JakeWharton/butterknife · error · IllegalStateException

@BindBitmap field type must be 'Bitmap'. (

Error message

@BindBitmap field type must be 'Bitmap'. (

What it means

@BindBitmap decodes a resource into an android.graphics.Bitmap via BitmapFactory.decodeResource, so parseBindBitmap requires the field type to be exactly Bitmap. Any other type — Drawable, ImageView, Bitmaap subclasses like BitmapDrawable — throws this IllegalStateException at bind time.

Source

Thrown at butterknife-reflect/src/main/java/butterknife/ButterKnife.java:420

    return Unbinder.EMPTY;
  }

  private static @Nullable Unbinder parseBindBitmap(Object target, Field field, View source) {
    BindBitmap bindBitmap = field.getAnnotation(BindBitmap.class);
    if (bindBitmap == null) {
      return null;
    }
    validateMember(field);

    int id = bindBitmap.value();
    Resources resources = source.getContext().getResources();

    Object value;
    Class<?> fieldType = field.getType();
    if (fieldType == Bitmap.class) {
      value = BitmapFactory.decodeResource(resources, id);
    } else {
      throw new IllegalStateException("@BindBitmap field type must be 'Bitmap'. ("
          + field.getDeclaringClass().getName()
          + '.'
          + field.getName()
          + ')');
    }
    trySet(field, target, value);

    return Unbinder.EMPTY;
  }

  private static @Nullable Unbinder parseBindBool(Object target, Field field, View source) {
    BindBool bindBool = field.getAnnotation(BindBool.class);
    if (bindBool == null) {
      return null;
    }
    validateMember(field);

    int id = bindBool.value();

View on GitHub (pinned to fcdebedf32)

Solutions

1. Declare the field as `Bitmap`: `@BindBitmap(R.drawable.logo) Bitmap logo;`
2. If you need a Drawable, use @BindDrawable instead
3. If you need the ImageView, use @BindView and load the bitmap into it separately

Example fix

// before
@BindBitmap(R.drawable.logo)
Drawable logo;

// after
@BindBitmap(R.drawable.logo)
Bitmap logo;

if (field.getType() != Bitmap.class) {
  throw new IllegalStateException("@BindBitmap field must be Bitmap: " + field);
}

static boolean isBitmapField(Field f) {
  return f.getType() == android.graphics.Bitmap.class;
}

When it happens

Trigger: `@BindBitmap(R.drawable.logo) Drawable logo;` or `@BindBitmap(...) ImageView logo;` — field types that are not Bitmap.

Common situations: Confusing bitmap resources with drawable resources; intending @BindDrawable for a Drawable field; annotating the ImageView that displays the image instead of a Bitmap field.

Related errors

• @BindView fields must extend from View or be an interface. (
• @BindViews must be a List or array. (
• @BindViews List or array type must extend from View or be an
• @BindAnim field type must be 'Animation'. (
• @BindArray field type must be one of: String[], int[], CharS

AI-assisted analysis of JakeWharton/butterknife@fcdebedf32 (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f92b92946d4d368e. Report an issue: GitHub.