How to add Android Support Repository to Android Studio?

Question

I'm using Android Studio with an external Android SDK. I have installed the support library and the support repository. The support repository is in:

~/Development/Tools/android/sdk/extras/android/m2repository

When I add a dependency to the support library in the build.gradle file, like:

...

repositories {
    mavenCentral()
}

...

dependencies {
   compile "com.android.support:support-v4:18.0.+"
}

Android Studio cannot find the support libraries (cannot resolve symbol etc) and Gradle also cannot find the libraries:

Gradle: A problem occurred configuring project ':TestAndroidStudio'.
> Failed to notify project evaluation listener.
   > Could not resolve all dependencies for configuration ':TestAndroidStudio:_DebugCompile'.
      > Could not find any version that matches com.android.support:support-v4:18.0.+.
        Required by:
            TestAndroidStudio:TestAndroidStudio:unspecified

How do I specify in Android Studio and/or the build.gradle file the location of the Android support repository?

Answer 1

You are probably hit by this bug which prevents the Android Gradle Plugin from automatically adding the "Android Support Repository" to the list of Gradle repositories. The work-around, as mentioned in the bug report, is to explicitly add the m2repository directory as a local Maven directory in the top-level build.gradle file as follows:

allprojects {
    repositories {
        // Work around https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=69270.
        def androidHome = System.getenv("ANDROID_HOME")
        maven {
            url "$androidHome/extras/android/m2repository/"
        }
    }
}

Answer 2

Gradle can work with the 18.0.+ notation, it however now depends on the new support repository which is now bundled with the SDK.

Open the SDK manager and immediately under Extras the first option is "Android Support Repository" and install it

Answer 3

Found a solution.

1) Go to where your SDK is located that android studio/eclipse is using. If you are using Android studio, go to extras\android\m2repository\com\android\support\. If you are using eclipse, go to \extras\android\support\

2) See what folders you have, for me I had gridlayout-v7, support-v4 and support-v13.

3) click into support-v4 and see what number the following folder is, mine was named 13.0

Since you are using "com.android.support:support-v4:18.0.+", change this to reflect what version you have, for example I have support-v4 so first part v4 stays the same. Since the next path is 13.0, change your 18.0 to:

"com.android.support:support-v4:13.0.+"

This worked for me, hope it helps!

Update:

I noticed I had android studio set up with the wrong SDK which is why originally had difficulty updating! The path should be C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Android\android-sdk\extras\

Also note, if your SDK is up to date, the code will be:

"com.android.support:support-v4:19.0.+"

Answer 4

Android Studio 3

Make sure you have the latest version of Android Studio. The support library is included by default when you create new projects. If you are adding the Support Library to a project that doesn't have it, then you just need to add a single line to your app module's build.gradle file, and then sync gradle.

build.gradle

dependencies {
    ...
    implementation 'com.android.support:appcompat-v7:27.1.1'
} 

It should just be that easy, though there may be some things to note:

• Android Studio should give you a warning nowadays if the support library needs to be updated. Just update the 27.1.1 numbers that I have here to whatever it tells you to. You can also manually check what the latest revision is if you want to.
• The implementation keyword replaces compile that was used in Android Studio 2.x. (What's the difference?)
• There are other support library packages that you may need to include depending on what your app uses (like constraint-layout or recyclerview).
• Make sure that you have the latest updates for everything in the SDK Manager. Go to Tools > SDK Manager.

Documentation

• Support Library
• Support Library Setup
• Support Library Features

Answer 5

I used to get similar issues. Even after installing the support repository, the build used to fail.

Basically the issues is due to the way the version number of the jar files are specified in the gradle files are specified properly.

For example, in my case i had set it as "compile 'com.android.support:support-v4:21.0.3+'"

On removing "+" the build was sucessful!!

Answer 6

Instead of doing this:

compile "com.android.support:support-v4:18.0.+"

Do this:

compile 'com.android.support:support-v4:18.0.+' 

Worked for me