Resolving the “Cannot Fit Requested Classes in a Single Dex File” Error in Flutter with Firestore

Resolving the "Cannot Fit Requested Classes in a Single Dex File" Error in Flutter with Firestore

19 December 2024 Stephan Petzl Leave a comment Tech-Help

If you’re developing a Flutter application and utilizing Firestore, you might encounter the error: “D8: Cannot fit requested classes in a single dex file (# methods: 71610 > 65536)”. This error is common when the number of method references exceeds the limit of a single dex file, which is 65,536.

This guide will walk you through resolving this issue effectively, ensuring your development process remains smooth.

Understanding the Issue

The error occurs due to the method reference limit in a single dex file. When the libraries and dependencies in your project exceed this limit, the build process fails. This is a common issue in Android development, especially when integrating multiple libraries.

Solution: Enabling Multidex

The most effective solution is to enable multidex support in your application. Follow these steps to implement this solution:

  1. Open your android/app/build.gradle file.
  2. Add the following line within the defaultConfig block:
    3. multiDexEnabled true
  3. In the dependencies section, add the multidex library:
    4. implementation 'androidx.multidex:multidex:2.0.1'

    If your project isn’t migrated to AndroidX, use:

    implementation 'com.android.support:multidex:1.0.3'

Alternative Solutions

If enabling multidex doesn’t resolve the issue, consider the following alternatives:

  • Update Minimum SDK Version: Increase the minSdkVersion in your build.gradle file to 21, which natively supports multidex.
  • Use Command Line Tools: For users preferring not to modify gradle files, Flutter tools can enable multidex support when you run your application in debug mode. Follow the prompt to enable multidex.

Conclusion

With these solutions, you should be able to overcome the dex file limit and continue developing your Flutter application with Firestore integration smoothly.

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