Tencent/tinker · critical · TinkerRuntimeException

createInlineFence failed

Error message

createInlineFence failed

What it means

TinkerApplication.createInlineFence reflectively constructs com.tencent.tinker.entry.TinkerApplicationInlineFence wrapping an ApplicationLike delegate; the resulting Handler is the 'inline fence' that forwards Application lifecycle into the patched application. TinkerRuntimeException('createInlineFence failed') wraps any failure in that reflection chain.

Source

Thrown at tinker-android/tinker-android-loader/src/main/java/com/tencent/tinker/loader/app/TinkerApplication.java:158

                                      long applicationStartMillisTime,
                                      Intent resultIntent) {
        try {
            // Use reflection to create the delegate so it doesn't need to go into the primary dex.
            // And we can also patch it
            final Class<?> delegateClass = Class.forName(delegateClassName, false, mCurrentClassLoader);
            final Constructor<?> constructor = delegateClass.getConstructor(Application.class, int.class, boolean.class,
                    long.class, long.class, Intent.class);
            final Object appLike = constructor.newInstance(app, tinkerFlags, tinkerLoadVerifyFlag,
                    applicationStartElapsedTime, applicationStartMillisTime, resultIntent);
            final Class<?> inlineFenceClass = Class.forName(
                    "com.tencent.tinker.entry.TinkerApplicationInlineFence", false, mCurrentClassLoader);
            final Class<?> appLikeClass = Class.forName(
                    "com.tencent.tinker.entry.ApplicationLike", false, mCurrentClassLoader);
            final Constructor<?> inlineFenceCtor = inlineFenceClass.getConstructor(appLikeClass);
            inlineFenceCtor.setAccessible(true);
            return (Handler) inlineFenceCtor.newInstance(appLike);
        } catch (Throwable thr) {
            throw new TinkerRuntimeException("createInlineFence failed", thr);
        }
    }

    protected void onBaseContextAttached(Context base, long applicationStartElapsedTime, long applicationStartMillisTime) {
        try {
            loadTinker();
            mCurrentClassLoader = base.getClassLoader();
            mInlineFence = createInlineFence(this, tinkerFlags, delegateClassName,
                    tinkerLoadVerifyFlag, applicationStartElapsedTime, applicationStartMillisTime,
                    tinkerResultIntent);
            TinkerInlineFenceAction.callOnBaseContextAttached(mInlineFence, base);
            //reset save mode
            if (useSafeMode) {
                ShareTinkerInternals.setSafeModeCount(this, 0);
            }
        } catch (TinkerRuntimeException e) {
            throw e;
        } catch (Throwable thr) {

View on GitHub (pinned to 1b7ea02c23)

Solutions

1. Add ProGuard/R8 keep rules for the Tinker entry and loader classes (e.g. -keep class com.tencent.tinker.** { *; }).
2. Verify tinker-android-loader is on the classpath and its version matches the gradle plugin that builds patches.
3. If using a custom loaderClassName/delegateClassName, confirm both classes exist and their constructors match the expected signatures.

Example fix

# proguard-rules.pro (before: no rules, classes stripped)
# after:
-keep class com.tencent.tinker.** { *; }
-dontwarn com.tencent.tinker.**

// Build-time guard: verify classes survive minification
// ./gradlew task output or apkanalyzer to confirm
// com.tencent.tinker.entry.TinkerApplicationInlineFence exists in the APK

try {
    mInlineFence = createInlineFence(...);
} catch (TinkerRuntimeException e) {
    // entry classes missing: fail fast with actionable message about keep rules
    throw new IllegalStateException("Tinker entry classes stripped — add proguard keeps", e);
}

When it happens

Trigger: Class.forName on TinkerApplicationInlineFence or ApplicationLike failing (classes stripped by minification or absent because the tinker-android-loader entry jar was not kept), constructor lookup/newInstance failing, or the classes visible to a different ClassLoader than mCurrentClassLoader.

Common situations: Missing ProGuard keep rules for com.tencent.tinker.**; tinker-android-loader / entry components packaged incorrectly; app using a custom loader/entry class name mismatch with what the patch carries.

Related errors

• createDelegate failed
• Cannot query transaction code of performDexOptSecondary.
• resource references is null
• Fail to hack resourceImpls field.
• failed to fetch instance of ActivityThread.

AI-assisted analysis of Tencent/tinker@1b7ea02c23 (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/dbfd6bcda50ef2a9. Report an issue: GitHub.