Android Gradle Manifest Merger: Override 'uses-permission' attribute coming from a library

Question

For my app that I'm developing with the latest Android Studio I'm using this dependencies within it's gradle file:

dependencies {
    compile 'com.android.support:support-v4:21.0.+'
    compile 'com.helpshift:android-aar:3.7.1'
}

The com.helpshift:android-aar:3.7.1 library needs the following permission for a feature that I don't use in my main app:

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" />

As described here and here I can override attributes from the imported library’s activity XML declarations.

But can I also override manifest XML declarations like the mentioned uses-permission?

I already tried something like this in my main manifest, but it didn't work:

<permission
    android:name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE"
    tools:node="remove"
    tools:selector="com.helpshift">
</permission>

Also changing the <permission> element to <uses-permission> did not help. The app still asks for permission to access the SC card.

My main AndroidManifest.xml looks like this now:

<manifest xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    android:installLocation="auto"
    xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
    package="com.bmi.rechner" >

    <uses-permission
        android:name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE"
        tools:node="remove"
        tools:selector="com.helpshift">
    </uses-permission>

    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />
    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE" />
    <uses-permission android:name="com.android.vending.BILLING" />

    <application
        ...

Update: The suggested answer by @CommonsWare is working.

It's just my tools:selector="com.helpshift" which isn't correct. I'm leaving it out because I'm sure I won't need that permission in any other libraries for a while.

He also filed a feature request to improve the Manifest Merger Report which might help to find the right selector in the future.

Answer 1

It would be a <uses-permission> element that you would remove, not a <permission> element.

And note that the library may crash if your app does not hold this permission.