Can't download files into assets

[DonaldDuck313]

Describe the bug

I'm trying to download Javascript libraries into the assets folder at build time (so that a webview in my app can use them at runtime even when offline). But if I try to download a file into the assets folder, I get the following error:

A problem was found with the configuration of task ':app:peerjs' (type 'Download').
  - Gradle detected a problem with the following location: 'C:\Users\myname\Documents\MyProject\app\src\main\assets\peerjs.min.js'.

If I change it to download into src/main (instead of src/main/assets) this error goes away and the file gets downloaded correctly, but then I can't use it from the webview at runtime.

Sample build script

plugins {
    id 'com.android.application'
    id 'org.jetbrains.kotlin.android'
    id 'de.undercouch.download' version '5.6.0'
}

apply plugin: 'de.undercouch.download'
import de.undercouch.gradle.tasks.download.Download

tasks.register('peerjs', Download) {
    src 'https://unpkg.com/peerjs/dist/peerjs.min.js'
    dest layout.projectDirectory.dir('src/main/assets')
}

gradle.projectsEvaluated {
    assembleDebug.dependsOn peerjs
    assembleRelease.dependsOn peerjs
}

[michel-kraemer]

I'm sorry, but I can't reproduce your problem. I get the following error when I try your sample build script:

Plugin [id: 'com.android.application'] 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 (plugin dependency must include a version number for this source)

I suppose your script is part of a larger project? Can you please provide a sample script that can be executed separately? Thanks!

[DonaldDuck313]

I guess the two first plugins aren't really part of this issue, sorry for that. The following script should be the minimal one to reproduce the issue:

plugins {
    id 'de.undercouch.download' version '5.6.0'
}

apply plugin: 'de.undercouch.download'
import de.undercouch.gradle.tasks.download.Download

tasks.register('peerjs', Download) {
    src 'https://unpkg.com/peerjs/dist/peerjs.min.js'
    dest layout.projectDirectory.dir('src/main/assets')
}

gradle.projectsEvaluated {
    assembleDebug.dependsOn peerjs
    assembleRelease.dependsOn peerjs
}

But I don't understand why you get that error, all the other code in my gradle script was added automatically by Android Studio and should work in any Android project. This is a relatively new project, the only other stuff that I've done was create an activity which shouldn't affect the gradle script.

So if you just create a completely new project in Android Studio and add the code above you should be able to reproduce the issue.

[michel-kraemer]

I still cannot execute this build script. I get the following error:

Could not get unknown property 'assembleDebug' for root project 'issue401' of type org.gradle.api.Project.

I'm using Gradle 8.8 by the way.

If I comment out the gradle.projectsEvaluated block, everything works as expected and the file will be downloaded to the assets folder.

So if you just create a completely new project in Android Studio and add the code above you should be able to reproduce the issue.

I'm sorry but I am not an Android developer. If the script works outside Android Studio but not inside, I suspect a compatibility issue with the IDE. Do you happen to know if src/main/assets is a special directory that is protected by Android Studio somehow? Maybe the IDE modifies Gradle's configuration? Can you check this please?

[michel-kraemer]

I found similar issues on the Internet. For example, this one: https://github.com/gradle/gradle/issues/19555. It seems when Gradle returns this error, it always displays a reason too. Something like: Reason: Task ':sourcesJar' uses this output of task ':generateGrammarSource' without declaring an explicit or implicit dependency.

Do you also get a reason? Can you post the whole error message please? If you don't get additional information, can you run Gradle with the -i parameter? Thanks.

[DonaldDuck313]

I'm sorry but I am not an Android developer.

I guess that's why you can't reproduce it, I'm quite sure this problem can only be reproduced in Android Studio since the assets folder is Android-specific and it works for other folders. (I didn't even know Gradle existed outside of Android Studio).

I found similar issues on the Internet. For example, this one: gradle/gradle#19555. It seems when Gradle returns this error, it always displays a reason too. Something like: Reason: Task ':sourcesJar' uses this output of task ':generateGrammarSource' without declaring an explicit or implicit dependency.

Do you also get a reason? Can you post the whole error message please? If you don't get additional information, can you run Gradle with the -i parameter? Thanks.

It doesn't give a reason. The only relevant part is what I already posted, the rest is just generic help links and a summary that the build failed:

A problem was found with the configuration of task ':app:peerjs' (type 'Download').
  - Gradle detected a problem with the following location: 'C:\Users\glind\Documents\GitHub\MapCollector\app\app\src\main\assets\peerjs.min.js'.

* Try:
> Run with --stacktrace option to get the stack trace.
> Run with --info or --debug option to get more log output.
> Run with --scan to get full insights.
> Get more help at https://help.gradle.org.
Deprecated Gradle features were used in this build, making it incompatible with Gradle 9.0.
You can use '--warning-mode all' to show the individual deprecation warnings and determine if they come from your own scripts or plugins.
For more on this, please refer to https://docs.gradle.org/8.7/userguide/command_line_interface.html#sec:command_line_warnings in the Gradle documentation.
BUILD FAILED in 16s
60 actionable tasks: 33 executed, 27 up-to-date

[michel-kraemer]

Did you try to run it with -i (or --info as it says in the output)?

I'm sorry but without more information, it will be very hard to help you. I suggest to contact Android Studio developers. As you said, the issue is only reproducible there, so it's more likely it's a problem with Android Studio and not gradle-download-task. Let me know what you find out.

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