IllegalAccessError During Build with KAPT with newer Android Studio version

[pioLay]

When building the project, the following error occurs during tasks involving Kotlin's annotation processing (KAPT):

java.lang.IllegalAccessError: superclass access check failed: class org.jetbrains.kotlin.kapt3.base.javac.KaptJavaCompiler 
(in unnamed module @0x4a69b0f1) cannot access class com.sun.tools.javac.main.JavaCompiler 
(in module jdk.compiler) because module jdk.compiler does not export com.sun.tools.javac.main to unnamed module @0x4a69b0f1

This issue arises because the Java Development Kit (JDK) enforces stricter module access controls, preventing KAPT from accessing internal javac classes.

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Steps to Reproduce

• Clone the project.
• Ensure the environment is using a JDK version >= 17. (on the latest branch it is already set to 18)
• Run ./gradlew assembleDebug.

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Solution

The issue was resolved by changing the following line to gradle.properties:

org.gradle.jvmargs=-Xmx2048m -Dfile.encoding=UTF-8 --add-opens=jdk.compiler/com.sun.tools.javac.util=ALL-UNNAMED

This JVM argument opens the required module for KAPT, allowing the build to proceed successfully.

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Suggested Fix

Please add the above configuration to the gradle.properties file to ensure compatibility with JDK versions >= 17. This will prevent the error for developers using newer JDK versions.

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Environment

Android Studio Ladybug | 2024.2.1 Patch 3 (Build #AI-242.23339.11.2421.12700392, built on November 22, 2024)
JDK Version: 17 or higher