Android builds fail due to missing jcenter dependencies

UPDATE | 2018-12-04:

This issue is resolved fully in cordova-android v7.1.4

 

FOR REFERENCE ONLY:

Several java dependencies appear to be missing from https://jcenter.bintray.com causing the failure of android native builds. As a workaround Ionic Appflow Package users can create the following hook script to adjust their build.gradle file. This script will force a check of https://maven.google.com before jcenter, allowing for retrieval of the necessary dependencies. 

This issue was partially resolved in cordova-android v7.1.1 where maven has been prioritized over jcenter by default.

Users experiencing this issue should update to cordova-android v7.1.1 if possible. There is already a PR for a fix that should resolve the issue when cordova-android 7.1.2 is released. In the meantime it will be necessary to use the following script to package for Android in Ionic Pro.

cordova-android 7.1.1

Create a file named maven_swap.sh in the root of your project.

#!/bin/bash
if [ "$CI_SERVER" = "yes" ]; then
 # If CI_SERVER is undefined or 'no' then the build is not running in Ionic Appflow
 echo 'Ionic Appflow build detected, proritizing maven'
 #remove jcenter
 sed -i '/jcenter()/d' ./platforms/android/CordovaLib/build.gradle
 #append jcenter
 sed -i '/maven {/{
 N
 N
 a\
 jcenter()
 }' ./platforms/android/CordovaLib/build.gradle
 cat ./platforms/android/CordovaLib/build.gradle
fi

 Reference the script in the android platform node in config.xml using the hook reference shown below.

<platform name="android">
    <hook src="maven_swap.sh" type="before_build" />
    ...
</platform>

Add execute permissions using chmod +x maven_swap.sh. If your OS doesn't include the chmod command execute permissions can be added using git. See the following article for more details.

• Adding execute permissions using git 

 

Local Builds

When building locally this issue can be addressed manually. Change the position of maven in any build.gradle files where jcenter appears first. 

• platforms/android/app/build.gradle
• platforms/android/build.gradle
• platforms/android/CordovaLib/build.gradle

change this:

repositories {
  jcenter()
  maven {
    url "https://maven.google.com"
  }
}

to this:

repositories {
  maven {
    url "https://maven.google.com"
  }
  jcenter()
}

This technique will not work during a Appflow package build because the platform is regenerated when the build runs.

Build log error examples:

Could not resolve all files for configuration ':debugCompileClasspath'.
> Could not find common.jar (android.arch.core:common:1.0.0).
 Searched in the following locations:
 https://jcenter.bintray.com/android/arch/core/common/1.0.0/common-1.0.0.jar
* Try:
Run with --stacktrace option to get the stack trace. Run with --info or --debug option to get more log output.

FAILURE: Build failed with an exception.
* What went wrong:
A problem occurred configuring project ':CordovaLib'.
> Could not resolve all files for configuration ':CordovaLib:classpath'.
 > Could not find intellij-core.jar (com.android.tools.external.com-intellij:intellij-core:26.0.1).
 Searched in the following locations:
 https://jcenter.bintray.com/com/android/tools/external/com-intellij/intellij-core/26.0.1/intellij-core-26.0.1.jar

* What went wrong:
A problem occurred configuring project ':CordovaLib'.
> Could not resolve all files for configuration ':CordovaLib:classpath'.
 > Could not find intellij-core.jar (com.android.tools.external.com-intellij:intellij-core:26.0.1).
 Searched in the following locations:
 https://jcenter.bintray.com/com/android/tools/external/com-intellij/intellij-core/26.0.1/intellij-core-26.0.1.jar