JNI and Gradle in Android Studio

android, android-ndk-r7, android-studio, gradle, java-native-interface

Solution

Gradle Build Tools 2.2.0+ - The closest the NDK has ever come to being called 'magic'

In trying to avoid experimental and frankly fed up with the NDK and all its hackery I am happy that 2.2.x of the Gradle Build Tools came out and now it just works. The key is the `externalNativeBuild` and pointing `ndkBuild` path argument at an `Android.mk` or change `ndkBuild` to `cmake` and point the path argument at a `CMakeLists.txt` build script.

android {
    compileSdkVersion 19
    buildToolsVersion "25.0.2"

    defaultConfig {
        minSdkVersion 19
        targetSdkVersion 19

        ndk {
            abiFilters 'armeabi', 'armeabi-v7a', 'x86'
        }

        externalNativeBuild {
            cmake {
                cppFlags '-std=c++11'
                arguments '-DANDROID_TOOLCHAIN=clang',
                        '-DANDROID_PLATFORM=android-19',
                        '-DANDROID_STL=gnustl_static',
                        '-DANDROID_ARM_NEON=TRUE',
                        '-DANDROID_CPP_FEATURES=exceptions rtti'
            }
        }
    }

    externalNativeBuild {
        cmake {
             path 'src/main/jni/CMakeLists.txt'
        }
        //ndkBuild {
        //   path 'src/main/jni/Android.mk'
        //}
    }
}

For much more detail check Google's page on adding native code.

After this is setup correctly you can `./gradlew installDebug` and off you go. You will also need to be aware that the NDK is moving to clang since gcc is now deprecated in the Android NDK.

Android Studio Clean and Build Integration - DEPRECATED

The other answers do point out the correct way to prevent the automatic creation of `Android.mk` files, but they fail to go the extra step of integrating better with Android Studio. I have added the ability to actually clean and build from source without needing to go to the command-line. Your `local.properties` file will need to have `ndk.dir=/path/to/ndk`

apply plugin: 'com.android.application'

android {
    compileSdkVersion 14
    buildToolsVersion "20.0.0"

    defaultConfig {
        applicationId "com.example.application"
        minSdkVersion 14
        targetSdkVersion 14

        ndk {
            moduleName "YourModuleName"
        }
    }

    sourceSets.main {
        jni.srcDirs = [] // This prevents the auto generation of Android.mk
        jniLibs.srcDir 'src/main/libs' // This is not necessary unless you have precompiled libraries in your project.
    }

    task buildNative(type: Exec, description: 'Compile JNI source via NDK') {
        def ndkDir = android.ndkDirectory
        commandLine "$ndkDir/ndk-build",
                '-C', file('src/main/jni').absolutePath, // Change src/main/jni the relative path to your jni source
                '-j', Runtime.runtime.availableProcessors(),
                'all',
                'NDK_DEBUG=1'
    }

    task cleanNative(type: Exec, description: 'Clean JNI object files') {
        def ndkDir = android.ndkDirectory
        commandLine "$ndkDir/ndk-build",
                '-C', file('src/main/jni').absolutePath, // Change src/main/jni the relative path to your jni source
                'clean'
    }

    clean.dependsOn 'cleanNative'

    tasks.withType(JavaCompile) {
        compileTask -> compileTask.dependsOn buildNative
    }
}

dependencies {
    compile 'com.android.support:support-v4:20.0.0'
}

The `src/main/jni` directory assumes a standard layout of the project. It should be the relative from this `build.gradle` file location to the `jni` directory.

Gradle - for those having issues

Also check this Stack Overflow answer.

It is really important that your gradle version and general setup are correct. If you have an older project I highly recommend creating a new one with the latest Android Studio and see what Google considers the standard project. Also, use `gradlew`. This protects the developer from a gradle version mismatch. Finally, the gradle plugin must be configured correctly.

And you ask what is the latest version of the gradle plugin? Check the tools page and edit the version accordingly.

Final product - /build.gradle

// Top-level build file where you can add configuration options common to all sub-projects/modules.

// Running 'gradle wrapper' will generate gradlew - Getting gradle wrapper working and using it will save you a lot of pain.
task wrapper(type: Wrapper) {
    gradleVersion = '2.2'
}

// Look Google doesn't use Maven Central, they use jcenter now.
buildscript {
    repositories {
        jcenter()
    }
    dependencies {
        classpath 'com.android.tools.build:gradle:1.2.0'

        // NOTE: Do not place your application dependencies here; they belong
        // in the individual module build.gradle files
    }
}

allprojects {
    repositories {
        jcenter()
    }
}

Make sure `gradle wrapper` generates the `gradlew` file and `gradle/wrapper` subdirectory. This is a big gotcha.

ndkDirectory

This has come up a number of times, but `android.ndkDirectory` is the correct way to get the folder after 1.1. Migrating Gradle Projects to version 1.0.0. If you're using an experimental or ancient version of the plugin your mileage may vary.

Problem

Original source

Related problems

• How/When to generate Gradle wrapper files?
• define LOCAL_SRC_FILES in ndk{} DSL