JakeWharton/butterknife · error · IllegalStateException

@BindViews must specify at least one ID. (

Error message

@BindViews must specify at least one ID. (

What it means

parseBindViews requires at least one view ID in the annotation's value array; an empty `@BindViews({})` (or relying on an empty default) produces nothing to bind and throws this IllegalStateException at bind time. The processor flavor reports the equivalent error at compile time.

Solutions

1. Supply one or more valid view IDs: @BindViews({R.id.first, R.id.second})
2. Remove the annotation and field entirely if no views need binding

Example fix

// before
@BindViews({})
List<TextView> labels;

// after
@BindViews({R.id.first, R.id.second})
List<TextView> labels;

if (bindViews.value().length == 0) {
  throw new IllegalStateException("@BindViews with no IDs");
}

When it happens

Trigger: Writing @BindViews({}) with an empty array literal; generating the annotation from code/templating that yields zero IDs; clearing IDs during debugging.

Common situations: Placeholder code committed with empty annotation values; build-time generated binding code with missing ID lists.

Related errors

• @BindAnim field type must be 'Animation'. (
• @BindArray field type must be one of: String[], int[]…
• @BindBitmap field type must be 'Bitmap'. (
• @BindBool field type must be 'boolean'. (
• @BindColor field type must be 'int' or 'ColorStateList'. (

AI-assisted analysis of JakeWharton/butterknife@fcdebedf32 (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/f03659b77d7d3921. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at butterknife-reflect/src/main/java/butterknife/ButterKnife.java:308

    } else {
      throw new IllegalStateException("@BindViews must be a List or array. ("
          + field.getDeclaringClass().getName()
          + '.'
          + field.getName()
          + ')');
    }
    if (!View.class.isAssignableFrom(viewClass) && !viewClass.isInterface()) {
      throw new IllegalStateException(
          "@BindViews List or array type must extend from View or be an interface. ("
              + field.getDeclaringClass().getName()
              + '.'
              + field.getName()
              + ')');
    }

    int[] ids = bindViews.value();
    if (ids.length == 0) {
      throw new IllegalStateException("@BindViews must specify at least one ID. ("
          + field.getDeclaringClass().getName()
          + '.'
          + field.getName()
          + ')');
    }

    List<Object> views = new ArrayList<>(ids.length);
    String who = "field '" + field.getName() + "'";
    for (int id : ids) {
      Object view = Utils.findOptionalViewAsType(source, id, who, viewClass);
      if (view != null) {
        views.add(view);
      }
    }

    Object value;
    if (isArray) {
      Object[] viewArray = (Object[]) Array.newInstance(viewClass, views.size());

View on GitHub (pinned to fcdebedf32)