Android studio - Failed to find target android-18

Question

I have a problem with Android Studio 0.2.3.

When I run my project the build stops and appears message that says:

Gradle: Execution failed for

Answer 1

What worked for me in Android Studio (0.8.1):

1. Right click on project name and open Module Settings
2. Verify SDK Locations
3. Verify Gradle and Plugin Versions (Review the error message hints for the proper version to use)
4. On the app Module set the Compile SDK Version to android-L (latest)
5. Set the Build Tools version to largest available value (in my case 20.0.0)

These changes via the UI make the equivalent changes represented in other answers but is a better way to proceed because on close, all appropriate files (current and future) will be updated automatically (which is helpful when confronted by the many places where issues can occur).

NB: It is very important to review the Event Log and note that Android Studio provides helpful messages on alternative ways to resolve such issues.