Support Android Gradle Plugin 9.0

[esdrasdl]

Description

I've tried to run my app with AGP version 9.0.0-beta02 and get the following error:

A problem occurred configuring project ':androidApp'.
Failed to notify project evaluation listener.
com/android/build/api/transform/Transform
com/android/build/api/transform/Transform

Using the --stacktrace parameter on gradle command line:

* Exception is:
org.gradle.api.ProjectConfigurationException: A problem occurred configuring project ':androidApp'.
        at org.gradle.configuration.project.LifecycleProjectEvaluator.wrapException(LifecycleProjectEvaluator.java:84)
....
Cause 1: java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: com/android/build/api/transform/Transform
        at org.gradle.internal.classloader.VisitableURLClassLoader$InstrumentingVisitableURLClassLoader.findClass(VisitableURLClassLoader.java:189)
        at com.newrelic.agent.android.agp7.AGP70Adapter.getTransformProvider(AGP70Adapter.groovy:70)
        at com.newrelic.agent.android.agp7.AGP70Adapter$getTransformProvider.callCurrent(Unknown Source)
        at com.newrelic.agent.android.agp7.AGP90Adapter.wiredWithTransformProvider(AGP90Adapter.groovy:37)
        at com.newrelic.agent.android.VariantAdapter.assembleDataModel(VariantAdapter.groovy:263)

I've tested using versions 7.6.10 and 7.6.13

[Newrelic-Boomi]

https://new-relic.atlassian.net/browse/NR-491727

[ywang-nr]

Thank you for submitting the feedback. Gradle 9 support is on our road map, we will send updates once agent is released.

[asos-zsoltbertalan]

Is there an ETA on this, please? This is the only blocker without workarounds for us, and AGP is also blocking Kotlin 2.3.0.

[ndesai-newrelic]

@asos-zsoltbertalan @esdrasdl

Testing New Relic Android Agent with AGP 9.0 Support (Maven Snapshot)

We've added support for Android Gradle Plugin (AGP) 9.0 in our snapshot builds and need your help testing!

Prerequisites

• Android Gradle Plugin 9.0+
• Gradle 9.1.0

Installation Instructions

Step 1: Add Maven Snapshot Repository

Add the Sonatype snapshot repository to your settings.gradle.kts (or settings.gradle):

pluginManagement {                                                                                                                                                                                       
    repositories {                                                                                                                                                                                       
        google()                                                                                                                                                                                         
        mavenCentral()                                                                                                                                                                                   
        maven {                                                                                                                                                                                          
            url = uri("https://oss.sonatype.org/content/repositories/snapshots/")                                                                                                                        
        }                                                                                                                                                                                                
    }                                                                                                                                                                                                    
}                                                                                                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                                                                         
dependencyResolutionManagement {                                                                                                                                                                         
    repositories {                                                                                                                                                                                       
        google()                                                                                                                                                                                         
        mavenCentral()                                                                                                                                                                                   
        maven {                                                                                                                                                                                          
            url = uri("https://oss.sonatype.org/content/repositories/snapshots/")                                                                                                                        
        }                                                                                                                                                                                                
    }                                                                                                                                                                                                    
}                                                                                                                                                                                                        
                  

Step 2: Add New Relic Plugin

In your project-level build.gradle.kts (or build.gradle), add the New Relic plugin:

buildscript {
    dependencies {
         classpath ("com.newrelic.agent.android:agent-gradle-plugin:7.6.17-SNAPSHOT")

    }
}                                                                                                                                                                                                      
  plugins {                                                                                                                                                                                                
      id("com.android.application") version "9.0.0" apply false                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
  }           

Step 3: Apply Plugin to Your App Module

In your app-level build.gradle.kts (or build.gradle):

  plugins {                                                                                                                                                                                                
      id("com.android.application")                                                                                                                                                                        
       id("newrelic")                                                                                                                                                              
  }                                                                                                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                                                                                           
  dependencies {                                                                                                                                                                                           
      implementation("com.newrelic.agent.android:android-agent:7.6.17-SNAPSHOT")                                                                                                                            
  }                                                                                                                                                                                                        
           

Step 4: Sync and Build

Sync your Gradle files and build your project.

