How to Fix Android Studio “A problem occurred configuring project ‘:app’”

What Is “A problem occurred configuring project ‘:app’”?

“A problem occurred configuring project ‘:app’”
is displayed when an error occurs
while Gradle is configuring the
:app
module.

In a typical Android Studio project,
app
is often used as the module name for the main application,
which is why
project ':app'
is displayed.

This message itself does not directly indicate the cause,
so
it is important to check the detailed error message displayed after it.

A problem occurred configuring project ':app'.
> Failed to notify project evaluation listener.
> Could not resolve all files for configuration...

In a case like this,
rather than focusing on
“A problem occurred configuring project ‘:app’”,
check the cause from the detailed messages that follow,
such as
Could not resolve....

Main Causes

The main causes of
“A problem occurred configuring project ‘:app’”
include the following.

• Errors in build.gradle or build.gradle.kts
• The Android Gradle Plugin and Gradle versions do not match
• The JDK version is incompatible
• An older Java version is selected as the Gradle JDK
• There is a problem with SDK settings such as compileSdk
• The required Android SDK is not installed
• There is a problem with a plugin version or configuration
• Dependency libraries cannot be retrieved
• There is a problem with the Repository settings
• namespace is not configured
• There is a problem with settings.gradle or settings.gradle.kts
• There is an error in the Version Catalog
• There is a problem with the Gradle cache
• An old project was opened in a newer Android Studio
• An external plugin is not compatible with the current environment

First Check the Detailed Error Message

The first thing to check
is the detailed error displayed immediately after
“A problem occurred configuring project ‘:app’”.

For example,
another error may follow in a form like the following.

A problem occurred configuring project ':app'.
> Namespace not specified.

A problem occurred configuring project ':app'.
> Android Gradle plugin requires Java 17 to run.

A problem occurred configuring project ':app'.
> Minimum supported Gradle version is...

In these cases,
what actually needs to be resolved is
Namespace not specified,
or the part related to the Java or Gradle version.

Check Build Output

Android Studio may display more detailed errors
in Build Output.

If the short error message displayed on the screen
is not enough to determine the cause,
open Build Output and check the content following
Caused by:
or
>.

If multiple errors are displayed,
check the first specific error that occurred.

Check build.gradle

If there is an error in the app module’s
build.gradle,
an error may occur while configuring the project.

In particular,
if the error occurred immediately after changing
braces,
quotation marks,
commas,
plugin settings,
or other items,
check the location that was changed.

android {
    namespace "com.example.app"
    compileSdk 35
}

Because Groovy DSL and Kotlin DSL use different syntax,
also check whether code written in a different format
has been pasted directly.

Check build.gradle.kts

In projects that use Kotlin DSL,
check the contents of
build.gradle.kts.

android {
    namespace = "com.example.app"
    compileSdk = 35
}

Code that is valid in Groovy DSL
may cause an error in Kotlin DSL.

Check whether the file you are using is
build.gradle
or
build.gradle.kts,
and use the corresponding syntax.

Check the Android Gradle Plugin Version

If the Android Gradle Plugin version
is incompatible with Gradle or the JDK,
an error may occur while configuring the app module.

Depending on the project,
the Android Gradle Plugin version may be specified as follows.

plugins {
    id("com.android.application") version "8.5.0" apply false
}

In older project formats,
it may be specified as follows.

classpath 'com.android.tools.build:gradle:8.5.0'

If the error occurred immediately after changing
the Android Gradle Plugin,
check its compatibility with Gradle and the JDK.

Check the Gradle Version

“A problem occurred configuring project ‘:app’”
may also be displayed
if the Gradle version being used
is not compatible with the Android Gradle Plugin.

The Gradle version can normally be checked
in the following file.

gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties

Check
distributionUrl
in the file.

distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-8.7-bin.zip

If it is older than the Gradle version required by
the Android Gradle Plugin,
the Gradle Wrapper may need to be updated.

Check the JDK Version

Depending on the Android Gradle Plugin,
a certain minimum Java version may be required.

