apache/cordova-android · error · GradleException

The defined Google Services plugin version (${cordovaConfig.

Error message

The defined Google Services plugin version (${cordovaConfig.GRADLE_PLUGIN_GOOGLE_SERVICES_VERSION}) does not appear to be a valid version.

What it means

Same isVersionValid gate as the Kotlin check, but applied to GRADLE_PLUGIN_GOOGLE_SERVICES_VERSION, and only when IS_GRADLE_PLUGIN_GOOGLE_SERVICES_ENABLED is true (typically flipped on by a google-services-oriented plugin). The version string that ends up in cdv-gradle-config.json must parse as a real version or the buildscript throws before repositories are even resolved. (The comment above the check still says 'kotlin' — it is in fact validating the google-services plugin version.)

Source

Thrown at templates/project/app/build.gradle:54

        if(!cdvHelpers.isVersionValid(cordovaConfig.KOTLIN_VERSION)) {
            throw new GradleException("The defined Kotlin version (${cordovaConfig.KOTLIN_VERSION}) does not appear to be a valid version.")
        }
    }

    apply from: 'repositories.gradle'
    repositories repos

    dependencies {
        classpath "com.android.tools.build:gradle:${cordovaConfig.AGP_VERSION}"

        if (cordovaConfig.IS_GRADLE_PLUGIN_KOTLIN_ENABLED) {
            classpath "org.jetbrains.kotlin:kotlin-gradle-plugin:${cordovaConfig.KOTLIN_VERSION}"
        }

        if(cordovaConfig.IS_GRADLE_PLUGIN_GOOGLE_SERVICES_ENABLED) {
            // Checks if the kotlin version format is valid.
            if(!cdvHelpers.isVersionValid(cordovaConfig.GRADLE_PLUGIN_GOOGLE_SERVICES_VERSION)) {
                throw new GradleException("The defined Google Services plugin version (${cordovaConfig.GRADLE_PLUGIN_GOOGLE_SERVICES_VERSION}) does not appear to be a valid version.")
            }

            // Create the Google Services classpath and set it.
            String gradlePluginGoogleServicesClassPath = "com.google.gms:google-services:${cordovaConfig.GRADLE_PLUGIN_GOOGLE_SERVICES_VERSION}"
            println "Adding classpath: ${gradlePluginGoogleServicesClassPath}"
            classpath gradlePluginGoogleServicesClassPath
        }
    }
}

// Allow plugins to declare Maven dependencies via build-extras.gradle.
allprojects {
    def hasRepositoriesGradle = file('repositories.gradle').exists()
    if (hasRepositoriesGradle) {
        apply from: 'repositories.gradle'
    } else {
        apply from: "${project.rootDir}/repositories.gradle"
    }

View on GitHub (pinned to 7c1e190064)

Solutions

1. Set GRADLE_PLUGIN_GOOGLE_SERVICES_VERSION in platforms/android/cdv-gradle-config.json to a valid release such as "4.4.0".
2. Update or reconfigure the plugin that manages google-services (often via its plugin.xml / install variable) so it writes a valid version itself.
3. If google-services is not actually required, remove the plugin and/or set IS_GRADLE_PLUGIN_GOOGLE_SERVICES_ENABLED to false.

Example fix

// before — platforms/android/cdv-gradle-config.json
"GRADLE_PLUGIN_GOOGLE_SERVICES_VERSION": "4.3.-firebase",

// after
"GRADLE_PLUGIN_GOOGLE_SERVICES_VERSION": "4.4.0",

# Validate the google-services plugin version string before invoking gradle
V=$(node -pe "JSON.parse(require('fs').readFileSync('platforms/android/cdv-gradle-config.json','utf8')).GRADLE_PLUGIN_GOOGLE_SERVICES_VERSION")
case "$V" in
  [0-9]*.[0-9]*.[0-9]*) ;;
  *) echo "GRADLE_PLUGIN_GOOGLE_SERVICES_VERSION '$V' is not a valid version (expected e.g. 4.4.0)"; exit 1 ;;
esac

When it happens

Trigger: A google-services/Firebase plugin writes a placeholder or malformed version into cdv-gradle-config.json (e.g. "4.3.", "DEFAULT", empty, or a range/variable); the plugin install that was supposed to set the version was interrupted; hand-editing GRADLE_PLUGIN_GOOGLE_SERVICES_VERSION to a non-semver string.

Common situations: Installing plugins like cordova-plugin-firebasex or cordova-support-google-services whose gradle hooks manage this key; mixing plugin versions that expect different cordova-android templates; CI caches carrying a stale cdv-gradle-config.json.

Related errors

• The defined Kotlin version (${cordovaConfig.KOTLIN_VERSION})
• No usable Android build tools found. Highest ${minBuildTools
• Malformed BoM platform: ${p}
• Unsupported system library (does not work with gradle): ${p}
• ${filePath}: Missing key required "${key}"

AI-assisted analysis of apache/cordova-android@7c1e190064 (2026-08-22). Data as JSON: /api/errors/283f89455aabc2e7. Report an issue: GitHub.