Why is my build failing in Android Studio with the exception "Failed to find byte code for android/support/v7/app/ActionBarActivity"?

Question

I am getting the following errors when running my app from Android Studio with instant run enabled. As mentioned in following logs app:transformClassesWithInstantRunForDevDebug is failing because gradle cannot find android/support/v7/app/ActionBarActivity

FAILURE: Build failed with an exception.

* What went wrong:
Execution failed for task ':app:transformClassesWithInstantRunForDevDebug'.
> com.android.build.api.transform.TransformException: java.lang.RuntimeException: java.lang.RuntimeException: java.io.IOException: Failed to find byte code for android/support/v7/app/ActionBarActivity

* Try:
Run with --info or --debug option to get more log output.

* Exception is:
org.gradle.api.tasks.TaskExecutionException: Execution failed for task ':app:transformClassesWithInstantRunForDevDebug'.
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.executeActions(ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.java:100)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.execute(ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.java:70)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.SkipUpToDateTaskExecuter.execute(SkipUpToDateTaskExecuter.java:63)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ResolveTaskOutputCachingStateExecuter.execute(ResolveTaskOutputCachingStateExecuter.java:54)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ValidatingTaskExecuter.execute(ValidatingTaskExecuter.java:58)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.SkipEmptySourceFilesTaskExecuter.execute(SkipEmptySourceFilesTaskExecuter.java:88)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ResolveTaskArtifactStateTaskExecuter.execute(ResolveTaskArtifactStateTaskExecuter.java:52)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.SkipTaskWithNoActionsExecuter.execute(SkipTaskWithNoActionsExecuter.java:52)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.SkipOnlyIfTaskExecuter.execute(SkipOnlyIfTaskExecuter.java:54)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ExecuteAtMostOnceTaskExecuter.execute(ExecuteAtMostOnceTaskExecuter.java:43)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.CatchExceptionTaskExecuter.execute(CatchExceptionTaskExecuter.java:34)
    at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.DefaultTaskGraphExecuter$EventFiringTaskWorker$1.run(DefaultTaskGraphExecuter.java:248)
    at org.gradle.internal.progress.DefaultBuildOperationExecutor$RunnableBuildOperationWorker.execute(DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.java:336)
    at org.gradle.internal.progress.DefaultBuildOperationExecutor$RunnableBuildOperationWorker.execute(DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.java:328)
    at org.gradle.internal.progress.DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.execute(DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.java:197)
    at org.gradle.internal.progress.DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.run(DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.java:107)
    at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.DefaultTaskGraphExecuter$EventFiringTaskWorker.execute(DefaultTaskGraphExecuter.java:241)
    at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.DefaultTaskGraphExecuter$EventFiringTaskWorker.execute(DefaultTaskGraphExecuter.java:230)
    at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.DefaultTaskPlanExecutor$TaskExecutorWorker.processTask(DefaultTaskPlanExecutor.java:124)
    at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.DefaultTaskPlanExecutor$TaskExecutorWorker.access$200(DefaultTaskPlanExecutor.java:80)
    at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.DefaultTaskPlanExecutor$TaskExecutorWorker$1.execute(DefaultTaskPlanExecutor.java:105)
    at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.DefaultTaskPlanExecutor$TaskExecutorWorker$1.execute(DefaultTaskPlanExecutor.java:99)
    at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.DefaultTaskExecutionPlan.execute(DefaultTaskExecutionPlan.java:625)
    at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.DefaultTaskExecutionPlan.executeWithTask(DefaultTaskExecutionPlan.java:580)
    at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.DefaultTaskPlanExecutor$TaskExecutorWorker.run(DefaultTaskPlanExecutor.java:99)
    at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.DefaultTaskPlanExecutor.process(DefaultTaskPlanExecutor.java:60)
    at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.DefaultTaskGraphExecuter.execute(DefaultTaskGraphExecuter.java:128)
