Gradle Build Error - NullPointerException thrown during app:compileDebugJava gradle task

Question

I keep receiving this error message everytime I try to make a gradle build. I recently made a build before this and the application was created without any issue. I didn't make any changes to my build.gradle file. What is causing this?

:app:preBuild
 ......
:app:processDebugResources
:app:generateDebugSources
:app:compileDebugJava FAILED
Error:Execution failed for task ':app:compileDebugJava'.
> java.lang.NullPointerException

I am using Android Studio version 0.8.1

Here is the gradle stacktrace:

* Exception is:
org.gradle.api.tasks.TaskExecutionException: Execution failed for task ':app:compileDebugJava'.
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.executeActions(ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.java:69)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.execute(ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.java:46)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.PostExecutionAnalysisTaskExecuter.execute(PostExecutionAnalysisTaskExecuter.java:35)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.SkipUpToDateTaskExecuter.execute(SkipUpToDateTaskExecuter.java:64)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ValidatingTaskExecuter.execute(ValidatingTaskExecuter.java:58)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.SkipEmptySourceFilesTaskExecuter.execute(SkipEmptySourceFilesTaskExecuter.java:42)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.SkipTaskWithNoActionsExecuter.execute(SkipTaskWithNoActionsExecuter.java:52)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.SkipOnlyIfTaskExecuter.execute(SkipOnlyIfTaskExecuter.java:53)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ExecuteAtMostOnceTaskExecuter.execute(ExecuteAtMostOnceTaskExecuter.java:43)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.AbstractTask.executeWithoutThrowingTaskFailure(AbstractTask.java:289)
    at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.AbstractTaskPlanExecutor$TaskExecutorWorker.executeTask(AbstractTaskPlanExecutor.java:79)
    at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.AbstractTaskPlanExecutor$TaskExecutorWorker.processTask(AbstractTaskPlanExecutor.java:63)
    at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.AbstractTaskPlanExecutor$TaskExecutorWorker.run(AbstractTaskPlanExecutor.java:51)
    at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.DefaultTaskPlanExecutor.process(DefaultTaskPlanExecutor.java:23)
    at org.gradle.execution.taskgraph.DefaultTaskGraphExecuter.execute(DefaultTaskGraphExecuter.java:86)
    at org.gradle.execution.SelectedTaskExecutionAction.execute(SelectedTaskExecutionAction.java:29)
    at org.gradle.execution.DefaultBuildExecuter.execute(DefaultBuildExecuter.java:61)
    at org.gradle.execution.DefaultBuildExecuter.access$200(DefaultBuildExecuter.java:23)
    at org.gradle.execution.DefaultBuildExecuter$2.proceed(DefaultBuildExecuter.java:67)
    at org.gradle.execution.DryRunBuildExecutionAction.execute(DryRunBuildExecutionAction.java:32)
    at org.gradle.execution.DefaultBuildExecuter.execute(DefaultBuildExecuter.java:61)
    at org.gradle.execution.DefaultBuildExecuter.execute(DefaultBuildExecuter.java:54)
    at org.gradle.initialization.DefaultGradleLauncher.doBuildStages(DefaultGradleLauncher.java:166)
    at org.gradle.initialization.DefaultGradleLauncher.doBuild(DefaultGradleLauncher.java:113)
    at org.gradle.initialization.DefaultGradleLauncher.run(DefaultGradleLauncher.java:81)
    at org.gradle.launcher.exec.InProcessBuildActionExecuter$DefaultBuildController.run(InProcessBuildActionExecuter.java:64)
    at org.gradle.launcher.cli.ExecuteBuildAction.run(ExecuteBuildAction.java:33)
    at org.gradle.launcher.cli.ExecuteBuildAction.run(ExecuteBuildAction.java:24)
    at org.gradle.launcher.exec.InProcessBuildActionExecuter.execute(InProcessBuildActionExecuter.java:35)
    at org.gradle.launcher.exec.InProcessBuildActionExecuter.execute(InProcessBuildActionExecuter.java:26)
    at org.gradle.launcher.cli.RunBuildAction.run(RunBuildAction.java:50)
    at org.gradle.internal.Actions$RunnableActionAdapter.execute(Actions.java:171)
    at org.gradle.launcher.cli.CommandLineActionFactory$ParseAndBuildAction.execute(CommandLineActionFactory.java:201)
    at org.gradle.launcher.cli.CommandLineActionFactory$ParseAndBuildAction.execute(CommandLineActionFactory.java:174)
    at org.gradle.launcher.cli.CommandLineActionFactory$WithLogging.execute(CommandLineActionFactory.java:170)
    at org.gradle.launcher.cli.CommandLineActionFactory$WithLogging.execute(CommandLineActionFactory.java:139)
