Change apk output folder in Gradle 4.1

Question

I would like to change the APK output folder and this is what I used to do:

applicationVariants.all { variant ->
    variant.outputs.all {
        def filePath = "${rootProject.rootDir.absolutePath}/apks/${variant.name}"
        println("My Path: " + filePath)
        outputFileName = filePath
    }
}

However, it didn't work in Gradle 4.1 (Android studio 3.0 preview). Instead of generating the folder as the path above, it generated the above path inside old debug folder like image below:

Does anyone have a solution for this? Thanks.

Answer 1

This is a workaround to keep the output path same after upgrade to gradle 4.x.

applicationVariants.all { variant ->
    variant.outputs.all {
        outputFileName = "../" + outputFileName
    }
}

now apk is generated at platforms/android/build/outputs/apk/android-release.apk

Answer 2

From migration guide:

Using the Variant API to manipulate variant outputs is broken with the new plugin. It still works for simple tasks, such as changing the APK name during build time, as shown below:

    android.applicationVariants.all { variant ->
        variant.outputs.all {
            outputFileName = "${variant.name}-${variant.versionName}.apk"
        }
    }

However, more complicated tasks that involve accessing outputFile objects no longer work. That's because variant-specific tasks are no longer created during the configuration stage. This results in the plugin not knowing all of its outputs up front, but it also means faster configuration times.

Answer 3

I had a similar issue, because I needed the output apk in a known folder and not in a folder depending on the computer user name. So I have fixed like this:

applicationVariants.all { variant ->
    variant.outputs.all {
        def apk = output.outputFile;
        def newName = apk.name.replace(".apk", "-v" + variant.versionName + "-RELEASE.apk");
        newName = newName.replace("-" + variant.buildType.name, "");

        outputFileName = "./" + newName
    }
}

With this I get the apk in: ".../outputs/apk/flavorName/buildTypeName/xxx.apk"

Hope it helps you.