You can check the current Java version
from Terminal or another command-line environment.

java -version

However,
the JDK used by Gradle in Android Studio
may differ from the Java used in Terminal.

Also check the Gradle JDK in Android Studio.

Check the Java Used by Gradle

If the Gradle Wrapper can be executed,
you can check the Java used by Gradle
with the following command.

./gradlew --version

On Windows,
run the following.

gradlew.bat --version

Check the Java version actually being used by Gradle
from the JVM section or other information.

If “Android Gradle plugin requires Java” Follows

If
“Android Gradle plugin requires Java”
is displayed in the detailed error,
a JDK older than the Java version required by
the Android Gradle Plugin may be in use.

Android Gradle plugin requires Java 17 to run.
You are currently using Java 11.

In this case,
change the Gradle JDK in Android Studio
to a compatible JDK.

If “Minimum supported Gradle version is” Follows

If
“Minimum supported Gradle version is …”
is displayed in the detailed error,
the current Gradle Wrapper may be too old.

Check
gradle-wrapper.properties
and change Gradle to a version compatible with
the Android Gradle Plugin.

If “Namespace not specified” Follows

If
“Namespace not specified”
is displayed in the detailed error,
namespace
may not be configured in the
android
block of the app module.

android {
    namespace = "com.example.app"
}

Configure the namespace
according to the format of the Gradle file being used.

Check compileSdk

A problem with the
compileSdk
specification may also cause an error
while configuring the app module.

android {
    compileSdk = 35
}

Check whether the specified Android SDK is installed.

Check Whether the Required Android SDK Is Installed

If the SDK Platform or another SDK component specified by
compileSdk
is not installed,
Gradle Sync or the build may fail.

Open SDK Manager in Android Studio
and check whether the SDK required by the project
is installed.

Check the Plugin Settings

If there is a problem with a plugin used by the app module,
an error may also occur while configuring the project.

plugins {
    id("com.android.application")
    id("org.jetbrains.kotlin.android")
}

Check for an incorrectly written plugin name,
a version mismatch,
or a plugin that is not compatible with the current Gradle version.

If It Occurred Immediately After Adding an External Plugin

If
“A problem occurred configuring project ‘:app’”
occurred immediately after adding a new Gradle plugin,
the plugin that was added may be the cause.

Check the section where the plugin was added,
and if necessary,
temporarily disable it
and check whether Gradle Sync succeeds.

Check Dependency Libraries

If there is a problem with a dependency library
specified in the app module,
an error may occur during configuration
or while resolving dependencies.

dependencies {
    implementation("com.example:library:1.0.0")
}

Check whether the library name and version exist
and whether the Repository is configured correctly.

If “Could not resolve all files for configuration” Follows

If
“Could not resolve all files for configuration”
is displayed in the detailed error,
there may be a problem retrieving or resolving dependency libraries.

Check the Repository,
library versions,
network,
Gradle Offline Mode,
and related settings.

If “Could not find” Follows

If
“Could not find”
is displayed in the detailed error,
the specified library or plugin may not be found
in the Repository.

Check the dependency name,
version,
and Repository settings.

Check the Repository Settings

An error may also occur
if the Repository required to retrieve
libraries or plugins is not configured.

repositories {
    google()
    mavenCentral()
}

Depending on the project configuration,
Repositories may be managed in
settings.gradle
or
settings.gradle.kts.

Check settings.gradle

If there is a problem with
settings.gradle
or
settings.gradle.kts,
it can also affect the configuration of the app module.

Check settings such as
pluginManagement,
dependencyResolutionManagement,
and
include(":app").

Check Whether the app Module Is Loaded Correctly

Normally,
settings.gradle
or a similar file contains a setting
for loading the app module.

include(":app")

If you moved the app module folder
or changed the module name,
check whether there is a mismatch with this setting.

Check the Version Catalog

In projects that use a Version Catalog,
an error in
libs.versions.toml
may be the cause.

If the error occurred immediately after changing
a library name,
version,
plugin alias,
or another item,
check the Version Catalog settings.