    at org.gradle.execution.SelectedTaskExecutionAction.execute(SelectedTaskExecutionAction.java:37)
    at org.gradle.execution.DefaultBuildExecuter.execute(DefaultBuildExecuter.java:37)
    at org.gradle.execution.DefaultBuildExecuter.access$000(DefaultBuildExecuter.java:23)
    at org.gradle.execution.DefaultBuildExecuter$1.proceed(DefaultBuildExecuter.java:43)
    at org.gradle.execution.DryRunBuildExecutionAction.execute(DryRunBuildExecutionAction.java:46)
    at org.gradle.execution.DefaultBuildExecuter.execute(DefaultBuildExecuter.java:37)
    at org.gradle.execution.DefaultBuildExecuter.execute(DefaultBuildExecuter.java:30)
    at org.gradle.initialization.DefaultGradleLauncher$ExecuteTasks.run(DefaultGradleLauncher.java:311)
    at org.gradle.internal.progress.DefaultBuildOperationExecutor$RunnableBuildOperationWorker.execute(DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.java:336)
    at org.gradle.internal.progress.DefaultBuildOperationExecutor$RunnableBuildOperationWorker.execute(DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.java:328)
    at org.gradle.internal.progress.DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.execute(DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.java:197)
    at org.gradle.internal.progress.DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.run(DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.java:107)
    at org.gradle.initialization.DefaultGradleLauncher.runTasks(DefaultGradleLauncher.java:202)
    at org.gradle.initialization.DefaultGradleLauncher.doBuildStages(DefaultGradleLauncher.java:132)
    at org.gradle.initialization.DefaultGradleLauncher.executeTasks(DefaultGradleLauncher.java:107)
    at org.gradle.internal.invocation.GradleBuildController$1.call(GradleBuildController.java:78)
    at org.gradle.internal.invocation.GradleBuildController$1.call(GradleBuildController.java:75)
    at org.gradle.internal.work.DefaultWorkerLeaseService.withLocks(DefaultWorkerLeaseService.java:152)
    at org.gradle.internal.invocation.GradleBuildController.doBuild(GradleBuildController.java:100)
    at org.gradle.internal.invocation.GradleBuildController.run(GradleBuildController.java:75)
    at org.gradle.tooling.internal.provider.runner.ClientProvidedBuildActionRunner.run(ClientProvidedBuildActionRunner.java:63)
    at org.gradle.launcher.exec.ChainingBuildActionRunner.run(ChainingBuildActionRunner.java:35)
    at org.gradle.launcher.exec.ChainingBuildActionRunner.run(ChainingBuildActionRunner.java:35)
    at org.gradle.tooling.internal.provider.ValidatingBuildActionRunner.run(ValidatingBuildActionRunner.java:32)
    at org.gradle.launcher.exec.RunAsBuildOperationBuildActionRunner$1.run(RunAsBuildOperationBuildActionRunner.java:43)
    at org.gradle.internal.progress.DefaultBuildOperationExecutor$RunnableBuildOperationWorker.execute(DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.java:336)
    at org.gradle.internal.progress.DefaultBuildOperationExecutor$RunnableBuildOperationWorker.execute(DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.java:328)
    at org.gradle.internal.progress.DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.execute(DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.java:197)
    at org.gradle.internal.progress.DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.run(DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.java:107)
    at org.gradle.launcher.exec.RunAsBuildOperationBuildActionRunner.run(RunAsBuildOperationBuildActionRunner.java:40)
    at org.gradle.tooling.internal.provider.SubscribableBuildActionRunner.run(SubscribableBuildActionRunner.java:51)
    at org.gradle.launcher.exec.InProcessBuildActionExecuter.execute(InProcessBuildActionExecuter.java:45)
    at org.gradle.launcher.exec.InProcessBuildActionExecuter.execute(InProcessBuildActionExecuter.java:29)
    at org.gradle.launcher.exec.BuildTreeScopeBuildActionExecuter.execute(BuildTreeScopeBuildActionExecuter.java:39)
    at org.gradle.launcher.exec.BuildTreeScopeBuildActionExecuter.execute(BuildTreeScopeBuildActionExecuter.java:25)
    at org.gradle.tooling.internal.provider.ContinuousBuildActionExecuter.execute(ContinuousBuildActionExecuter.java:71)
    at org.gradle.tooling.internal.provider.ContinuousBuildActionExecuter.execute(ContinuousBuildActionExecuter.java:45)
    at org.gradle.tooling.internal.provider.ServicesSetupBuildActionExecuter.execute(ServicesSetupBuildActionExecuter.java:51)
    at org.gradle.tooling.internal.provider.ServicesSetupBuildActionExecuter.execute(ServicesSetupBuildActionExecuter.java:32)
    at org.gradle.tooling.internal.provider.GradleThreadBuildActionExecuter.execute(GradleThreadBuildActionExecuter.java:36)
    at org.gradle.tooling.internal.provider.GradleThreadBuildActionExecuter.execute(GradleThreadBuildActionExecuter.java:25)