    at org.gradle.launcher.cli.ExceptionReportingAction.execute(ExceptionReportingAction.java:33)
    at org.gradle.launcher.cli.ExceptionReportingAction.execute(ExceptionReportingAction.java:22)
    at org.gradle.launcher.Main.doAction(Main.java:46)
    at org.gradle.launcher.bootstrap.EntryPoint.run(EntryPoint.java:45)
    at org.gradle.launcher.Main.main(Main.java:37)
    at org.gradle.launcher.bootstrap.ProcessBootstrap.runNoExit(ProcessBootstrap.java:50)
    at org.gradle.launcher.bootstrap.ProcessBootstrap.run(ProcessBootstrap.java:32)
    at org.gradle.launcher.GradleMain.main(GradleMain.java:23)
    at org.gradle.wrapper.BootstrapMainStarter.start(BootstrapMainStarter.java:33)
    at org.gradle.wrapper.WrapperExecutor.execute(WrapperExecutor.java:130)
    at org.gradle.wrapper.GradleWrapperMain.main(GradleWrapperMain.java:48)
Caused by: java.lang.RuntimeException: java.lang.NullPointerException
    at com.sun.tools.javac.main.Main.compile(Main.java:469)
    at com.sun.tools.javac.api.JavacTaskImpl.call(JavacTaskImpl.java:132)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.compile.jdk6.Jdk6JavaCompiler.execute(Jdk6JavaCompiler.java:45)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.compile.jdk6.Jdk6JavaCompiler.execute(Jdk6JavaCompiler.java:38)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.compile.NormalizingJavaCompiler.delegateAndHandleErrors(NormalizingJavaCompiler.java:96)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.compile.NormalizingJavaCompiler.execute(NormalizingJavaCompiler.java:49)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.compile.NormalizingJavaCompiler.execute(NormalizingJavaCompiler.java:35)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.compile.DelegatingJavaCompiler.execute(DelegatingJavaCompiler.java:29)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.compile.DelegatingJavaCompiler.execute(DelegatingJavaCompiler.java:20)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.compile.CleaningJavaCompilerSupport.execute(CleaningJavaCompilerSupport.java:33)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.compile.CleaningJavaCompilerSupport.execute(CleaningJavaCompilerSupport.java:24)
    at org.gradle.api.tasks.compile.Compile.performCompilation(Compile.java:165)
    at org.gradle.api.tasks.compile.Compile.compile(Compile.java:153)
    at org.gradle.api.tasks.compile.Compile.compile(Compile.java:87)
    at org.gradle.internal.reflect.JavaMethod.invoke(JavaMethod.java:63)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.project.taskfactory.AnnotationProcessingTaskFactory$IncrementalTaskAction.doExecute(AnnotationProcessingTaskFactory.java:236)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.project.taskfactory.AnnotationProcessingTaskFactory$StandardTaskAction.execute(AnnotationProcessingTaskFactory.java:212)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.project.taskfactory.AnnotationProcessingTaskFactory$IncrementalTaskAction.execute(AnnotationProcessingTaskFactory.java:223)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.project.taskfactory.AnnotationProcessingTaskFactory$StandardTaskAction.execute(AnnotationProcessingTaskFactory.java:201)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.AbstractTask$TaskActionWrapper.execute(AbstractTask.java:533)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.AbstractTask$TaskActionWrapper.execute(AbstractTask.java:516)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.executeAction(ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.java:80)
    at org.gradle.api.internal.tasks.execution.ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.executeActions(ExecuteActionsTaskExecuter.java:61)
    ... 46 more
Caused by: java.lang.NullPointerException
    at dagger.internal.codegen.Util.getAnnotation(Util.java:192)
    at dagger.internal.codegen.GraphAnalysisProcessor.process(GraphAnalysisProcessor.java:107)
    at com.sun.tools.javac.processing.JavacProcessingEnvironment.callProcessor(JavacProcessingEnvironment.java:793)
    at com.sun.tools.javac.processing.JavacProcessingEnvironment.access$200(JavacProcessingEnvironment.java:97)
    at com.sun.tools.javac.processing.JavacProcessingEnvironment$DiscoveredProcessors$ProcessorStateIterator.runContributingProcs(JavacProcessingEnvironment.java:644)
    at com.sun.tools.javac.processing.JavacProcessingEnvironment$Round.run(JavacProcessingEnvironment.java:1027)
    at com.sun.tools.javac.processing.JavacProcessingEnvironment.doProcessing(JavacProcessingEnvironment.java:1185)
    at com.sun.tools.javac.main.JavaCompiler.processAnnotations(JavaCompiler.java:1108)
    at com.sun.tools.javac.main.JavaCompiler.compile(JavaCompiler.java:824)
    at com.sun.tools.javac.main.Main.compile(Main.java:439)
    ... 68 more

