react-navigation/native": "^6.0.2",
    "@react-navigation/stack": "^6.3.12",
    "@rematch/core": "^2.0.0",
    "@rematch/immer": "^2.1.0",
    "@rematch/persist": "^2.0.0",
    "@tanstack/react-query": "^4.32.0",
    "async-batch": "^1.1.2",
    "axios": "^1.2.0",
    "buffer": "^6.0.2",
    "camelcase": "^7.0.1",
    "color": "^4.2.3",
    "formik": "2.2.6",
    "immer": "^9.0.5",
    "jotai": "^2.2.2",
    "jwt-decode": "^3.0.0",
    "lottie-ios": "3.4.1",
    "lottie-react-native": "^5.1.4",
    "make-plural": "^7.0.0",
    "moment": "^2.29.0",
    "prop-types": "^15.8.1",
    "react": "18.2.0",
    "react-fast-compare": "^3.2.0",
    "react-native": "0.72.6",
    "react-native-azure-auth": "^1.8.9",
    "react-native-compressor": "^1.6.1",
    "react-native-config": "^1.3.3",
    "react-native-device-info": "^10.8.0",
    "react-native-document-picker": "^9.0.1",
    "react-native-file-viewer": "^2.1.5",
    "react-native-fs": "^2.16.6",
    "react-native-gesture-handler": "^2.9.0",
    "react-native-image-picker": "^5.6.0",
    "react-native-image-transformer": "https://github.com/xchwarze/react-native-image-transformer",
    "react-native-keyboard-manager": "^6.5.11-2",
    "react-native-localize": "^3.0.2",
    "react-native-pager-view": "6.1.4",
    "react-native-paper": "5.8.0",
    "react-native-picker-select": "^8.0.4",
    "react-native-render-html": "^6.0.5",
    "react-native-safe-area-context": "^4.7.1",
    "react-native-screens": "^3.1.0",
    "react-native-snackbar": "^2.2.0",
    "react-native-tab-view": "^3.0.1",
    "react-native-vector-icons": "^10.0.0",
    "react-native-vimeo-iframe": "^1.0.3",
    "react-native-webview": "^13.3.0",
    "react-native-youtube-iframe": "^2.0.1",
    "react-redux": "^8.0.2",
    "redux": "^4.0.5",
    "redux-logger": "^3.0.6",
    "redux-persist": "^6.0.0",
    "tus-js-client": "^3.1.0",
    "yup": "^1.2.0"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "@babel/core": "^7.20.0",
    "@babel/preset-env": "^7.20.0",
    "@babel/runtime": "^7.20.0",
    "@lingui/cli": "^3.10.2",
    "@react-native/eslint-config": "^0.72.2",
    "@react-native/metro-config": "^0.72.11",
    "@testing-library/react-native": "^12.2.0",
    "@welldone-software/why-did-you-render": "^7.0.1",
    "axios-mock-adapter": "^1.21.5",
    "babel-jest": "^29.2.1",
    "babel-plugin-macros": "^3.1.0",
    "eslint": "^8.19.0",
    "jest": "^29.2.1",
    "metro-react-native-babel-preset": "0.76.8",
    "prettier": "^2.4.1",
    "react-test-renderer": "18.2.0"
  },
  "engines": {
    "node": ">=16"
  }
}

[asdrubalvelazquez]

This works perfect for me! thanks

[jojogilx]

this solved it for me

the error ONLY occurs when the development build (run-android) is done and the solution was to upgrade the minSdkVersion from 21 to 24

firebase/firebase-android-sdk#5322

buildscript {
    ext {
        buildToolsVersion = "33.0.0"
        minSdkVersion = 24

[ibrahimcaj]

If anyone has managed to get this far with the same issue, check if you have both @react-native-firebase/app and react-native-firebase packages installed.

If so, remove react-native-firebase and run cd android && /gradlew clean - that should fix the issue! Possible that the two modules caused issues with the linker.

Worked for me, using the following gradle config:

build.gradle

buildToolsVersion = "34.0.0"
minSdkVersion = 24

/app/build.gradle

buildFeatures {
    buildConfig true
}

gradle.properties

android.useAndroidX=true
android.enableJetifier=true

Hope it'll help someone in the future.

[gabrieladnz]

helped, thanks <3