    at org.gradle.tooling.internal.provider.ParallelismConfigurationBuildActionExecuter.execute(ParallelismConfigurationBuildActionExecuter.java:43)
    at org.gradle.tooling.internal.provider.ParallelismConfigurationBuildActionExecuter.execute(ParallelismConfigurationBuildActionExecuter.java:29)
    at org.gradle.tooling.internal.provider.StartParamsValidatingActionExecuter.execute(StartParamsValidatingActionExecuter.java:64)
    at org.gradle.tooling.internal.provider.StartParamsValidatingActionExecuter.execute(StartParamsValidatingActionExecuter.java:29)
    at org.gradle.tooling.internal.provider.SessionFailureReportingActionExecuter.execute(SessionFailureReportingActionExecuter.java:55)
    at org.gradle.tooling.internal.provider.SessionFailureReportingActionExecuter.execute(SessionFailureReportingActionExecuter.java:42)
    at org.gradle.tooling.internal.provider.SetupLoggingActionExecuter.execute(SetupLoggingActionExecuter.java:58)
    at org.gradle.tooling.internal.provider.SetupLoggingActionExecuter.execute(SetupLoggingActionExecuter.java:33)
    at org.gradle.launcher.daemon.server.exec.ExecuteBuild.doBuild(ExecuteBuild.java:67)
    at org.gradle.launcher.daemon.server.exec.BuildCommandOnly.execute(BuildCommandOnly.java:36)
    at org.gradle.launcher.daemon.server.api.DaemonCommandExecution.proceed(DaemonCommandExecution.java:120)
    at org.gradle.launcher.daemon.server.exec.WatchForDisconnection.execute(WatchForDisconnection.java:37)
    at org.gradle.launcher.daemon.server.api.DaemonCommandExecution.proceed(DaemonCommandExecution.java:120)
    at org.gradle.launcher.daemon.server.exec.ResetDeprecationLogger.execute(ResetDeprecationLogger.java:26)
    at org.gradle.launcher.daemon.server.api.DaemonCommandExecution.proceed(DaemonCommandExecution.java:120)
    at org.gradle.launcher.daemon.server.exec.RequestStopIfSingleUsedDaemon.execute(RequestStopIfSingleUsedDaemon.java:34)
    at org.gradle.launcher.daemon.server.api.DaemonCommandExecution.proceed(DaemonCommandExecution.java:120)
    at org.gradle.launcher.daemon.server.exec.ForwardClientInput$2.call(ForwardClientInput.java:74)
    at org.gradle.launcher.daemon.server.exec.ForwardClientInput$2.call(ForwardClientInput.java:72)
    at org.gradle.util.Swapper.swap(Swapper.java:38)
    at org.gradle.launcher.daemon.server.exec.ForwardClientInput.execute(ForwardClientInput.java:72)
    at org.gradle.launcher.daemon.server.api.DaemonCommandExecution.proceed(DaemonCommandExecution.java:120)
    at org.gradle.launcher.daemon.server.exec.LogAndCheckHealth.execute(LogAndCheckHealth.java:55)
    at org.gradle.launcher.daemon.server.api.DaemonCommandExecution.proceed(DaemonCommandExecution.java:120)
    at org.gradle.launcher.daemon.server.exec.LogToClient.doBuild(LogToClient.java:62)
    at org.gradle.launcher.daemon.server.exec.BuildCommandOnly.execute(BuildCommandOnly.java:36)
    at org.gradle.launcher.daemon.server.api.DaemonCommandExecution.proceed(DaemonCommandExecution.java:120)
    at org.gradle.launcher.daemon.server.exec.EstablishBuildEnvironment.doBuild(EstablishBuildEnvironment.java:82)
    at org.gradle.launcher.daemon.server.exec.BuildCommandOnly.execute(BuildCommandOnly.java:36)
    at org.gradle.launcher.daemon.server.api.DaemonCommandExecution.proceed(DaemonCommandExecution.java:120)
    at org.gradle.launcher.daemon.server.exec.StartBuildOrRespondWithBusy$1.run(StartBuildOrRespondWithBusy.java:50)
    at org.gradle.launcher.daemon.server.DaemonStateCoordinator$1.run(DaemonStateCoordinator.java:297)
    at org.gradle.internal.concurrent.ExecutorPolicy$CatchAndRecordFailures.onExecute(ExecutorPolicy.java:63)
    at org.gradle.internal.concurrent.ManagedExecutorImpl$1.run(ManagedExecutorImpl.java:46)
    at org.gradle.internal.concurrent.ThreadFactoryImpl$ManagedThreadRunnable.run(ThreadFactoryImpl.java:55)
Caused by: java.lang.RuntimeException: com.android.build.api.transform.TransformException: java.lang.RuntimeException: java.lang.RuntimeException: java.io.IOException: Failed to find byte code for android/support/v7/app/ActionBarActivity
    at com.android.builder.profile.Recorder$Block.handleException(Recorder.java:55)
    at com.android.builder.profile.ThreadRecorder.record(ThreadRecorder.java:104)
    at com.android.build.gradle.internal.pipeline.TransformTask.transform(TransformTask.java:213)
    at org.gradle.internal.reflect.JavaMethod.invoke(JavaMethod.java:73)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.project.taskfactory.DefaultTaskClassInfoStore$IncrementalTaskAction.doExecute(DefaultTaskClassInfoStore.java:173)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.project.taskfactory.DefaultTaskClassInfoStore$StandardTaskAction.execute(DefaultTaskClassInfoStore.java:134)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.project.taskfactory.DefaultTaskClassInfoStore$StandardTaskAction.execute(DefaultTaskClassInfoStore.java:121)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter$1.run(ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.java:122)
