Execution failed for task ':app:compileDebugAidl': aidl is missing

Question

In my case I downloaded version 22 of Android M and Android 5.1.1 using Android Studio 1.2.1.1 but when I try to do a Hello World this same error showed me

So the solution for me was doing right click in app like the image below and choose "Open Module Settings"

then there you have 2 options. I've changed both with the last version I had.

Compile SDK version to API 21 Lollipop

and Build Tools Version to 21.1.2

Finally clean the project and Build

UPDATED

TO Get Android Studio 1.3 follow these steps

1. Open the Settings window by choosing File > Settings.
2. Choose the Appearance & Behavior > System Settings > Updates panel.
3. On the Updates panel, choose the option Automatically check updates for: Canary Chanel.
4. On the Updates panel, select Check Now to check for the latest canary build. Download and install the build when you are prompted.

Then you'll have something like this to update your Androud Studio to 1.3 and with this you can test Android M

Update: Real Cause

This bug happens when the versions of SDK, Build Tools and Gradle Plugins doesn't match (in terms of compatibility). The solution is to verify whether you are using the latest version of them or not. The gradle plugins are placed in the build.gradle of the project, and the other versions are on the build.gradle of the module. For example, for SDK 23, you must use the Build Tools 23.0.1 and gradle plugins version 1.3.1.

It has been fixed two days ago, so you can use:

buildToolsVersion '23.0.0 rc2'

with the newest android gradle plugin:

classpath 'com.android.tools.build:gradle:1.3.0-beta2'

Note: I had some weird problems with gradle 2.4 distribution, but trying to build the project again has fixed that for me.

EDIT

There is a newer version of build-tools 23, so you should probably use:

buildToolsVersion '23.0.0 rc3'

EDIT 2

And yet again, there are newer version of both gradle plugin and build-tools, so you can switch to using:

classpath 'com.android.tools.build:gradle:1.3.0'

and

buildToolsVersion '23.0.0'

I had a similar error with a fresh install of Android Studio 1.2.1.1 attempting to build a new blank app for API 22: Android 5.1 (Lollipop).

I fixed it by simply changing the Build Tools Version from "23.0.0 rc1" to "22.0.1" and then rebuilding.

On Windows, F4 opens the Project Structure and the Build Tools Version can be set in the Modules > app section:

I think all this does is change the setting in the build.gradle file in the app but I didn't want to change that manually just in case it does something more.

I tried to uninstall/install and it did not work. I am running OSX 10.10.3 with Android Studio 1.2.1.1 on JDK 1.8.0_45-b14 and the solution I found to work is similar to Jorge Casariego's recommendation. Basically, out of the box you get a build error for a missing 'aidl' module so simply changing the Build Tools Version to not be version 23.0.0 rc1 will solve your problem. It appears to have a bug.

UPDATE After commenting on an Android issue on their tracker (https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=175080) a project member from the Android Tools group commented that to use the Build Tools Version 23.0.0 rc1 you need to be using Android Gradle Plugin 1.3.0-beta1 (Android Studio comes configured with 1.2.3). He also noted (read the issue comments) that the IDE should have given an notification that you need to do this to make it work. For me I have not seen a notification and I've requested clarification from that project member. Nonetheless his guidance solved the issue perfectly so read on.

Solution: Open your build.gradle for your Project (not Module). Find the line classpath com.android.tools.build:gradle:xxx under dependencies where xxx is the Gradle Plugin version and make the update. Save and Rebuild your project. Here is the Android Gradle docs for managing your Gradle versions: https://developer.android.com/tools/revisions/gradle-plugin.html