Android: How to use lower minSdkVersion than declared in library (uiautomator-v18)

Question

I migrated an older Android app to Android-Studio/Gradle. The test need uiautomator-v18 which requires minSdkVersion=18. However, I would like to have the minSdkVersion set to 15 or 16.

There are many questions on SO over the same thing, but I am just not able to resolve this problem.

Exerpt AndroidManifest.xml:

<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
    package="com.example.searcher"
    android:versionCode="1"
    android:versionName="0.0.1" >

    <uses-sdk
        tools:overrideLibrary="android.support.test.uiautomator.v18"/>

    <!-- ... -->

</manifest>

The build.gradle:

apply plugin: 'com.android.application'

android {
    compileSdkVersion 23
    buildToolsVersion "23.0.2"

    defaultConfig {
        applicationId "com.example.searcher"
        minSdkVersion 15
        targetSdkVersion 23
        testApplicationId "com.example.searcher.test"
        testInstrumentationRunner "android.support.test.runner.AndroidJUnitRunner"
    }
}

dependencies {
    compile 'com.android.support:appcompat-v7:23.2.0'
    compile 'com.google.android.gms:play-services-analytics:8.4.0'
    compile files('libs/dagger-1.2.1.jar')
    compile files('libs/dagger-compiler-1.2.1.jar')
    compile files('libs/javawriter-2.1.2.jar')
    compile files('libs/javax.inject.jar')

    androidTestCompile(
        'com.android.support:support-annotations:23.2.0',
        'com.android.support.test:runner:0.4.1',
        'com.android.support.test:rules:0.4.1',
        'com.android.support.test.uiautomator:uiautomator-v18:2.1.1',
        'org.hamcrest:hamcrest-library:1.3',
        'org.mockito:mockito-core:1.10.5',
        'junit:junit:4.12',
        'com.google.dexmaker:dexmaker:1.1',
        'com.google.dexmaker:dexmaker-mockito:1.1'
    )
}

The above gives the error:

Error:Execution failed for task ':app:processDebugAndroidTestManifest'.
> java.lang.RuntimeException: Manifest merger failed : uses-sdk:minSdkVersion 15 cannot be smaller than version 18 declared in library [com.android.support.test.uiautomator:uiautomator-v18:2.1.1] /mypath/app/build/intermediates/exploded-aar/com.android.support.test.uiautomator/uiautomator-v18/2.1.1/AndroidManifest.xml
    Suggestion: use tools:overrideLibrary="android.support.test.uiautomator.v18" to force usage

But I am already using the overrideLibrary.

If this is not possible, is it possible to have different minSdkVersion for "main" and "androidTest"?

EDIT: After adding the flavors, I was able to run the tests using build variant tstDebug. However, building it with prdDebug ends in an error saying that there are unknown stuff in the androidTest (example: package org.hamcrest does not exist). The modified excerpt of build.gradle:

defaultConfig {
    applicationId "com.example.searcher"
    targetSdkVersion 23
    versionCode 6
    versionName "0.5.0"
}

productFlavors {
    prd {
        minSdkVersion 15
    }
    tst {
        minSdkVersion 18
        testApplicationId "com.example.searcher.test"
        testInstrumentationRunner "android.test.InstrumentationTestRunner"
    }
}

// And instead of "androidTestCompile" use "tstCompile"

Is it not possible to tell "Android Studio" that it should build the app without androidTest?

Do you tried to change the version in AndroidManifest of your overrideLibrary ? — Sree, Mar 04 '16 at 06:45
I finally could make it run with "flavors": I failed to name the flavored tests correctly. So, for flavor "dev" the test folder should be `androidTestDev`. Which I found in this [answer](http://stackoverflow.com/a/28092437/3045181) — tokosh, Mar 14 '16 at 04:01
Possible duplicate of [Set different minSdkVersion for testAndroid than for main app](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/30585289/set-different-minsdkversion-for-testandroid-than-for-main-app) — Bharathwaaj, Jul 30 '19 at 05:07

score 13 · Answer 1 · answered Mar 09 '16 at 15:21

13

Did you put <uses-sdk tools:overrideLibrary ...> in src/main/AndroidManifest.xml?

If so, remove it from src/main/AndroidManifest.xml and try to put the following xml in src/androidTest/AndroidManifest.xml.

(Don't forget android:minSdkVersion="18")

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<manifest
    package="YOUR PACKAGE NAME"
    xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools">

    <uses-sdk
        android:minSdkVersion="18"
        tools:overrideLibrary="android.support.test.uiautomator.v18"
        />
</manifest>

answered Mar 09 '16 at 15:21

sumio

394
3
11

Thanks for the answer. The `AndroidManifest.xml` in src/androidTest/ is auto-generated. If I use `minSdkVersion` in the gradle.build, it will create an `AndroidManifest.xml` in build/ with the values from gradle.build. If I leave `minSdkVersion` undefined, it will use version `1` as default, which results in an error, too. – tokosh Mar 10 '16 at 01:13
@tokosh More precisely, `minSdkVersion` in your `build.gradle` and `src/androidTest/AndroidManifest.xml` are merged into `build/intermediates/manifest/androidTest/debug/AndroidManifest.xml`. So, storing`src/androidTest/AndroidManifest.xml` is significant. I confirmed it in the following environment: - Android Studio 1.5.1 - Android Gradle Plugin 1.5.0 - `minSdkVersion` in `app/build.gradle`: 16 – sumio Mar 22 '16 at 06:11
In addition to the previous comment, the merged AndroidManifest.xml still has `android:minSdkVersion="16"`. It is no problem. Declaring `tools:overrideLibrary` will prevent the manifest merger to fail in compilation. – sumio Mar 22 '16 at 06:35

score 7 · Accepted Answer · edited Sep 11 '17 at 13:47

7

One option is to have a product flavor for your tests:

android {
    productFlavors {
        production {
            minSdkVersion 15
        }
        uiTest {
            minSdkVersion 18
        }
    }
...
}

And then run the tests on the uiTest flavor builds.

edited Sep 11 '17 at 13:47

Dr.jacky

3,341
6
53
91

answered Mar 05 '16 at 13:53

kevinpelgrims

2,148
1
18
29

Sorry for trying it out late. Finally I got the tests running with a lower `minSdkVersion`. What I missed was setting the build-variant in "Android Studio". Without it the tests could not be run. I preferred if this were possible with `overrideLibrary` (as it seems to me this is its purpose). But well, enough time spent. – tokosh Mar 09 '16 at 10:17
If instead of a product flavor, you need to increase the minSdkVersion in a buildType, just wrap the minSdkVersion with defaultConfig, like this: `espresso { defaultConfig { minSdkVersion 18 } }` – Sebas LG Jan 30 '17 at 11:02

Android: How to use lower minSdkVersion than declared in library (uiautomator-v18)

2 Answers2