How to fix "unexpected element <queries> found in <manifest>" error?
Solution 1
The Android Gradle Plugin needs to know about new manifest elements, particularly for the manifest merger process. The plugin has a tendency to get confused if it sees elements in the manifest merger that it does not recognize, tossing out build errors like the one in the question.
In this case, Android 11 introduced <queries>
as a manifest element, and older versions of the Android Gradle Plugin do not know about that element.
The fact that this occurs from manifest merger means that simply upgrading a dependency
might bring about this error. For example, if you upgrade to the latest
version of com.awesome:awesome-library
, and it contained a <queries>
element
in its manifest, you might crash with the aforementioned error in your builds,
even without any other changes in your code.
Google released a series of patch versions of the Android Gradle Plugin to address this:
3.3.3
3.4.3
3.5.4
3.6.4
4.0.1
If you are using an existing plugin in the 3.3.*
through 4.0.*
series, upgrade
to the associated patch version (or higher) from that list, and you should no longer
run into that error (e.g., classpath 'com.android.tools.build:gradle:4.0.1'
).
If you are using Android Studio 4.1 or higher, with a matching
Android Gradle Plugin (e.g., in the 4.1.*
series), you should be fine without
any changes. Those plugin versions were already aware of <queries>
.
See this Android Developers Blog post for more.
Solution 2
I had this issue in flutter but i believe this solution will work for both flutter and native android dev.
Follow these steps
- Read this short blog to get some understanding: click here
-
Delete the .gradle folder inside the android folder ie android>.gradle
-
In the project build.gradle file, upgrade ur class path appropriately based on the blog in the link above, e.g i upgraded to
classpath 'com.android.tools.build:gradle:4.0.1'
-
Upgrade the distribution url too. Its in android>gradle>gradle-wrapper.properties file appropriately. e.g i upgraded it to
distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-6.1.1-all.zip
-
You can invalidate caches and restart your android studio. Make sure you have a good internet connection because it will download the new gradle files.
Thanks.
Solution 3
I also had same issue on Android Studio 4.1.1, suddenly, 2 days ago. I solved the issue by upgrading build gradle version.
previous setting in build.gradle file of project was:
classpath("com.android.tools.build:gradle:3.5.3")
current setting:
classpath("com.android.tools.build:gradle:3.5.4")
The issue was gone immediately. :)
Solution 4
For Flutter
To understanding why this happens see the above @CommonsWare's answer
This is because <queries>
tag was introduced with new package visibility options for Android 11 and upwards (SDK 30+). Because of that, you need to update your build.gradle
with a version that includes this changes. Below is a list of supported gradle options.
The best solution to deal with these errors is to Upgrade your Android Gradle plugin and Update Gradle
You’ll have to update your Gradle version to one of the compatible versions that have the latest query tags (which were introduced with Android 11).
To Update the Android Gradle plugin
Specify the plugin version in the YourAppDirectory/android/build.gradle file. The plugin version applies to all modules built-in that Android Studio project. The following example sets the plugin to version 4.0.1:
buildscript {
repositories {
// Gradle 4.1 and higher include support for Google's Maven repo using
// the google() method. And you need to include this repo to download
// Android Gradle plugin 3.0.0 or higher.
google()
...
}
dependencies {
classpath 'com.android.tools.build:gradle:4.0.1’
}
If the specified plugin version has not been downloaded, Gradle downloads it the next time you build your project or click Tools > Android > Sync Project with Gradle Files from the Android Studio menu bar.
To Update Gradle
Specify the Gradle version by editing the Gradle distribution reference in the YourAppDirectory/android/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties file.
Don't forget to update your ditributionUrl
in your gradle-wrapper.properties
as well. For example, for gradle 4.0.1, you should have:
...
distributionUrl = https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-6.1.1-all.zip
...
We know that not everyone is ready to upgrade to the latest version, though, and you may be relying on old versions of Gradle or libraries that aren’t compatible with 4.1.
