Fix Kotlin metadata incompatibility between Gradle 8.x and React Native plugin

README.md

@@ -48,17 +48,18 @@ If you encounter build errors related to Android SDK or aapt2, try the following
    npx react-native run-android
    ```
 
-**Note:** This project uses Android API level 34 and Kotlin 1.8.22. Make sure you have the Android SDK Platform 34 installed in your Android SDK Manager.
+**Note:** This project uses Android API level 35 and Kotlin 1.9.0. Make sure you have the Android SDK Platform 35 installed in your Android SDK Manager.
 
-**Important:** Android API level 35 has known aapt2 resource table parsing bugs that cause build failures. Please use API level 34 instead.
+**Important:** This project uses Android Gradle Plugin 8.1.4 and Gradle 8.2 to properly support API level 35 and comply with Google Play requirements for 16KB page size support.
 
 ### Kotlin Dexing Errors (D8/R8 failures)
 
 If you encounter errors related to Kotlin dexing (e.g., `Error while dexing`, `com.android.tools.r8.kotlin`), this is usually due to Kotlin version incompatibility. The project uses:
-- Android Gradle Plugin 7.4.2
-- Kotlin 1.8.22
+- Android Gradle Plugin 8.1.4
+- Gradle 8.2
+- Kotlin 1.9.0
 - React Native 0.68.2
-- Android API level 34
+- Android API level 35
 
 These versions are tested and compatible. After pulling updates, clean your gradle cache as described above.
 

android/app/build.gradle

@@ -322,7 +322,9 @@ dependencies {
         exclude group:'com.facebook.flipper'
     }
 
-    // Force patched version of assertj-core to fix XXE vulnerability (test scope only)
+    // Force patched version of assertj-core to fix XXE vulnerability
+    // Vulnerable: 1.4.0 - 3.27.6, Patched: 3.27.7
+    // Explicitly declare for test scopes (also forced globally in root build.gradle)
     testImplementation 'org.assertj:assertj-core:3.27.7'
     androidTestImplementation 'org.assertj:assertj-core:3.27.7'
 

android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml

@@ -6,7 +6,12 @@
       android:icon="@mipmap/ic_launcher"
       android:roundIcon="@mipmap/ic_launcher_round"
       android:allowBackup="false"
-      android:theme="@style/AppTheme">
+      android:theme="@style/AppTheme"
+      android:enableOnBackInvokedCallback="true">
+
+    <!-- Support for 16KB page sizes (required for Android 15+) -->
+    <!-- Declared with targetSdkVersion 35 to comply with Google Play requirements -->
+    <property android:name="android.build.optimization.16kPageSize" android:value="true"/>
 
     <activity 
       android:name="com.rn.MainActivity"

android/build.gradle

@@ -6,9 +6,11 @@ buildscript {
     ext {
         buildToolsVersion = "34.0.0"
         minSdkVersion = 24
-        compileSdkVersion = 34
-        targetSdkVersion = 34
-        kotlin_version = '1.8.22'
+        // Using API 35 to comply with Google Play requirements
+        // Upgraded to AGP 8.1.4 to properly support API 35 and fix aapt2 issues
+        compileSdkVersion = 35
+        targetSdkVersion = 35
+        kotlin_version = '1.9.0'
 
         if (System.properties['os.arch'] == "aarch64") {
             // For M1 Users we need to use the NDK 24 which added support for aarch64
@@ -23,7 +25,7 @@ buildscript {
         mavenCentral()
     }
     dependencies {
-        classpath('com.android.tools.build:gradle:7.4.2')
+        classpath('com.android.tools.build:gradle:8.1.4')
         classpath("com.facebook.react:react-native-gradle-plugin")
         classpath("de.undercouch:gradle-download-task:5.6.0")
         classpath "org.jetbrains.kotlin:kotlin-gradle-plugin:$kotlin_version"
@@ -54,6 +56,9 @@ allprojects {
     }
 
     // Force patched version of assertj-core to fix XXE vulnerability
+    // Vulnerable versions: 1.4.0 - 3.27.6 (including 3.21.0)
+    // Patched version: 3.27.7
+    // This forces ALL transitive dependencies to use the safe version
     configurations.all {
         resolutionStrategy {
             force 'org.assertj:assertj-core:3.27.7'

android/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #Thu Aug 28 17:07:30 ART 2025
 distributionBase=GRADLE_USER_HOME
 distributionPath=wrapper/dists
-distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-7.6.4-bin.zip
+distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-8.2-bin.zip
 zipStoreBase=GRADLE_USER_HOME
 zipStorePath=wrapper/dists