Gradle - Error Could not find method implementation() for arguments [com.android.support:appcompat-v7:26.0.0]

Question

I am trying to open existing android project in android studio and it gradle cannot build the app without the error

Error android studio keeps on throwing

Answer 1

So ridiculous, but I still wanna share my experience in case of that someone falls into the situation like me.

Please check if you changed: compileSdkVersion --> implementationSdkVersion by mistake

Answer 2

As mentioned here, https://stackoverflow.com/a/50941562/2186220, use gradle plugin version 3 or higher while using 'implementation'.

Also, use the google() repository in buildscript.

buildscript {
    repositories {
        google()
    }
    dependencies {
        classpath 'com.android.tools.build:gradle:3.1.2'
    }
}

These changes should solve the issue.

Answer 3

You need to use at least Gradle 3.4 or newer to be able to use implementation. It is not recommended to keep using the deprecated compile since this can result in slower build times. For more details see the official android developer guide:

When your module configures an implementation dependency, it's letting Gradle know that the module does not want to leak the dependency to other modules at compile time. That is, the dependency is available to other modules only at runtime. Using this dependency configuration instead of api or compile can result in significant build time improvements because it reduces the amount of projects that the build system needs to recompile. For example, if an implementation dependency changes its API, Gradle recompiles only that dependency and the modules that directly depend on it. Most app and test modules should use this configuration.

https://developer.android.com/studio/build/gradle-plugin-3-0-0-migration.html#new_configurations

Update: compile will be removed by end of 2018, so make sure that you use only implementation now:

Warning:Configuration 'compile' is obsolete and has been replaced with 'implementation'. It will be removed at the end of 2018

Answer 4

Make sure your Gradle version is 3.*.* or higher before using "implementation".

Open the project level Gradle file under dependencies:

dependencies{
    classpath 'com.android.tools.build:gradle:3.1.2'
}

Open the 'gradle-wrapper.properties' file and set the distributionUrl:

distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-4.4-all.zip

or latest version.

Sync the project. I Hope this solves your problem.

Answer 5

Replace your implementation with classpath. That should work.

Answer 6

change apply plugin: 'java' to apply plugin: 'java-library'

java-library-plugin