Solution 5
Fixing the error is very simple. Update your android studio to the last version and use the last stable Gradle plugin version. At the current time, I use Android Studio version 4.1.3 with Gradle Plugin 6.8.2
guys please attentions, for use queries you should write queries code in out of application tag not inside application tag
for more info see below photo
Related videos on Youtube
CommonsWare
Mark Murphy, founder of CommonsWare, writes a lot. Books From 2008 through 2021, Mark wrote a series of books on Android app development. These books are now available for free download from the CommonsWare site. His most recent books have been focused on second-generation Android app development (Kotlin and the Android Jetpack): Elements of Android Jetpack, a new introductory book on Android app development, focused on second-generation techniques. Exploring Android, a series of step-by-step tutorials for building an Android app from scratch. This book demonstrates app development using Kotlin, coroutines, and the Jetpack libraries. Elements of Android Room, to help you incorporate Google's reactive object wrapper around SQLite. Elements of Android R, to help you deal with the changes introduced by Android 11 (code-named "R"). It covers everything from scoped storage changes to data access auditing to sharing UIs between apps to bubbles. Elements of Kotlin, a guide to the Kotlin programming language, which is rapidly gaining in popularity for Android app development. Elements of Kotlin Coroutines, exploring Kotlin's new first-class reactive programming system. In the beginning, Android development was focused on Java and, partially, on the Android Support Library. Mark's earliest books share that focus: The Busy Coder's Guide to Android Development, the first and largest book on Android app programming Android's Architecture Components GraphQL and Android Things Other Than Books He runs the jetc.dev weekly newsletter for Jetpack Compose. Heck, he even has a blog. All code in Stack Overflow questions, answers, or comments written by Mark Murphy are hereby licensed under the Apache Software License 2.0, unless otherwise noted where that code appears on Stack Overflow.
Updated on April 29, 2022Comments
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CommonsWare about 2 years
All of a sudden, I am getting this build error in my Android project:
unexpected element <queries> found in <manifest>
How do I fix it?
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A.Alqadomi over 3 years"Google released a series of patch versions of the Android Gradle Plugin to address this" Very nice note if you don't want to go through fixing issues related to upgrading the gradle plugin version.
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Waseem over 3 yearsMy build tool version was 3.5.0. I have upgraded to 3.5.4, it solved the issue. Good explanation
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junmo choi over 3 yearsGreat! For Unity, edit the file in the path. -> /Unity/Hub/Editor/2019.4.20f1/Editor/Data/PlaybackEngines/AndroidPlayer/Tools/GradleTemplates/baseProjectTemplate.gradle
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Carlos Martínez about 3 yearsThis works in react native too, very useful
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NitZRobotKoder about 3 yearsclasspath 'com.android.tools.build:gradle:4.1.2' distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-6.8.2-all.zip I still get issue how to fix?
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NitZRobotKoder about 3 yearsclasspath 'com.android.tools.build:gradle:4.1.2' distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-6.8.2-all.zip I still get issue how to fix?
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NitZRobotKoder about 3 yearsclasspath 'com.android.tools.build:gradle:4.1.2' distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-6.8.2-all.zip I still get issue how to fix?
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Bukunmi about 3 yearsDid you invalidate caches after the updates?
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Moeed Ahmed about 3 yearsA great explanation.. in my case I got a fix by slightly upgrading gradle version on Android Studio v3.5.2 from: classpath 'com.android.tools.build:gradle:3.5.1' to: classpath 'com.android.tools.build:gradle:3.5.4'
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ChiragMS about 3 yearsOh god! This so clears things up for me. I've been wandering around for a week now trying to figure out wth is wrong with that queries tag!! I'm getting this error in Unity. I'm gonna upgrade to the latest version that uses a newer version of Gradle and see if it fixes it. Thanks so much man! God bless you!
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john7ric about 3 yearsLife saver. Thank you!!. this answer has the reason why and solution.
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JoKr about 3 yearsAfter I updated I get a different error from Flutter which suggest downgrading lol: issuetracker.google.com/issues/158060799
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Tushar Gogna almost 3 yearsgetting dexGuard issue with this: supported versions include [2.3.0:3.5.*]
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Vladimir Salguero almost 3 yearsI solved the problem with your answer. I have Android Studio 4.2.1 Thanks!
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kobowo almost 3 yearsCan confirm this works for Android Studio 4.2.1 and Flutter 2 (I migrated from 1.22.6)
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minchaej almost 3 yearsbest solution ever :)
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siripan almost 3 yearsHaving problem with flutter camera plugin recently, this solution worked like flawlessly. Thank you.
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Koger over 2 yearsUnfortunately I am experiencing this problem even when using seemingly patched gradle 3.4.3. Problem started occuring after updating play-services-ads to 20.3.0.
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Koger over 2 yearsUpdating Gradle Plugin to 3.5.4 fixed the problem.
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Dorian over 2 yearsyou can find a list of releases of the gradle plugin here developer.android.com/studio/releases/gradle-plugin
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Mike Casan Ballester over 2 yearsVERY IMPORTANT guys please attentions, for use queries you should write queries code in out of application tag not inside application tag
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Abdullah over 2 yearsI faced the same problem in React Native with react-native-inappbrowser-reborn. This solution solved my problem
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J. M. over 2 yearsCould have used full photo, wheres other application tag
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J. M. over 2 yearsWhat if your not using gradle?
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CommonsWare over 2 years@J.M.: I have no way to answer that, sorry.
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J. M. over 2 yearsThats alright thanks 4 the reply
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HJo over 2 yearsany reason why you don't bump up your grade to latest? flutter by default currently using 4.1.0 in their starter projects so I guess I'll go with that