Cannot fit requested classes in a single dex file, even for earlier commits which previously compiled fine

android android-studio android-gradle-plugin dex
James Allen picture James Allen · Feb 27, 2019 · Viewed 20k times · Source

So I've just hit the maximum method count limit for my android project, which fails to build with the following error message:

Error: null, Cannot fit requested classes in a single dex file (# methods: 117407 > 65536)

I understand what the message means, and how to resolve it (running proguard, enabling multidex etc). My problem is that I don't understand why I'm suddenly getting this message - I was doing was removing some old bits of code which were redundant, hit build, and now I get this message.

Question 1: How can it be possible that my method count (117407 according to the error message) is suddenly massively over the limit (65536), even though I did not add any library dependencies? I actually removed code, and suddenly I have like 50 thousand methods too many?

Now this is where it gets really weird: I wanted to analyse the APK to figure out what's causing the problem, but of course I can't build it. So instead of enabling multidex I decided to revert my code to yesterday (which definitely absolutely did build fine yesterday - I have the app on my phone to prove it!), but I still get this build error message. I don't understand how this is possible. I tried reverting to several days ago, same thing (cloning a new repo and checking out an earlier commit).

So, question 2: How am I getting this build error for the exact same code which just yesterday built fine without error?

The only thing I can think of is that a library that I am using as a dependency has suddenly increased in size - but I'm declaring specific versions of everything in my gradle build, for example:

// RxJava
implementation 'io.reactivex.rxjava2:rxandroid:2.1.0'
implementation 'io.reactivex.rxjava2:rxjava:2.2.4'

// Retrofit
implementation 'com.squareup.retrofit2:retrofit:2.5.0'
implementation 'com.squareup.retrofit2:converter-gson:2.5.0'

So, surely my dependencies should not have changed?

Any ideas what I can do to figure this out are greatly appreciated. I've tried cleaning my project, and invalidating caches/restart in android studio. I really don't want to enable multidex or have to run proguard on my debug build.

Here's the full build.gradle:

apply plugin: 'com.android.application'
apply plugin: 'kotlin-android'
apply plugin: 'kotlin-android-extensions'
apply plugin: 'kotlin-kapt'

android {
    compileSdkVersion 28
    defaultConfig {
    applicationId "XXXXXXXXX"
    minSdkVersion 19
    targetSdkVersion 28
    versionCode 1
    versionName "0.1"
    testInstrumentationRunner "android.support.test.runner.AndroidJUnitRunner"
    vectorDrawables.useSupportLibrary = true  // see https://developer.android.com/studio/write/vector-asset-studio#sloption
}
buildTypes {
    release {
        minifyEnabled false
        // Do code shrinking!
        proguardFiles getDefaultProguardFile('proguard-android.txt'), 'proguard-rules.pro'
    }
}
}

dependencies {
implementation fileTree(dir: 'libs', include: ['*.jar'])

// Core stuff
implementation "org.jetbrains.kotlin:kotlin-stdlib-jdk7:$kotlin_version"
implementation 'com.android.support:appcompat-v7:28.0.0'
implementation 'com.android.support:recyclerview-v7:28.0.0'
testImplementation 'junit:junit:4.12'
androidTestImplementation 'com.android.support.test:runner:1.0.2'
androidTestImplementation 'com.android.support.test.espresso:espresso-core:3.0.2'
implementation 'android.arch.lifecycle:extensions:1.1.1'
implementation 'com.android.support:design:28.0.0'
implementation 'com.android.support:support-vector-drawable:28.0.0'
implementation 'com.google.android.gms:play-services-wearable:16.0.1'

// Dagger
implementation 'com.google.dagger:dagger:2.21'
kapt 'com.google.dagger:dagger-compiler:2.21'
// Dagger for Android
implementation 'com.google.dagger:dagger-android:2.21'
implementation 'com.google.dagger:dagger-android-support:2.21' // if you use the support libraries
kapt 'com.google.dagger:dagger-android-processor:2.21'

// Constraint layout
implementation 'com.android.support.constraint:constraint-layout:1.1.3'

// Associated WearOS project
wearApp project(':wear')

// Common library project
implementation project(':common')

// These were added to resolve gradle error on the 'com.android.support:appcompat-v7:28.0.0' implementation:
// All com.android.support libraries must use the exact same version specification (mixing versions can lead to
// runtime crashes). Found versions 28.0.0, 26.1.0. Examples include com.android.support:animated-vector-drawable:28.0.0
// and com.android.support:support-media-compat:26.1.0
// This seems to be related to linking the wear project. If the wear project was not linked, the error went away.
implementation 'com.android.support:support-media-compat:28.0.0'
implementation 'com.android.support:support-v4:28.0.0'

// RxJava
implementation 'io.reactivex.rxjava2:rxandroid:2.1.0'
implementation 'io.reactivex.rxjava2:rxjava:2.2.4'

// Retrofit
implementation 'com.squareup.retrofit2:retrofit:2.5.0'
implementation 'com.squareup.retrofit2:converter-gson:2.5.0'
// Retrofit RxJava
implementation 'com.squareup.retrofit2:adapter-rxjava2:2.5.0'
// Retrofit logging:
implementation 'com.squareup.okhttp3:logging-interceptor:3.12.1'

// Room
def room_version = "1.1.1"
implementation "android.arch.persistence.room:runtime:$room_version"
implementation "android.arch.persistence.room:common:$room_version"
implementation "android.arch.persistence.room:rxjava2:$room_version"
kapt "android.arch.persistence.room:compiler:$room_version"

// For modern time handling (java.time requires API 26 or higher)
implementation 'com.jakewharton.threetenabp:threetenabp:1.1.1'

// Graphing
implementation 'com.github.PhilJay:MPAndroidChart:v3.1.0-alpha'

// Dropbox
implementation 'com.dropbox.core:dropbox-core-sdk:3.0.11'

// OpenCSV
implementation 'com.opencsv:opencsv:4.5'

}

EDIT

So after enabling multidex, there are some heavy dependencies showing up under the following TLDs when I analyse the APK using Android Studio (I'm not sure if I should be looking at defined or referenced method numbers?):

  • com.dropbox: 26000 defined methods, 34000 referenced methods
  • com.android (mainly support libraries): 18700 defined, 24600 referenced
  • org.apache (commons, log etc): 15000 defined, 15700 referenced

These alone take me up to the limit. I still don't get why this is suddenly happening though :( Surely if I have not added any libraries, these numbers should not have changed?

Answer

Driss Baidou picture Driss Baidou · Jun 30, 2019

Simple add this to your gradle (Module: app) >> multiDexEnabled true

android {
    defaultConfig {
        ...
        minSdkVersion 21 
        targetSdkVersion 28
        multiDexEnabled true
    }
    ...
}

then Rebuild Project in Menu click => Build>Rebuild Project.

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