BuildConfig cannot create values correctly from variables (Gradle Android)

Question

Goal

Building APKs for different environments using build types

Approach

I'm using this post to build my apk without android studio. Everything works except when I use environment variables in gradle:

Before build, I set the environment variable

export MY_API_TOKEN="ABCDEFGH"

Then in my build.gradle:

buildTypes {

  debug {
    buildConfigField("String", "MY_API_TOKEN", System.getenv('MY_API_TOKEN'))
  }

}

And when I execute : gradle assemble I get this error:

/home/apps/app/src/main/java/com/my/package/controller/api/MyAwesomeCode.java:64: error: cannot find symbol
                BuildConfig.MY_API_TOKEN;
                                  ^
  symbol:   variable BuildConfig
  location: class RestAPI
/home/apps/app/build/generated/source/buildConfig/debug/com/my/package/BuildConfig.java:14: error: cannot find symbol
  public static final String MY_API_TOKEN = ABCDEFGH;
                                               ^
  symbol:   variable ABCDEFGH
  location: class BuildConfig

I tried with several combinations, and I get the same error:

I also verified the same behavior with variables

def MY_API_TOKEN_VAR = "ABCDEFGH"

debug {
  buildConfigField "String", "MY_API_TOKEN", MY_API_TOKEN_VAR
}

Error :

BuildConfig.java:14: error: cannot find symbol
public static final String MY_API_TOKEN = ABCDEFGH;
                                          ^
symbol:   variable ABCDEFGH
location: class BuildConfig

Question

buildTypes works only for hardcoded values in build.gradle?

Natig Babayev · Answer 1 · 2019-09-24T21:39:09.333

0

BuildConfig field values with string type should be declared with the field value in escaped quotes:

android {
    ...
    defaultConfig {
        ...
        def MY_API_TOKEN_VAR = "ABCDEFGH"
        buildConfigField "String", "MY_API_TOKEN", "\"ABCDEFGH\""
    }
    ...
}

With system environment variable:

android {
    ...
    defaultConfig {
        ...
        def MY_API_TOKEN_VAR = System.getenv('MY_API_TOKEN')
        buildConfigField "String", "MY_API_TOKEN", "\"ABCDEFGH\""
    }
    ...
}

When you don't declare the field value in escaped quotes, you can see the syntax error in generated BuildConfig:

public final class BuildConfig {
  // ...
  // Fields from build type: debug
  public static final String MY_API_TOKEN = ABCD; // Should be "ABCD"
}

edited Sep 24 '19 at 21:39

answered Sep 24 '19 at 17:40

Natig Babayev

3,128
15
23

Thank you very much Natig. I tried but the error is the same. Please if you can, check my attempts: https://gist.github.com/jrichardsz/803ebd6eec990f6880ff16b5e6b5b194 **attempt_2** is the most promising – JRichardsz Sep 24 '19 at 20:00
Second attempt is not promising, because as I mentioned in my explanation, you cannot set value for string without escaped quotes when creating buildConfigField. Check my updated code to fix the issue. – Natig Babayev Sep 24 '19 at 21:36
I mean promising because, at least value is replaced. With attempt_1 , the error is before replacement. – JRichardsz Sep 25 '19 at 03:08
How can I do that? I'm not using android studio, just full linux shell with a minimal text editor. I appreciate your time and attention. – JRichardsz Sep 25 '19 at 14:14

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Feb 23 '22 at 17:59

Assuming given export MY_API_TOKEN="ABC" (please make sure variable is visible for your build system of choice) and your config is configured like this:

buildConfigField("String", "MY_API_TOKEN", "\"" + System.getenv("MY_API_TOKEN") + "\"")

...your BuildConfig class will have this extra field after sync/rebuild:

public static final String MY_API_TOKEN = "ABC";

BuildConfig cannot create values correctly from variables (Gradle Android)

Goal

Approach

Question

2 Answers2