Check local.properties

If there is a problem related to the Android SDK location,
check
local.properties.

sdk.dir=/path/to/Android/sdk

If the SDK location points to a path that does not exist,
or an old path remains after changing PCs,
correct it.

If “SDK location not found” Follows

If
“SDK location not found”
is displayed in the detailed error,
Gradle may be unable to determine the location of the Android SDK.

Check
sdk.dir
in
local.properties
and the SDK settings in Android Studio.

Run Gradle Sync Again

After correcting the Gradle files,
JDK,
SDK,
plugins,
or other settings,
run Gradle Sync again.

Run
Sync Project with Gradle Files
or a similar option from Android Studio.

If the settings have been corrected properly,
the app module configuration process may proceed normally.

Run Clean Project

Even after correcting the settings,
previous build information may remain.

Run
Clean Project
from the Build menu or another location in Android Studio,
and then run Gradle Sync or Rebuild Project.

Restart Android Studio

If the previous state remains
even after changing settings such as the Gradle JDK or SDK,
restart Android Studio.

After restarting,
run Gradle Sync
and check whether the error message changes.

Check the Gradle Cache

Even if there is no problem with the settings themselves,
a problem with the Gradle cache
may cause Sync or the build to fail.

In particular,
if a problem occurs after a dependency library retrieval failure
or after updating Gradle,
also check for cache-related problems.

However,
rather than deleting the cache first,
consider it after checking the detailed error and settings.

If You Open an Old Project in a Newer Android Studio

An old Android project may assume
older versions of the Android Gradle Plugin,
Gradle,
JDK,
SDK,
and other components.

When opened in a newer Android Studio,
these may become incompatible,
causing
“A problem occurred configuring project ‘:app’”
to be displayed.

In this case,
while checking the detailed error,
make the Android Gradle Plugin,
Gradle,
JDK,
and other components compatible one by one.

If the Error Occurred Immediately After an Update

If the error occurred immediately after updating
Android Studio,
the Android Gradle Plugin,
Gradle,
the JDK,
a plugin,
a library,
or another component,
check the item that was changed immediately before the error occurred.

Changing multiple items at the same time
makes it more difficult to determine the cause,
so if possible,
check the changes one at a time.

What to Check for Each Error

Depending on the error that follows
“A problem occurred configuring project ‘:app’”,
you can narrow down what should be checked to some extent.

Steps to Check If the Problem Is Not Resolved

If you do not know the cause,
checking the following in order
makes it easier to narrow down the problem.

1. Check the full “A problem occurred configuring project ‘:app’” error message
2. Check the detailed error that follows immediately after it
3. Check the first specific error in Build Output
4. Check the app module’s build.gradle or build.gradle.kts
5. Check whether any Gradle settings were changed immediately before the error occurred
6. Check the Android Gradle Plugin version
7. Check the Gradle Wrapper version
8. Check the JDK and Gradle JDK
9. Check compileSdk and the Android SDK
10. Check namespace
11. Check the plugin settings and versions
12. Check dependency libraries and Repositories
13. Check settings.gradle or settings.gradle.kts
14. If using a Version Catalog, check libs.versions.toml
15. Check local.properties and the Android SDK location
16. Run Gradle Sync again
17. Run Clean Project if necessary
18. Restart Android Studio if necessary
19. After checking the detailed error, check the Gradle cache if necessary

Summary

Android Studio’s
“A problem occurred configuring project ‘:app’”
is an error displayed
when some kind of problem occurs
while Gradle is configuring the app module.

The cause cannot be determined from this message alone,
and the actual cause may be a problem with
Gradle,
the Android Gradle Plugin,
the JDK,
the SDK,
namespace,
dependencies,
plugins,
or other settings.

First,
check the detailed error or Build Output
displayed immediately after
“A problem occurred configuring project ‘:app’”.

Then,
check the app module’s Gradle file,
Android Gradle Plugin,
Gradle Wrapper,
JDK,
SDK,
dependencies,
and other relevant settings,
correct the setting corresponding to the detailed error,
and run Gradle Sync again
to efficiently narrow down the cause.