apache/cordova-android · error · CordovaError

Malformed BoM platform: ${p}

Error message

Malformed BoM platform: ${p}

What it means

While regenerating app/build.gradle, ProjectBuilder collects every `cordova.system.library.N=platform('...')` line from project.properties into bomPlatforms and requires each captured value to match /:.*:/ - i.e. full gradle coordinates group:name:version - before emitting `implementation platform("...")`. Thrown when the platform(...) value has fewer than two colons.

Source

Thrown at lib/builders/ProjectBuilder.js:245

            }
        };
        subProjects.forEach(function (p) {
            events.emit('log', 'Subproject Path: ' + p);
            const libName = p.replace(/[/\\]/g, ':').replace(projectName + '-', '');
            if (libName !== 'app') {
                depsList += '    implementation(project(path: ":' + libName + '"))';
                insertExclude(p);
            }
        });
        // For why we do this mapping: https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/CB-8390
        const SYSTEM_LIBRARY_MAPPINGS = [
            [/^\/?extras\/android\/support\/(.*)$/, 'com.android.support:support-$1:+'],
            [/^\/?google\/google_play_services\/libproject\/google-play-services_lib\/?$/, 'com.google.android.gms:play-services:+']
        ];

        propertiesObj.bomPlatforms.forEach(function (p) {
            if (!/:.*:/.exec(p)) {
                throw new CordovaError('Malformed BoM platform: ' + p);
            }

            // Add bom platform
            depsList += '    implementation platform("' + p + '")\n';
        });

        propertiesObj.systemLibs.forEach(function (p) {
            let mavenRef;
            // It's already in gradle form if it has two ':'s
            if (/:.*:/.exec(p)) {
                mavenRef = p;
            } else if (/:.*/.exec(p)) {
                // Support BoM imports
                mavenRef = p;
                events.emit('warn', 'Library expects a BoM package: ' + p);
            } else {
                for (let i = 0; i < SYSTEM_LIBRARY_MAPPINGS.length; ++i) {
                    const pair = SYSTEM_LIBRARY_MAPPINGS[i];

View on GitHub (pinned to 7c1e190064)

Solutions

1. Fix the entry to full Maven coordinates: `cordova.system.library.4=platform('com.google.firebase:firebase-bom:32.7.0')`.
2. If you meant a plain dependency, drop the platform(...) wrapper and use bare coordinates `group:name:version` (those go through systemLibs instead).
3. Remove the offending numbered line entirely if the dependency is unneeded.
4. If a plugin injected the bad line, patch the plugin or pin a fixed version, then re-add the platform so project.properties is regenerated.

Example fix

# before (platforms/android/project.properties)
cordova.system.library.4=platform('com.google.firebase:firebase-bom')

# after
cordova.system.library.4=platform('com.google.firebase:firebase-bom:32.7.0')

const props = fs.readFileSync('platforms/android/project.properties', 'utf8');
for (const m of props.matchAll(/^\s*cordova\.system\.library\.\d+=platform\(['"]?([^'")]+)['"]?\)/gm)) {
  if (!/:.+:.+/.test(m[1])) {
    throw new Error(`BoM entry '${m[0]}' needs full group:name:version coordinates`);
  }
}

const isGradleCoordinate = (s) => /^[^:]+:[^:]+:.+$/.test(s); // group:name:version

try {
  await androidApi.build(opts);
} catch (e) {
  if (/Malformed BoM platform/.test(e.message)) {
    // extract the printed value, point at the matching cordova.system.library.N line in project.properties
  }
  throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: A plugin (via its gradle/library declarations) or a hand-edited platforms/android/project.properties line such as `cordova.system.library.4=platform('firebase-bom')` or `platform('com.google.firebase:firebase-bom')` - anything without group:name:version. Happens during build prep (prepEnv writes app/build.gradle).

Common situations: Third-party plugin injecting a BoM without full Maven coordinates; copy-paste from docs that dropped the version segment; manual edits to project.properties after a platform regenerate.

Understand the failure class

• Parsing and encoding errors: unexpected token, malformed input — why parsers reject input and how to find the real culprit.

Related errors

• Unsupported system library (does not work with gradle): ${p}
• Plugin can't handle uri: ${uri}
• Invalid plugin ID in URI: ${uri}
• ${filePath}: Missing key required "${key}"
• No installed build tools found. Please install the Android b

AI-assisted analysis of apache/cordova-android@7c1e190064 (2026-08-22). Data as JSON: /api/errors/6d850d6bd7d2851f. Report an issue: GitHub.