material-components/material-components-android · error · IllegalArgumentException

startIconSize cannot be less than 0

Error message

startIconSize cannot be less than 0

What it means

StartCompoundLayout.setStartIconMinSize validates that the minimum start-icon size is non-negative before applying it to the start icon view. Negative sizes are meaningless for view layout, so it throws IllegalArgumentException('startIconSize cannot be less than 0').

Source

Thrown at lib/java/com/google/android/material/textfield/StartCompoundLayout.java:294

  }

  void setStartIconTintList(@Nullable ColorStateList startIconTintList) {
    if (this.startIconTintList != startIconTintList) {
      this.startIconTintList = startIconTintList;
      applyIconTint(textInputLayout, startIconView, startIconTintList, startIconTintMode);
    }
  }

  void setStartIconTintMode(@Nullable PorterDuff.Mode startIconTintMode) {
    if (this.startIconTintMode != startIconTintMode) {
      this.startIconTintMode = startIconTintMode;
      applyIconTint(textInputLayout, startIconView, startIconTintList, this.startIconTintMode);
    }
  }

  void setStartIconMinSize(@Px int iconSize) {
    if (iconSize < 0) {
      throw new IllegalArgumentException("startIconSize cannot be less than 0");
    }
    if (iconSize != startIconMinSize) {
      startIconMinSize = iconSize;
      setIconMinSize(startIconView, iconSize);
    }
  }

  int getStartIconMinSize() {
    return startIconMinSize;
  }

  void setStartIconScaleType(@NonNull ScaleType startIconScaleType) {
    this.startIconScaleType = startIconScaleType;
    setIconScaleType(startIconView, startIconScaleType);
  }

  @NonNull
  ScaleType getStartIconScaleType() {

View on GitHub (pinned to ac7e18efee)

Solutions

1. Pass a non-negative pixel size: setStartIconMinSize(getResources().getDimensionPixelSize(R.dimen.icon_min)).
2. Guard config-driven values: only call the setter when size >= 0.
3. Review app:startIconMinSize dimens for typos.

Example fix

// before
til.setStartIconMinSize(iconSize); // iconSize == -1 sentinel -> throws

// after
if (iconSize >= 0) til.setStartIconMinSize(iconSize);

if (iconMinSize >= 0) til.setStartIconMinSize(iconMinSize);

When it happens

Trigger: Calling setStartIconMinSize(-1) or any negative value; negative app:startIconMinSize dimension in XML.

Common situations: Sentinel -1 from unresolved settings or unselected config forwarded directly; dimension arithmetic that underflows; copy-paste between icon-size attributes with a sign mistake.

Related errors

• endIconSize cannot be less than 0
• Invalid end icon mode:
• > boxBackgroundMode < is illegal; only @BoxBackgroundMode co
• There must be a keyline marked as focal.
• No color resources provided for harmonization.

AI-assisted analysis of material-components/material-components-android@ac7e18efee (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/2d995a5bebc8629d. Report an issue: GitHub.