    at org.gradle.internal.progress.DefaultBuildOperationExecutor$RunnableBuildOperationWorker.execute(DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.java:336)
    at org.gradle.internal.progress.DefaultBuildOperationExecutor$RunnableBuildOperationWorker.execute(DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.java:328)
    at org.gradle.internal.progress.DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.execute(DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.java:197)
    at org.gradle.internal.progress.DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.run(DefaultBuildOperationExecutor.java:107)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.executeAction(ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.java:111)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.executeActions(ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.java:92)
    ... 102 more
Caused by: com.android.build.api.transform.TransformException: java.lang.RuntimeException: java.lang.RuntimeException: java.io.IOException: Failed to find byte code for android/support/v7/app/ActionBarActivity
    at com.android.build.gradle.internal.transforms.InstantRunTransform.doTransform(InstantRunTransform.java:312)
    at com.android.build.gradle.internal.transforms.InstantRunTransform.transform(InstantRunTransform.java:178)
    at com.android.build.gradle.internal.pipeline.TransformTask$2.call(TransformTask.java:222)
    at com.android.build.gradle.internal.pipeline.TransformTask$2.call(TransformTask.java:218)
    at com.android.builder.profile.ThreadRecorder.record(ThreadRecorder.java:102)
    ... 114 more
Caused by: java.lang.RuntimeException: java.lang.RuntimeException: java.io.IOException: Failed to find byte code for android/support/v7/app/ActionBarActivity
    at com.android.ide.common.internal.WaitableExecutor.waitForTasksWithQuickFail(WaitableExecutor.java:146)
    at com.android.build.gradle.internal.transforms.InstantRunTransform.doTransform(InstantRunTransform.java:307)
    ... 118 more
Caused by: java.lang.RuntimeException: java.io.IOException: Failed to find byte code for android/support/v7/app/ActionBarActivity
Caused by: java.io.IOException: Failed to find byte code for android/support/v7/app/ActionBarActivity
    at com.android.build.gradle.internal.incremental.AsmUtils.lambda$static$0(AsmUtils.java:89)
    at com.android.build.gradle.internal.incremental.AsmUtils.loadClass(AsmUtils.java:307)
    at com.android.build.gradle.internal.incremental.AsmUtils.readClassAndInterfaces(AsmUtils.java:165)
    at com.android.build.gradle.internal.incremental.AsmUtils.loadClass(AsmUtils.java:278)
    at com.android.build.gradle.internal.incremental.IncrementalVisitor.instrumentClass(IncrementalVisitor.java:342)
    at com.android.build.gradle.internal.transforms.InstantRunTransform.transformToClasses2Format(InstantRunTransform.java:406)
    at com.android.build.gradle.internal.transforms.InstantRunTransform.lambda$doTransform$3(InstantRunTransform.java:268)
    at com.android.build.gradle.internal.transforms.InstantRunTransform.lambda$null$4(InstantRunTransform.java:297)


* Get more help at https://help.gradle.org

BUILD FAILED in 3m 34s

If instant is disabled I am not getting any error and application runs on device successfully. My Android Studio version is 3.0.1.

Why am I getting this error? And how can I solve it?

did you find any solution? am facing this error for another dependancy. — sandeepd, Mar 27 '18 at 11:38
ActionBarActivity has been deprecated in the recent Android API..it should be AppCompatActivity https://stackoverflow.com/questions/29877692/why-was-actionbaractivity-deprecated — ecle, Dec 25 '18 at 12:54

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Feb 08 '19 at 11:50

If you are using any jar file in your project then remove it. As they might creating the problem with the older versions.

I faced a similar issue and I have removed all the jar files that I have kept and replaced them with the gradle. Some of the jar files in my project were using an older version of google play services, which was causing this issue. Because of the time limitation, I didn't find which jar file was using that, the simplest solution for me was just to remove the jar files and use gradle instead.

Why is my build failing in Android Studio with the exception "Failed to find byte code for android/support/v7/app/ActionBarActivity"?

1 Answers1