Testing & Feedback

Please test this snapshot build and report your findings on our GitHub issue:

What to Test:

• ✅ Successful build with AGP 9.0
• ✅ Plugin applies without errors
• ✅ Agent initializes correctly
• ✅ Data appears in New Relic dashboard
• ✅ No crashes or runtime issues

What to Report:

• AGP version used
• Gradle version used
• Build success/failure
• Any error messages or stack traces
• Runtime behavior
• Any compatibility issues

Your feedback is crucial in helping us validate AGP 9.0 support before the official release!

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues:

1. Clean and rebuild: ./gradlew clean build
2. Invalidate caches in Android Studio
3. Ensure you're using Gradle 9.1.0
4. Check that snapshot repository is correctly configured

---

Note: Snapshot builds are pre-release versions for testing purposes. For production use, please wait for the official release.

[DarrylBayliss]

Hey @ndesai-newrelic,

We're trying to use the snapshot build and encountered the following error:

Plugin [id: 'com.newrelic.agent.android', version: '7.6.17-SNAPSHOT', apply: false] was not found in any of the following sources:

- Gradle Core Plugins (plugin is not in 'org.gradle' namespace)
- Included Builds (No included builds contain this plugin)
- Plugin Repositories (could not resolve plugin artifact 'com.newrelic.agent.android:com.newrelic.agent.android.gradle.plugin:7.6.17-SNAPSHOT')
  Searched in the following repositories:
    Google
    MavenRepo
    Gradle Central Plugin Repository
    maven(https://oss.sonatype.org/content/repositories/snapshots/)

I double checked sonatype and couldn't see the SNAPSHOT version available. Just wanted to double check it is available?

[asos-zsoltbertalan]

@DarrylBayliss It seems you got the id wrong. It should be 'com.newrelic.agent.android:agent-gradle-plugin', not 'com.newrelic.agent.android:com.newrelic.agent.android.gradle.plugin'.

For me it will take some time to check, but I'm on it.

[tylerwilson]

Similar to https://github.com/DarrylBayliss, the plugin is not found. I am using libs.versions.toml and using the following entries for plugin and lib:

androidAgentVersion = "7.6.17-SNAPSHOT"

[libraries]
newrelic-android-agent = { module = "com.newrelic.agent.android:android-agent", version.ref = "androidAgentVersion" }

[plugins]
new-relic = { id = "com.newrelic.agent.android", version.ref = "androidAgentVersion" }

and get the error:

Plugin [id: 'com.newrelic.agent.android', version: '7.6.17-SNAPSHOT', apply: false] was not found in any of the following sources:

- Gradle Core Plugins (plugin is not in 'org.gradle' namespace)
- Included Builds (No included builds contain this plugin)
- Plugin Repositories (could not resolve plugin artifact 'com.newrelic.agent.android:com.newrelic.agent.android.gradle.plugin:7.6.17-SNAPSHOT')
  Searched in the following repositories:
    maven(https://oss.sonatype.org/content/repositories/snapshots/)
    Google
    MavenRepo
    Gradle Central Plugin Repository

[ndesai-newrelic]

@tylerwilson @DarrylBayliss Could you try adding the buildscript mentioned in the installation steps mentioned above? I'd like to see if that resolves the configuration issue.

you can check it here it is avaiable
https://central.sonatype.com/repository/maven-snapshots/com/newrelic/agent/android/agent-gradle-plugin/7.6.17-SNAPSHOT/maven-metadata.xml

[tylerwilson]

I added the buildscript section as specified above to the project level build.gradle.kts:

buildscript {
    dependencies {
        classpath ("com.newrelic.agent.android:agent-gradle-plugin:7.6.17-SNAPSHOT")
    }
}

but still get this error:

