Fix Android build failure by explicitly specifying build-tools 36.0.0 #33727

Copilot · 2026-01-27T16:43:14Z

AGP 8.11.1 auto-selects build-tools 35.0.0 for compileSdk 35, which isn't commonly installed. This causes build failures in the Android native module.

Changes

src/Core/AndroidNative/maui/build.gradle
- Bump compileSdk from 35 to 36
- Add explicit buildToolsVersion "36.0.0" to override AGP's auto-selection
- Bump targetSdk from 35 to 36
src/Core/AndroidNative/build.gradle
- Replace deprecated buildDir with layout.buildDirectory (Gradle 8+ API)
eng/Versions.props
- Remove IsDefault="True" from API 35 (only API 36 is default now)
- Remove AndroidSdkBuildToolsVersion property (no longer needed)
eng/pipelines/common/ui-tests-build-sample.yml
- Remove outdated FIXME comment about API 35
src/Provisioning/Provisioning.csproj
- Remove build-tools provisioning line (gradle file now explicitly specifies version)

android {
    compileSdk 36
    buildToolsVersion "36.0.0"  // Override AGP auto-selection
    namespace "microsoft.maui"
    
    defaultConfig {
        minSdk 21
        targetSdk 36
        ...
    }
}

Explicit buildToolsVersion takes precedence over AGP inference, ensuring builds use an available version.

The AndroidSdkBuildToolsVersion MSBuild property has been removed as it's no longer necessary - the gradle file now directly manages the build-tools version. Build-tools can be installed through Android SDK Manager or other standard Android development tools as needed.

Original prompt

Create a PR with these changes. They should be good to go and need no further updates

**Chronological Review:** 1. Initial phase: User requested checkout of DecorView-Fix PR branch, rebase to main, and create test sample 2. First build attempt: BuildTasks failed with build-tools 35.0.0 not found error 3. Investigation phase: Determined AGP 8.11.1 tries to use build-tools 35.0.0 for compileSdk 35 4. First fix attempt: Changed compileSdk to 36, still failed until explicit buildToolsVersion added 5. Exploration phase: User asked to test AGP 9.x upgrade on new branch 6. AGP upgrade failure: Microsoft.Android.Sdk.Windows 36.1.12 incompatible with Gradle 9.x due to Kotlin type safety 7. Documentation phase: Created detailed bug reports for Microsoft Android SDK team 8. Final resolution: User decided on minimal build-tools fix approach 9. Branch creation: Created fix-android-build-tools-36 with surgical changes 10. Cleanup phase: Verified changes, removed untracked files from previous experiments

Intent Mapping:

Message 1: "checkout the following branch...rebase it to main, write a sample on the sandbox project" - Test DecorView-Fix PR
Message 2: "can you build the BuildTasks please" - Compile BuildTasks solution
Message 3: "just build it with debug please and then open the -windows.slnf in VS" - Build configuration clarification
[6 messages omitted in context]
"why do you like that better than option 2?" - Comparing fix approaches
"yes, please make that change and then lets see if it compiles" - Approve specific fix
"did we need to set buildToolsVersion or does just setting compileSdk do enough?" - Understanding fix necessity
"delete the artifacts folder before testing again" - Clean build verification
"why is buildtoolsversion needed now but never was before? please figure it out" - Root cause analysis
"so why doesn't bumping compileSdk to 36 cause it to try and use build-tools 36?" - Understanding AGP behavior
"what is AGP and should we bump AGP?" - Context on Android Gradle Plugin
"switch to the main branch, checkout a new branch, bump AGP and compileSDK and see if things build" - Test AGP upgrade path
"is agp 9.0 a good version to bump to? or should we try even higher?" - Version selection guidance
"are you sure it requires breaking changes? can you work on fixing our code so that AGP 9.2.0 works" - Challenge incompatibility claim
"are you positive about this? are you just blaming MSFT for your own inability to make this work?" - Verify technical accuracy
"can you summarize why you think it's not compatible" - Consolidate reasoning
"is there anything official you can find to indicate that Microsoft.Android.Sdk.Windows 36.1.12 doesn't support gradle 9" - Request documentation
"can you give me specific errors I can show someone from that team?" - Prepare bug report
"alright lets go with the build tools and compilesdk fix for now, can you create a new branch with those changes and make sure we are sync with origin main" - Final decision on approach
"sorry keep going" - Continue after interruption
"what are all the changes made? is there anything lingering or are these all the changes you made for build tools?" - Verify clean state
"yes please clean the untracked files we only want changes around updating gradle bits here" - Final cleanup request

