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nativeforks
On August 7, 2025, a new build problem started hitting many Android apps on F-Droid. Many Android apps on F-Droid have been unable to publish updates if they use Android Gradle Plugin (AGP) 8.12.0 or Gradle 9.0.
The root cause: Google’s new aapt2 binary in AGP 8.12.0 started requiring CPU instructions (SSE4.1, SSSE3) that F-Droid’s build farm hardware doesn’t support. This is similar to a 2021 AGP 4.1.0 issue, but it has returned, and now affects hundreds of apps.
As an example, my open-source app MBCompass hit this issue. I downgraded to AGP 8.11.1 with Gradle 8.13 to make it build, but even then, F-Droid failed due to a baseline profile reproducibility bug in AGP. The only workaround was disabling baseline profiles and pushing yet another release.
This has led to multiple “maintenance” versions in a short time, confusing users and wasting developer time, just to work around infrastructure issues outside the developer’s control.
References:
- F-Droid admin issue: aapt2 fails to run on the buildserver - AGP 8.12.0-alpha07 is latest compatible (#593) · Issues · F-Droid / admin · GitLab - Catima example: F-Droid build failed · Issue #2608 · CatimaLoyalty/Android - MBCompass case: F-Droid build failed: AGP 8.12.0 doesn't work on buildserver · Issue #88 · CompassMB/MBCompass
Comments URL: F-Droid build servers can't build modern Android apps due to outdated CPUs | Hacker News
Points: 63
# Comments: 43
Continue reading...
The root cause: Google’s new aapt2 binary in AGP 8.12.0 started requiring CPU instructions (SSE4.1, SSSE3) that F-Droid’s build farm hardware doesn’t support. This is similar to a 2021 AGP 4.1.0 issue, but it has returned, and now affects hundreds of apps.
As an example, my open-source app MBCompass hit this issue. I downgraded to AGP 8.11.1 with Gradle 8.13 to make it build, but even then, F-Droid failed due to a baseline profile reproducibility bug in AGP. The only workaround was disabling baseline profiles and pushing yet another release.
This has led to multiple “maintenance” versions in a short time, confusing users and wasting developer time, just to work around infrastructure issues outside the developer’s control.
References:
- F-Droid admin issue: aapt2 fails to run on the buildserver - AGP 8.12.0-alpha07 is latest compatible (#593) · Issues · F-Droid / admin · GitLab - Catima example: F-Droid build failed · Issue #2608 · CatimaLoyalty/Android - MBCompass case: F-Droid build failed: AGP 8.12.0 doesn't work on buildserver · Issue #88 · CompassMB/MBCompass
Comments URL: F-Droid build servers can't build modern Android apps due to outdated CPUs | Hacker News
Points: 63
# Comments: 43
Continue reading...