Here is my build.gradle (its a little messy):

buildscript {
    repositories {
        mavenCentral()
        maven { url 'http://download.crashlytics.com/maven' }
    }

    dependencies {
        classpath 'com.jakewharton.sdkmanager:gradle-plugin:0.9.+'
        classpath 'com.crashlytics.tools.gradle:crashlytics-gradle:1.+'
    }
}
apply plugin: 'android-sdk-manager'
apply plugin: 'android'
apply plugin: 'crashlytics'

repositories {
    maven { url 'http://download.crashlytics.com/maven' }
}

android {
    signingConfigs {
        release {
            storeFile file("")
            storePassword ''
            keyAlias ''
            keyPassword ''
        }
        debug {
            storeFile file('/home/andreperkins/.android/debug.keystore')
        }
    }
    //noinspection GroovyAssignabilityCheck
    compileSdkVersion Integer.parseInt(project.ANDROID_BUILD_SDK_VERSION)
    //noinspection GroovyAssignabilityCheck
    buildToolsVersion project.ANDROID_BUILD_TOOLS_VERSION
    defaultConfig {
        applicationId 'com.liveauctioneers.and'
        //noinspection GroovyAssignabilityCheck
        minSdkVersion Integer.parseInt(project.ANDROID_BUILD_MIN_SDK_VERSION)
        //noinspection GroovyAssignabilityCheck
        targetSdkVersion Integer.parseInt(project.ANDROID_BUILD_TARGET_SDK_VERSION)
        versionCode 7
        versionName '3.0'
        testInstrumentationRunner 'com.google.android.apps.common.testing.testrunner.GoogleInstrumentationTestRunner'
    }
    buildTypes {
        release {
            runProguard false
            proguardFiles getDefaultProguardFile('proguard-android.txt'), 'proguard-rules.pro'
            //noinspection GroovyAssignabilityCheck
            signingConfig signingConfigs.release
        }
        debug {
            applicationIdSuffix '.debug'
            versionNameSuffix '-DEBUG'
            zipAlign false
        }
        qa {
            debuggable false
            jniDebugBuild false
            renderscriptDebugBuild false
            runProguard false
            applicationIdSuffix '.qa'
            versionNameSuffix '-QA'
            zipAlign true
            //noinspection GroovyAssignabilityCheck
            signingConfig signingConfigs.release
        }
    }
    productFlavors {
    }
    compileOptions {
        sourceCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_1_7
        targetCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_1_7
    }
    packagingOptions {
        exclude 'LICENSE.txt'
        exclude 'META-INF/services/javax.annotation.processing.Processor'
    }
}

dependencies {
    compile fileTree(dir: 'libs', include: ['*.jar'])
    compile project(':facebook')
    provided 'com.squareup.dagger:dagger-compiler:1.2.1'
    //mockito dependencies
    androidTestCompile files('libs/dexmaker-mockito-1.0.jar')
    androidTestCompile 'org.mockito:mockito-core:1.9.5'
    androidTestCompile files('libs/dexmaker-1.0.jar')
    //espresso dependencies
    /*androidTestCompile files('libs/espresso-1.1.jar')
    androidTestCompile files('libs/testrunner-1.1.jar')
    androidTestCompile files('libs/testrunner-runtime-1.1.jar')
    */ androidTestCompile 'com.google.guava:guava:16.0'
    /*androidTestCompile 'org.hamcrest:hamcrest-core:1.1'
    androidTestCompile 'org.hamcrest:hamcrest-integration:1.1'
    androidTestCompile 'org.hamcrest:hamcrest-library:1.1'*/
    androidTestCompile 'com.squareup.spoon:spoon-client:1.1.1'

    androidTestCompile('com.jakewharton.espresso:espresso:1.1-r3') {
        exclude group: 'com.squareup.dagger'
    }
    compile 'com.jakewharton:butterknife:4.0.+'
    compile 'com.squareup.dagger:dagger:1.2.1'
    compile 'com.squareup.okhttp:okhttp:1.3.+'
    compile 'com.squareup.retrofit:retrofit:1.5.1'
    compile 'com.google.code.gson:gson:2.2.+'
    compile 'com.crashlytics.android:crashlytics:1.+'
    compile 'com.squareup:otto:1.3.5'
    compile 'javax.annotation:javax.annotation-api:1.2'
    compile 'com.google.code.findbugs:jsr305:1.3.9'
    // You must install or update the Support Repository through the SDK manager to use this dependency.
    compile 'com.android.support:support-v13:19.0.1'
    compile 'com.j256.ormlite:ormlite-android:4.43'
    compile 'com.j256.ormlite:ormlite-core:4.43'
} 

Answer 1

I think that Support library repository outdated. Downloading update... has nothing to do with the NullPointerException that is causing you trouble. This message comes from sdk-manager-plugin and is probably related to the following sdk-manager-plugin's issue: https://github.com/JakeWharton/sdk-manager-plugin/issues/31. As for the mentioned NPE it is thrown by dagger library. Have you recently made any changes to the code that are related to dagger?