“Android Resource Linking Failed” is one of the commonest error messages encountered by Android developers while working with Android Studio. Most of them usually cannot figure out the exact cause of the issue and fix it. It’s obviously a boring and painful job to debug the whole code and get rid of the resource linking problem. But today we’ve come up with a sure-shot solution for the problem and we’re damn sure that you can fix it today itself by spending a couple of minutes.

Although it not a serious issue, it’s a good thing to know how the issue arises and what might be the reasons behind that. So let’s explain things clearly so that you can eliminate such errors in the future.

Error: failed linking file resources – The Cause

Usually, this error occurs while the Android Studio Gradle encounters some errors in one or more of your XML files. This may be sometimes a syntax error or simple a typo.

Although the XML files are located in the res folder, you need to check whether there are any files located outside of the folder and you have to debug that too. I’ll explain with an example:

Suppose the AndroidManifest.xml is located in “/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml”.

A layout file that probably gives the Android resource linking failed error looks something like this:


<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<shape xmlns:android="https://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android" android:shape="rectangle" >
<gradient
android:angle="90"
android:centerColor="@color/colorPrimaryDark"
android:endColor="@color/colorPrimaryDark"
android:startColor="@color/colorPrimaryDark"
android:endCollor="@color/colorPrimaryDark"
android:type="linear" />
<corners
android:radius="10dp"/>
</shape>

Not down the android:endCollor attribute.

Android Resource Linking Failed Error – The solution

For fixing this error, all you need to do is to manually check each of the XML files and find out the issue. Just run the code and the Android Studio will help you figure out the issue most of the time. This is because the latest version of Android Studio will point of the error specifically so that you can save the time to debug it.

Android Resource Linking Failed

Just in case, you are using an older version of the Android Studio, the error would not be specific and will take some time to debug.

Moreover, if you have a few numbers of XML files having issues, it will be a tiresome task to get rid of the error. So in order to tackle this situation, we have some methods to quickly find out the file and rectify the issue.

1. Open Every XML file

One of the methods is manually opening every XML file without scanning or running. This is helpful because when you open a file Android Studio will detect the errors if any and underline the codes where the issue has crept in. This way you can quickly identify where is the problem and resolve it without having many headaches.

2. Run a Stacktrace

It’s obvious that if you have a big project, it will be a nightmare to check each and every XML file. So one of the best workarounds for this error is to open the Android Studio Terminal and run a Stacktrace. This will show you which file is causing the issue. To do a stacktrace run the following command in the  Android Studio terminal.

gradlew build --stacktrace

3. Undo the Changes

This is another hack by which you can get rid of the Android resource linking failed error. Undoing the last changes may sometimes help you quickly. In most times this issue will arise when you are halfway through a development project. This means that one of the recent changes is responsible for generating such an error. So just reverting the last commits can definitely help you out to tackle this situation.

For this to do, press CTRL + Z to go a revert a single change. Likewise, debug the code after each undo and you will quickly find out where is the error. Once you find it out, you can correct it with ease as it’s not kind of a big deal.

Conclusion

Hopefully, by now, you have learned a few workarounds to troubleshoot the android resource linking failed issue and get rid of that with ease.

If you find this article useful, feel free to share it and spread the knowledge.

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Vishnu is the founder and fountainhead of Makmodo and hails from God's Own Country - Kerala. He has been an ardent tech geek obsessed with technology since he got his first gadget a decade ago. He loves using his technical expertise to write informative and useful content to help people. Besides the techy stuff, he enjoys listening to music, reading books, and playing cricket. Occasionally, you can see him taking candid photographs or nurturing hanging orchids in his front yard.

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