Technical Inventory:

.NET 10.0.100 (net10.0)
Microsoft.Android.Sdk.Windows 36.1.12
Android Gradle Plugin (AGP) 8.11.1 (current stable)
Gradle 8.13
Android compileSdk/targetSdk levels (35 vs 36)
Android build-tools (33.0.0, 36.0.0 installed; 35.0.0 not installed)
Kotlin type safety in Gradle 9.x
MSBuild target system
Git workflow (branches, rebasing, cherry-picking)
DecorView-Fix PR: SafeArea padding handling for AdjustResize mode

Code Archaeology:

src/Core/AndroidNative/maui/build.gradle: Gradle configuration for MAUI Android native library (compileSdk, targetSdk, buildToolsVersion)
src/Core/AndroidNative/build.gradle: Top-level Gradle config (clean task with buildDir → layout.buildDirectory)
src/Core/AndroidNative/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties: Gradle version definition (8.13)
eng/Versions.props: MSBuild version properties (AndroidSdkBuildToolsVersion)
artifacts/obj/Core/Debug/net10.0-android36.0/gradle/net.android.init.gradle.kts: Generated Kotlin file causing AGP 9.x failures
src/Controls/samples/Controls.Sample.Sandbox/: Test files created for DecorView-Fix testing
KeyboardTestPage.xaml/.cs: Test page with multiple Entry fields
MainActivity.cs: Modified for AdjustResize mode
App.xaml.cs: Modified for Shell with bottom tabs

Progress Assessment:
Completed:

✅ DecorView-Fix PR analyzed and rebased to main
✅ Sandbox test sample created (on separate branch)
✅ Root cause identified: AGP tries to use build-tools 35.0.0 for compileSdk 35
✅ AGP 9.x upgrade tested and determined incompatible with current SDK
✅ Bug reports created for Microsof...

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src/Core/AndroidNative/maui/build.gradle

…35 references - Update AndroidSdkBuildToolsVersion from 33.0.0 to 36.0.0 in eng/Versions.props - Remove IsDefault="True" from API 35 (only API 36 should be default now) - Remove outdated FIXME comment about API 35 from ui-tests-build-sample.yml This aligns the MSBuild property with the explicit buildToolsVersion in build.gradle and ensures provisioning scripts install the correct build-tools version. Co-authored-by: jonathanpeppers <840039+jonathanpeppers@users.noreply.github.com>

PureWeen · 2026-01-27T17:35:05Z

/azp run maui-pr-uitests, maui-pr-devicetests

azure-pipelines · 2026-01-27T17:35:23Z

Azure Pipelines successfully started running 2 pipeline(s).

eng/Versions.props

- Remove AndroidSdkBuildToolsVersion property from eng/Versions.props - Remove build-tools provisioning line from src/Provisioning/Provisioning.csproj The gradle file now explicitly specifies buildToolsVersion "36.0.0" directly, making this MSBuild property unnecessary. Build-tools can be installed through Android SDK Manager or other means as needed. Co-authored-by: PureWeen <5375137+PureWeen@users.noreply.github.com>

azure-pipelines · 2026-01-27T20:35:18Z

Azure Pipelines successfully started running 2 pipeline(s).

Copilot

Pull request overview

This PR fixes Android build failures caused by Android Gradle Plugin (AGP) 8.11.1's auto-selection of build-tools 35.0.0, which isn't commonly installed. The solution bumps Android SDK from API 35 to API 36 and explicitly specifies build-tools 36.0.0 to override AGP's problematic inference behavior.

