Failed to run sdkmanager --list with Java 9

Question

I downloaded and installed:

• JDK (jdk-9.0.1_osx-x64_bin.dmg) from Oracle here
• Android SDK (sdk-tools-darwin-3859397.zip) from Google here.

After configuring the PATH variable, I tried running sdkmanager, which replaced the android command for managing SDK components. However, it failed as shown here:

$ sdkmanager --list
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: javax/xml/bind/annotation/XmlSchema
    at com.android.repository.api.SchemaModule$SchemaModuleVersion.<init>(SchemaModule.java:156)
    at com.android.repository.api.SchemaModule.<init>(SchemaModule.java:75)
    at com.android.sdklib.repository.AndroidSdkHandler.<clinit>(AndroidSdkHandler.java:81)
    at com.android.sdklib.tool.SdkManagerCli.main(SdkManagerCli.java:117)
    at com.android.sdklib.tool.SdkManagerCli.main(SdkManagerCli.java:93)
Caused by: java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: javax.xml.bind.annotation.XmlSchema
    at java.base/jdk.internal.loader.BuiltinClassLoader.loadClass(BuiltinClassLoader.java:582)
    at java.base/jdk.internal.loader.ClassLoaders$AppClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoaders.java:185)
    at java.base/java.lang.ClassLoader.loadClass(ClassLoader.java:496)
    ... 5 more

Here is the Java version:

$ java -version
java version "9.0.1"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 9.0.1+11)
Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 9.0.1+11, mixed mode)

Does anyone know how to fix it without going back to Java 8?

Related Questions

• Failed to install android-sdk
  • This post asked a similar question. However, the post is closed and the only answer suggests going back to Java 8.

Answer 1

With the help of this answer, I successfully solved the problem.

We are going to apply a fix in sdkmanager. It is a shell script. It is located at $android_sdk/tools/bin, where $android_sdk is where you unzipped the Android SDK.

1. Open sdkmanager in your favorite editor.

2. Locate the line which sets the DEFAULT_JVM_OPTSvariable. In my copy, it is at line 31:

   DEFAULT_JVM_OPTS='"-Dcom.android.sdklib.toolsdir=$APP_HOME"'
   

3. Append the following options to the variable: -XX:+IgnoreUnrecognizedVMOptions --add-modules java.se.ee. Please pay attention to the quotes. In my copy, the line becomes:

   DEFAULT_JVM_OPTS='"-Dcom.android.sdklib.toolsdir=$APP_HOME" -XX:+IgnoreUnrecognizedVMOptions --add-modules java.se.ee'
   

4. Save the file and quit the editor.
5. Run the command again.

Here is the result:

$ sdkmanager --list
Installed packages:
  Path    | Version | Description              | Location
  ------- | ------- | -------                  | ------- 
  tools   | 26.0.1  | Android SDK Tools 26.0.1 | tools/  

Available Packages:
  Path                              | Version      | Description                      
  -------                           | -------      | -------                          
  add-ons;addon-g..._apis-google-15 | 3            | Google APIs                      
  add-ons;addon-g..._apis-google-16 | 4            | Google APIs                      
  add-ons;addon-g..._apis-google-17 | 4            | Google APIs                      
  add-ons;addon-g..._apis-google-18 | 4            | Google APIs                      
  add-ons;addon-g..._apis-google-19 | 20           | Google APIs                      
  add-ons;addon-g..._apis-google-21 | 1            | Google APIs                      
  add-ons;addon-g..._apis-google-22 | 1            | Google APIs                      
  add-ons;addon-g..._apis-google-23 | 1            | Google APIs                      
  add-ons;addon-g..._apis-google-24 | 1            | Google APIs
...

Hola! It works!

-- Edit: 2017-11-07 --

Please note that you may need to apply the fix above again after running sdkmanager --update, since the sdkmanager shell script may be overridden if the tools package is updated.

Related Answers

• https://stackoverflow.com/a/43574427/142239
  • @andy-guibert pointed out the necessary options to make this work. He also briefly what those mysterious options mean.