transformNativeLibsWithMergeJniLibsForDebug

The transformNativeLibsWithMergeJniLibsForDebug is a task in Android Gradle that merges all native libraries of an app's different build variants during development and debugging.

Purpose

When working on an Android app, the native libraries included in it usually vary for different build variants such as debug, release, or staging. The transformNativeLibsWithMergeJniLibsForDebug task helps with merging all different native libraries under the debug build variant into a single folder. This way, the app can run on devices and emulators that support the debug build variant while reducing the APK size.

Usage

The transformNativeLibsWithMergeJniLibsForDebug task is automatically executed as part of the build process whenever the debug build variant is built or run. Therefore, there is no need to explicitly call this task.

However, developers can customize the behavior of this task by modifying the build.gradle file of their app module and adding the following snippet:

android {
    // ...
    buildTypes {
        debug {
            // ...
            packagingOptions {
                // ...
                // Modify the default behavior of the `transformNativeLibsWithMergeJniLibsForDebug` task
            }
        }
    }
    // ...
}

Result

After the transformNativeLibsWithMergeJniLibsForDebug task is executed, all the native libraries of the app under the debug build variant are merged into a single folder (<project>/app/build/intermediates/merged_jni_libs/debug/out/lib).

Developers can use this folder to verify that all the native libraries have been correctly merged and that the app works as expected, especially on devices and emulators that support the debug build variant.

Conclusion

The transformNativeLibsWithMergeJniLibsForDebug task is an essential part of Android Gradle that improves the development and debugging experience for developers of Android apps. With this task, developers can save time on manually managing different native libraries for different build variants and focus on writing great code.