Flutter - Change Android minSdkVersion, targetSdkVersion, compileSdkVersion

This tutorial shows you how to set the minSdkVersion, targetSdkVersion, compileSdkVersion, and ndkVersion for Android platform in Flutter.

If your Flutter application supports the Android platform, you may need to set the appropriate SDK versions. That includes the minimum SDK version (the earliest version that the application can run on), target SDK version (the version that the application is targeted to run on), and compile SDK version (the version used for compiling).

A common condition where you need to change the SDK version is when you get an error that indicates to use a higher SDK version like the following one.

  One or more plugins require a higher Android SDK version.
  Fix this issue by adding the following to /home/user/Projects/flutter/android/app/build.gradle:
  android {
    compileSdkVersion 33
    ...
  }

You may also get another error like below.

 /home/user/Projects/flutter/android/app/src/debug/AndroidManifest.xml Error:
	uses-sdk:minSdkVersion 19 cannot be smaller than version 21 declared in library [:safe_device] /home/user/Projects/flutter/build/safe_device/intermediates/library_manifest/debug/AndroidManifest.xml as the library might be using APIs not available in 19
	Suggestion: use a compatible library with a minSdk of at most 19,
		or increase this project's minSdk version to at least 21,
		or use tools:overrideLibrary="com.xamdesign.safe_device" to force usage (may lead to runtime failures)

Like using native Android, Flutter also relies on the values from the build.gradle file. However, since version 2.8, the values are stored in another file by default. This tutorial is divided into two parts: for Flutter versions below 2.8 and for Flutter versions starting from 2.8.

Before Version 2.8

If you use Flutter before version 2.8, you can change the values directly in the {project_folder}/android/app/build.gradle file. In that file, search for the android block. You should be able to find the compileSdkVersion keyword. For minSdkVersion and targetSdkVersion, the values are inside the defaultConfig sub-block.

  android {
      compileSdkVersion 30 // change here
  
      defaultConfig {
          minSdkVersion 21 // change here
          targetSdkVersion 28 // change here
      }
  }

After that, run flutter clean and re-run your application.

Version 2.8 or Above

For projects created using Flutter 2.8 or above, the values of SDK versions are no longer hard coded in build.gradle by default. If you look at the build.gradle file, those values are defined using variables which include flutter.compileSdkVersion, flutter.compileSdkVersion, and flutter.compileSdkVersion. Newer versions also have the flutter.ndkVersion variable.

android {
      compileSdkVersion flutter.compileSdkVersion
      ndkVersion flutter.ndkVersion
  
      defaultConfig {
          minSdkVersion flutter.minSdkVersion
          targetSdkVersion flutter.targetSdkVersion
      }
  }

Those values are obtained from the {flutter_sdk_folder}/packages/flutter_tools/gradle/flutter.gradle file. However, it's not recommended to modify the file or change the values in the build.gradle file to be hard-coded. The recommended way to change it is by using a properties file. Go to {project_folder}/android/local.properties. Then, add the following properties. You can adjust each value with the version that you choose.

  flutter.compileSdkVersion=33
  flutter.minSdkVersion=21
  flutter.targetSdkVersion=33
  flutter.=23.1.7779620

In the {project_folder}/android/app/build.gradle file, you need to adjust the values to read from the localProperties file.

  android {
      compileSdkVersion localProperties.getProperty('flutter.compileSdkVersion').toInteger()
      ndkVersion localProperties.getProperty('flutter.ndkVersion').toInteger()
  
      defaultConfig {
          minSdkVersion localProperties.getProperty('flutter.minSdkVersion').toInteger()
          targetSdkVersion localProperties.getProperty('flutter.targetSdkVersion').toInteger()
      }
  }

Finally, run flutter clean and re-run the application.

Summary

In Flutter, the values of Android minSdkVersion, targetSdkVersion, compileSdkVersion, and ndkVersion depend on the {project_folder}/android/app/build.gradle file. For Flutter 2.8 and above, it's recommended to define the values in a properties file if you need to modify the values.

You can also read about:

• How to build Android APK using Flutter.