> Could not resolve all artifacts for configuration 'classpath'.
   > Could not find com.newrelic.agent.android:agent-gradle-plugin:7.6.17-SNAPSHOT.
     Searched in the following locations:
       - https://repo.maven.apache.org/maven2/com/newrelic/agent/android/agent-gradle-plugin/7.6.17-SNAPSHOT/maven-metadata.xml
       - https://repo.maven.apache.org/maven2/com/newrelic/agent/android/agent-gradle-plugin/7.6.17-SNAPSHOT/agent-gradle-plugin-7.6.17-SNAPSHOT.pom
       - https://plugins.gradle.org/m2/com/newrelic/agent/android/agent-gradle-plugin/7.6.17-SNAPSHOT/maven-metadata.xml
       - https://plugins.gradle.org/m2/com/newrelic/agent/android/agent-gradle-plugin/7.6.17-SNAPSHOT/agent-gradle-plugin-7.6.17-SNAPSHOT.pom
       - https://oss.sonatype.org/content/repositories/snapshots/com/newrelic/agent/android/agent-gradle-plugin/7.6.17-SNAPSHOT/maven-metadata.xml
       - https://oss.sonatype.org/content/repositories/snapshots/com/newrelic/agent/android/agent-gradle-plugin/7.6.17-SNAPSHOT/agent-gradle-plugin-7.6.17-SNAPSHOT.pom

Then, based on the link you sent, I changed the maven to:

maven("https://central.sonatype.com/repository/maven-snapshots/")

and that works! So I guess just the original search URL was wrong. Thanks.

Also, it is building and running just fine with AGP 9.0, removing kotlin.android and using the id("newrelic") entry (I suspect when it is really released I can put it back to using the alis("libs.plugins.new.relic").

[ndesai-newrelic]

@tylerwilson
We will also do an official release to the Gradle Plugin Portal; you will be able to use the plugin then. This is a snapshot release for testing before the official launch. If you could verify that the mapUpload and instrumentation functionalities are working correctly, it would give us much more confidence for the final release.

[bkonrad-check]

Hi, I'm using 7.6.17-SNAPSHOT with AGP 9.0.0. The Transform API issue is fixed — configuration and debug builds work fine. However, release builds fail during R8 minification with the following error:

Task :app:minifyGoogleReleaseWithR8 FAILED

java.lang.NullPointerException: Cannot invoke "com.android.tools.r8.androidapi.f$a.a()" because the return value of "com.android.tools.r8.androidapi.f.H()" is null

Source: app/build/intermediates/classes/googleRelease/ALL/newrelicTransformClassesForGoogleRelease/classes.jar

It looks like R8's API modeling crashes when processing the bytecode produced by New Relic's class instrumentation.
The issue only affects variants where New Relic instrumentation is enabled — debug builds work because instrumentation is excluded for those.

Environment:

• AGP: 9.0.0
• New Relic Agent: 7.6.17-SNAPSHOT
• R8 full mode: enabled
• Kotlin: 2.3.0
• JDK: 21

[ndesai-newrelic]

@bkonrad-check
Thank you for reporting this and providing the stack trace.

The error java.lang.NullPointerException: Cannot invoke "com.android.tools.r8.androidapi.f$a.a()" indicates an internal failure within the R8 compiler's API modeling layer. While the source points to the New Relic transformed classes, this is a known type of regression in the R8 toolchain where the compiler fails to process certain bytecode patterns during minification.

We observed a similar issue in AGP 8.8.0 that was resolved in AGP 8.8.1; however, it appears a similar regression may be present in AGP 9.0.

To help us investigate and provide a workaround, could you please:

Share a minimal reproduction app: Since we cannot reproduce this in our standard test suites, an example project is vital for us to isolate the specific bytecode pattern triggering the R8 crash.

Test with R8 Full Mode disabled: Try adding android.enableR8.fullMode=false to your gradle.properties to see if it bypasses the NPE.

Open a PR: If you have identified a specific change or ProGuard rule that resolves the conflict, we welcome contributions and can prioritize the review.

Temporary Workaround: If you are blocked, you can try pinning your R8 version to a known stable release (e.g., 8.8.27) in your pluginManagement block to see if it resolves the build failure while using AGP 9.0.

We are eager to get this resolved for the official release. If someone can provide a sample app, we can use it to coordinate with the Google R8 team if necessary.