How to add debug symbols to build.gradle

Question

I have created android build of my Flutter application.

Then I created an internal testing release. It is showing a warning

This App Bundle contains native code, and you've not uploaded debug symbols. We recommend you upload a symbol file to make your crashes and ANRs easier to analyze and debug.

Basically what I had to do is add following to build.gradle file according to the link they show.

android.buildTypes.release.ndk.debugSymbolLevel = { SYMBOL_TABLE | FULL }

I assume it is android/app/build.gradle they are talking about.

Not sure exactly where in that file I have to add this line.

Can someone point out where to add this line?

Answer 1

To use the option ndk debugSymbolLevel as written in the docs you need an android gradle plugin 4.1 or later. At the time of writing the lastest 4.1 version is 4.1.2

You will need also to install ndk and cmake for android studio.

In your android build.gradle you need the to set android gradle plugin version 4.1.2:

buildscript {
    ...
    repositories {
        google()
        jcenter()
    }
    dependencies {
        classpath 'com.android.tools.build:gradle:4.1.2'
        ...
    }

Then in the android/app build.gradle add:

...
android {
    ...
    // you see the ndk version in the android studio sdk-manager
    // have a look also here: https://stackoverflow.com/a/65747847/9481613
    ndkVersion "21.3.6528147" 
    ...
    buildTypes {
        release {
            ...
            ndk {
                debugSymbolLevel 'SYMBOL_TABLE'
            }
        }   
    }
}

when you then run: flutter build appbundle it should finish after a while with an appbundle that is twice the size.

Answer 2

There's two places in the app/build.gradle where you can specify bundling of debugging symbols with your app. If you use android.defaultConfig.ndk.debugSymbolLevel it will apply it to all build types (i.e., both debug and release builds). On the other hand, if you use android.buildTypes.release.ndk.debugSymbolLevel it will apply only to your release build.

These options have to be added into your app/build.gradle file as you correctly guessed. When you see a build property that's in this dotted notation, it actually corresponds to nested blocks in the build.gradle, which would look a bit like this:

android {
    compileSdkVersion 28
    defaultConfig {
        applicationId 'com.example.foo'
        minSdkVersion 23
        targetSdkVersion 28
        versionCode 42
        versionName "4.0.2"
        ndk {
            debugSymbolLevel 'SYMBOL_TABLE'
        }
    }
    // Rest of the file
}

HTH

Answer 3

Use Android Version 4.1 and above currently 4.1 RC 3 and 4.2 Canary 13 is available, and similarly use com.android.tools.build:gradle 4.1 and above, you can search for the suitable version from here

Then use this line in android -> defaultConfig in your app build.gradle file

    ndk { debugSymbolLevel 'FULL' }