Changes:

Updated Android native module to use compileSdk/targetSdk 36 with explicit build-tools 36.0.0
Modernized Gradle build configuration to use Gradle 8+ APIs
Removed obsolete build-tools provisioning and MSBuild properties

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 5 out of 5 changed files in this pull request and generated 1 comment.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
src/Core/AndroidNative/maui/build.gradle	Bumped compileSdk/targetSdk to 36 and explicitly specified buildToolsVersion "36.0.0" to override AGP auto-selection
src/Core/AndroidNative/build.gradle	Modernized Gradle API by replacing deprecated `buildDir` with `layout.buildDirectory`
eng/Versions.props	Removed obsolete `AndroidSdkBuildToolsVersion` property and `IsDefault="True"` from API 35 (only API 36 is default)
eng/pipelines/common/ui-tests-build-sample.yml	Removed outdated FIXME comment about API 35 build failures
src/Provisioning/Provisioning.csproj	Removed build-tools provisioning entry (gradle now explicitly specifies version)

Copilot · 2026-01-27T20:53:20Z

src/Core/AndroidNative/maui/build.gradle


 android {
-    compileSdk 35
+    compileSdk 36


Consider adding a comment explaining why buildToolsVersion is explicitly specified here. This would help future maintainers understand that this is a workaround for AGP 8.11.1's auto-selection behavior, which tries to use build-tools 35.0.0 (which isn't commonly installed) when compileSdk is 35. The explicit version specification overrides AGP's inference and ensures builds use an available version.

Suggested change

compileSdk 36

compileSdk 36

// Explicitly specify buildToolsVersion to override AGP 8.11.1's auto-selection,

// which can otherwise choose a non-installed build-tools version (for example 35.0.0 when compileSdk is 35).

PureWeen · 2026-01-28T05:02:21Z

/azp run maui-pr-uitests, maui-pr-devicetests

azure-pipelines · 2026-01-28T05:02:40Z

Azure Pipelines successfully started running 2 pipeline(s).

PureWeen · 2026-01-28T19:46:57Z

/azp run

azure-pipelines · 2026-01-28T19:47:16Z

Azure Pipelines successfully started running 3 pipeline(s).

PureWeen · 2026-01-28T19:48:52Z

/azp run

azure-pipelines · 2026-01-28T19:49:06Z

Azure Pipelines successfully started running 3 pipeline(s).

jonathanpeppers

This looks OK to me if CI is green.

PureWeen · 2026-01-29T21:53:05Z

failing tests unrelated

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Copilot started work on behalf of PureWeen January 27, 2026 16:43 View session

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Copilot AI changed the title ~~[WIP] Copilot coding agent request~~ Fix Android build failure by explicitly specifying build-tools 36.0.0 Jan 27, 2026

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PureWeen marked this pull request as ready for review January 27, 2026 20:49

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This was referenced Jan 28, 2026

CI UItests failure System.TimeoutException : Timed out waiting for element... #33220

Open

System.TimeoutException #33245

Open

PureWeen mentioned this pull request Jan 28, 2026

Generated net.android.init.gradle.kts incompatible with Gradle 9.x (Kotlin type safety) dotnet/android#10737

Open

Copilot AI mentioned this pull request Jan 28, 2026

Fix net.android.init.gradle.kts for Gradle 9.x compatibility dotnet/android#10738

Draft

5 tasks

Replace deprecated archivesBaseName with base.archivesName

85635f7

build-analysis bot mentioned this pull request Jan 29, 2026

Project build failure causing test run abort in RunOniOS_BlazorRelease on mac_runios_blazor_release job #33744

Closed

jonathanpeppers approved these changes Jan 29, 2026

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PureWeen merged commit a633cc9 into main Jan 29, 2026
158 of 163 checks passed

PureWeen deleted the copilot/physical-wren branch January 29, 2026 21:53

Fix Android build failure by explicitly specifying build-tools 36.0.0 #33727

Fix Android build failure by explicitly specifying build-tools 36.0.0 #33727

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