Set doNotStrip packagingOptions to a specific buildType

Question

My project has 3 different buildTypes and I need only one of them to keep the debug info of its native libraries. I'm using com.android.tools.build:gradle:3.1.4.

I tried the following

buildTypes {

   debug {
   ...
   }

   release {
   ...
   }

   unstripped {
       ...
       packagingOptions {
           doNotStrip '**/*.so'
       } 
   }
}

but that makes all buildTypes to keep unstripped versions of the libraries.

I also tried changing the doNotStrip pattern to something like '**/unstripped/*.so' but that does not seem to help me, since the docs say that the path is related to the APK's root dir.

Nowhither

Did you ever figure out why this doesn't work? – Cockadoodledoo

Poked at it some more, and it seems like a gradle bug or atleast an issue with how packagingOptions is implemented. The settings seem to be global and not scoped to particular variants. – Cockadoodledoo

I opened a bug report here: issuetracker.google.com/issues/155215248 – Cockadoodledoo

Hi, @tmm1. No, I haven't been working with Android for a while now, so I ended up not looking further into it. Thanks for opening the report! :) – Nowhither

Answer 1

Since Android Gradle Plugin (AGP) version 7.0.0 the use case is supported with a new syntax. Example:

androidComponents {
    onVariants(selector().withBuildType("debug")) {
        packaging.jniLibs.keepDebugSymbols.add("**/debugDoNotStrip.so")
    }
}

Nowhither

Where in the build.gradle file should the androidComponents be specified? – Indefeasible

Answer 2

Here is a workaround for you:

Feeding a command line option "doNotStrip"

1. Add below to your app/build.gradle

   android {
       ...
       if (project.hasProperty("doNotStrip")) {
           packagingOptions {
               doNotStrip '**/*.so'
           }
       }
       ...
   }
   

2. Use below command to generate the unstripped apk by feeding option doNotStrip to the command.

   ./gradlew assembleUnstripped -PdoNotStrip
   

3. For other build types, you can still use the normal build commands. e.g.

   ./gradlew assembleDebug
   

   or

   ./gradlew assembleRelease
   

   but don't feed option doNotStrip to the command.

Groundsheet

Thanks a lot! That's almost exactly what I ended up doing, actually... But, is it possible to do something as simple as I tried to initially? If it's impossible, could you explain me why? I'm new to Gradle and it would be nice to learn more about it. – Nowhither

Answer 3

doNotStrip function is deprecated, please use keepDebugSymbols instead.

build.gradle.kts:

android {
  buildTypes {
        debug {
            packaging.jniLibs.keepDebugSymbols.add("**/*.so")
        }
    }
}

It works for me.

Malicious

Could not get unknown property 'packaging' Getting this error :/ – Ellinger