How to setup ButterKnife plugin in Android Studio?

Question

I need to install the plugin Butter Knife. Where can I download it? I downloaded a .jar plugin (but not if the file is the one I need), I have installed but when I click on the option "generate" not the option to use butterknife appears. following a video tutorial I modified files Gradle build: I have them now as follows:

apply plugin: 'android-apt'
apply plugin: 'com.android.application'


android {
    compileSdkVersion rootProject.ext.compileSdkVersion
    buildToolsVersion rootProject.ext.buildToolsVersion

    defaultConfig {
        applicationId "calcursoedxleccion0.cal"
        minSdkVersion rootProject.ext.minSdkVersion
        targetSdkVersion rootProject.ext.targetSdkVersion
        versionCode 1
        versionName "1.0"
    }
    buildTypes {
        release {
            minifyEnabled false
            proguardFiles getDefaultProguardFile('proguard-android.txt'), 'proguard-rules.pro'
        }
    }
}

dependencies {
    compile fileTree(dir: 'libs', include: ['*.jar'])
    testCompile 'junit:junit:4.12'
    compile "com.android.support:appcompat-v7:$rootProject.ext.supportLibraryVersion"
    compile "com.android.support:recyclerview-v7:$rootProject.ext.supportLibraryVersion"
    compile "com.android.support:support-v4:$rootProject.ext.supportLibraryVersion"
    compile "com.android.support:design:$rootProject.ext.supportLibraryVersion"

   // compile "com.jakewharton:butterknife:$rootProject.ext.butterKnifeVersion"
    compile "com.jakewharton:butterknife:$rootProject.ext.butterKnifeVersion"


   apt "com.jakewharton:butterknife-compiler:8.0.1"
}

and

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

buildscript {
    repositories {
        jcenter()
        mavenCentral()
    }
    dependencies {
        classpath 'com.android.tools.build:gradle:2.1.2'
        classpath 'com.neenbedankt.gradle.plugins:android-apt:1.8'

        // NOTE: Do not place your application dependencies here; they belong
        // in the individual module build.gradle files
    }
}

allprojects {
    repositories {
        jcenter()
    }
}

task clean(type: Delete) {
    delete rootProject.buildDir
}

ext{

    minSdkVersion = 16
    targetSdkVersion = 23
    compileSdkVersion = 23
    buildToolsVersion = '23.0.3'

    supportLibraryVersion = '23.3.0'
    butterKnifeVersion = '8.0.1'
}

Gradle to synchronize I get this error:

"The android android-library or plugin must be applied to the project" error (1.0)

What am I doing wrong?

Answer 1

The easiest way to use ButterKnife library is to add this single line to your module-level build.gradle dependencies list:

dependencies {
  implementation 'com.jakewharton:butterknife:7.0.1'
}

You can then synchronize your project!

UPDATE 1

I just noticed Jake the Wharton has updated the library since the last time I used it! Now, it appears you have to add to two separate places:

In your project-level build.gradle file:

buildscript {
  repositories {
    mavenCentral()
  }
  dependencies {
    classpath 'com.neenbedankt.gradle.plugins:android-apt:1.8'
  }
}

And lastly, in your module-level build.gradle file:

apply plugin: 'android-apt'

android {
  ...
}

dependencies {
   implementation 'com.jakewharton:butterknife:8.0.1'
   apt 'com.jakewharton:butterknife-compiler:8.0.1'
}

It is important that you add apply plugin: 'android-apt' to top of the module-level build.gradle file; most likely below the first line like this:

apply plugin: 'com.android.application'
apply plugin: 'android-apt'

I have just tested this and works for me. Good luck!

UPDATE 2

Jake Wharton just released an update to the library and here is what you need to do in order to use it:

So, inside your build.gradle (app-level), add the following to your dependencies!

dependencies {
   compile 'com.jakewharton:butterknife:8.8.1'
   annotationProcessor 'com.jakewharton:butterknife-compiler:8.8.1'
}

I hope this helps you!

UPDATE 3:

Here is versions released till now in case you have conflict with other libraries and want it to work on older API levels

With trying , in case you want it min SDK level 15 till now you will need to play with versions to get it working in my case these set are compatable so far with SDK 15 as minimum.

This case i only put these in module app level build.gradle.

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'
    })
    implementation 'com.android.support:appcompat-v7:24.2.1'
    implementation 'com.android.support.constraint:constraint-layout:1.0.2'
    testCompile 'junit:junit:4.12'

    implementation group: 'com.google.code.gson', name: 'gson', version: '2.8.5'
    implementation group: 'com.squareup.retrofit2', name: 'converter-gson', version: '2.3.0'

    implementation 'com.jakewharton:butterknife:8.4.0'
    annotationProcessor 'com.jakewharton:butterknife-compiler:8.4.0'

    implementation 'io.reactivex:rxjava:1.1.6'
    implementation 'io.reactivex:rxandroid:1.2.1'
    implementation 'com.squareup.retrofit2:adapter-rxjava:2.1.0'

    implementation 'com.android.support:recyclerview-v7:24.2.1'
}