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Adding an external native build to an Android project using ndk-build results in "more than one externalNativeBuild path specified" error #175968
Description
Steps to reproduce
- Create a new Flutter project for Android using
flutter create ndk_build_sample --platforms=android. - In
android/app/build.gradle.ktsfile, add an external native build usingndk-build:
externalNativeBuild {
ndkBuild {
path = file("src/main/cpp/Android.mk") // This can point to an empty file for repro purposes
}
}
- In Android Studio, click on "Sync Project With Gradle Files".
Expected results
The Gradle sync succeeds, and the ndk-build file is included in the build process as expected.
Alternatively, if ndk-build is not supported in Flutter apps, this should produce a clearer error.
Actual results
Gradle configuration fails for :app with the following error:
> Configure project :app
[CXX1400] More than one externalNativeBuild path specified
[CXX1400] More than one externalNativeBuild path specified
[CXX1400] More than one externalNativeBuild path specified
Code sample
Sample project: https://github.com/TheLastBanana/ndk_build_sample
Screenshots or Video
No response
Logs
No response
Flutter Doctor output
Doctor output
[√] Flutter (Channel stable, 3.35.4, on Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.26100.6584], locale en-CA) [279ms]
• Flutter version 3.35.4 on channel stable at G:\flutter_3.35.x
• Upstream repository https://github.com/flutter/flutter.git
• Framework revision d693b4b9db (8 days ago), 2025-09-16 14:27:41 +0000
• Engine revision c298091351
• Dart version 3.9.2
• DevTools version 2.48.0
• Feature flags: enable-web, enable-linux-desktop, enable-macos-desktop, enable-windows-desktop, enable-android,
enable-ios, cli-animations, enable-lldb-debugging
[√] Windows Version (Windows 11 or higher, 24H2, 2009) [795ms]
[√] Android toolchain - develop for Android devices (Android SDK version 36.0.0) [2.5s]
• Android SDK at E:\Android\Sdk
• Emulator version 36.1.9.0 (build_id 13823996) (CL:N/A)
• Platform android-36, build-tools 36.0.0
• Java binary at: E:\Program Files\Android\Android Studio\jbr\bin\java
This is the JDK bundled with the latest Android Studio installation on this machine.
To manually set the JDK path, use: `flutter config --jdk-dir="path/to/jdk"`.
• Java version OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 21.0.7+-13880790-b1038.58)
• All Android licenses accepted.
[√] Chrome - develop for the web [95ms]
• Chrome at C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe
[√] Visual Studio - develop Windows apps (Visual Studio Community 2022 17.14.10) [94ms]
• Visual Studio at E:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Community
• Visual Studio Community 2022 version 17.14.36327.8
• Windows 10 SDK version 10.0.26100.0
[√] Android Studio (version 2025.1.3) [12ms]
• Android Studio at E:\Program Files\Android\Android Studio
• Flutter plugin can be installed from:
https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/9212-flutter
• Dart plugin can be installed from:
https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/6351-dart
• Java version OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 21.0.7+-13880790-b1038.58)
[√] Connected device (3 available) [150ms]
• Windows (desktop) • windows • windows-x64 • Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.26100.6584]
• Chrome (web) • chrome • web-javascript • Google Chrome 140.0.7339.128
• Edge (web) • edge • web-javascript • Microsoft Edge 140.0.3485.81
[√] Network resources [593ms]
• All expected network resources are available.
• No issues found!Reacted by Asif Tonim
Activity
TheLastBanana commentedon Sep 24, 2025
If I comment out the call to
FlutterPluginUtils.forceNdkDownloadinFlutterPlugin.apply, the app builds as expected. It looks like that function has an early out if the project has an existing CMake build, but if the project usesndk-build, it adds the extra build anyway, leading to multiple external native builds.darshankawar commentedon Sep 25, 2025
Thanks for the report. I was able to replicate the reported behavior on latest stable and master versions which throws below error upon running
./gradlew syncinsideandroidfolder:1 remaining item
gmackall commentedon Oct 1, 2025
It looks like unfortunately the configuration we use to make AGP download the NDK conflicts with your ndk-build config, because AGP doesn't allow mixing ndk-build and cmake
https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/120166563
We will need to find a way to make this configuration happen late enough in Gradle's lifecycle that we can detect if the user is configuring either ndk-build or cmake, or otherwise provide a flag to disable the configuration we are doing in
forceNdkDownloadhttps://github.com/flutter/flutter/blob/master/packages/flutter_tools/gradle/src/main/kotlin/FlutterPluginUtils.kt#L588
flutter-triage-bot commentedon Feb 5, 2026
This issue is assigned to @gmackall but has had no recent status updates. Please consider unassigning this issue if it is not going to be addressed in the near future. This allows people to have a clearer picture of what work is actually planned. Thanks!
flutter-triage-bot commentedon Apr 22, 2026
This issue was assigned to @gmackall but has had no status updates in a long time. To remove any ambiguity about whether the issue is being worked on, the assignee was removed.
Resolve issue flutter#175968: forceNdkDownload should skip configurin…
forceNdkDownload should skip configuring cmake when ndk-build is used (…
github-actions commentedon Aug 6, 2026
This thread has been automatically locked since there has not been any recent activity after it was closed. If you are still experiencing a similar issue, please open a new bug, including the output of
flutter doctor -vand a minimal reproduction of the issue.