Require Gradle project from another directory

Question

I have a directory/project setup like this:

C:\
    _dev\
        Projects\
            Logger
            MyProject

Logger is an Android library project using Gradle. MyProject is a standard Android project project that needs to make use of the Logger library.

I am using Android Studio and have tried adding Logger to the external libraries. Whilst this works during development, I get messages about the class not being found when building.

I'm completely new to Gradle, but have tried the following in my build.gradle within MyProject:

buildscript {
    repositories {
        mavenCentral()
    }
    dependencies {
        classpath 'com.android.tools.build:gradle:0.5.+'
    }
}
apply plugin: 'android'

repositories {
    mavenCentral()
}

android {
    compileSdkVersion 18
    buildToolsVersion "18.1.0"

    defaultConfig {
        minSdkVersion 16
        targetSdkVersion 18
    }

    dependencies {
        compile files("../Logger")
    }
}

dependencies {
    compile 'com.android.support:gridlayout-v7:18.0.0'
    compile 'com.android.support:appcompat-v7:18.0.0'
}

Lingua

Like this? #17479576 – Enounce

Already tried that unfortunately. include ':logger' project(':logger').projectDir = new File(settingsDir, '../SysLog') – Lingua

write this line includeFlat 'prjname' into MyProject\settings.gradle . if project are sideByside / Flat / same level , gradle auto accepts that. also it project automatically pops up in intellij idea details: #6995890 – Cimbri

This question is too frequently visited by me, almost every time I make a new gradle project, so I put it in favorites. – Rockies

Answer 1

The simplest way is to make MyProject a multi project with the Logger project as a subproject.

settings.gradle in MyProject directory:

include ":logger"
project(":logger").projectDir = file("../logger")

In the build.gradle of MyProject you can now reference this lib as a project:

dependencies {
     compile 'com.android.support:gridlayout-v7:18.0.0'
     compile 'com.android.support:appcompat-v7:18.0.0'
     compile project(":logger")
}

Faceharden

Thanks, this is exactly what I needed. The project compiled successfully as soon as I added this. – Lingua

Can you use a property value from the Gradle home directory's gradle.properties file? – Frowsy

This is exactly what I just inferred I might be able to do, and so is exactly the answer I was looking for :-D – Nochur

I got same situation and this solution in settings.gradle worked for me – Tedman

I get an error that the project already exists, when I give it a new name it clones my repository into my workspace. – Largo

none of this hyper-over-extended build stuff makes any sense anymore. gradle is getting almost to be like autotools. Bless you for providing a simple answer and solution, and for making things work without the rest of us who just want to write software having to understand it. – Whisper

Thanks, worked well, I read over here docs.gradle.org/current/dsl/… for deeper understanding as well – Mattiematting

I know this is ages old, but is there any way to do this iteratively for a long list of subprojects rather than statically defining them all like this? – Damara

file('') didn't work, but new File('') worked, I'm on Windows – Effy

What if that external dependencies has its own project depencies? Those paths are not resolved. – Sungsungari

Answer 2

Android Studio 2.2.3:

Add to settings.gradle.

include ':app', ':new_lib'
project(':new_lib').projectDir = new File('../new_lib/app')

• The path must be relative from the root of the project you're working on.
• The module you're referencing must have a reference to it's "app" directory.

Then edit your Project Structure | Modules to setup dependencies.

Ipoh

I tried this in Android Studio but now my root project is no longer considered a library and the build variants only show what you called ":new_lib" as the available module. The original 'app' is no longer in the module list. – Nonchalance

Answer 3

Try adding the dependency to the global "dependencies" section, not the "android > dependencies". During development, the "android" configuration is used, but not to package the runtime.

dependencies {
    compile 'com.android.support:gridlayout-v7:18.0.0'
    compile 'com.android.support:appcompat-v7:18.0.0'
    compile files("../Logger")
}

It may also be worthwhile to look into setting up a multi-project gradle configuration, with a build.gradle and settings.gradle in the shared parent directory like here: http://www.gradle.org/docs/current/userguide/multi_project_builds.html

Fumatorium

Just tried that, with no success unfortunately. Still getting the same errors. – Lingua

Answer 4

For those who meet the error Could not find method compile()... based on the answer from @Rene Groeschke, @Michael Mrozek and @user924, in the build.gradle of MyProject use

implementation project(":logger")

instead of

compile project(":logger")

It works with Gradle-7.4

Flintshire

Answer 5

Here is a solution for settings.gradle.kts and build.gradle.kts (Kotlin DSL).

settings.gradle.kts:

include(":my-sub-project")

Top-level build.gradle.kts:

dependencies {
    implementation(project(":my-sub-project"))
    // ...
}

Directory structure:

🗁 project
  ├─── settings.gradle.kts
  ├─── build.gradle.kts
  ├─── 🗁 my-sub-project
  │   ├─── build.gradle.kts
  │   └─── ...
  └─── ...

Gibbet

Technically correct (like Microsoft), but not what was asked for ;-) – Hyperactive