yuliskov/SmartTube · error · IllegalArgumentException

You can't set adapter to DialogsList. Use #setAdapter(Dialog

Error message

You can't set adapter to DialogsList. Use #setAdapter(DialogsListAdapter) instead.

What it means

DialogsList is a styled RecyclerView that only works with its own adapter. The library overrides RecyclerView.setAdapter(Adapter) to throw IllegalArgumentException immediately, forcing you onto the typed overload setAdapter(DialogsListAdapter), which also wires click and long-click handling. The throw is synchronous at the setAdapter call, not during layout.

Source

Thrown at chatkit/src/main/java/com/stfalcon/chatkit/dialogs/DialogsList.java:68

    @Override
    protected void onAttachedToWindow() {
        super.onAttachedToWindow();

        LinearLayoutManager layout = new LinearLayoutManager(getContext(), LinearLayoutManager.VERTICAL, false);
        SimpleItemAnimator animator = new DefaultItemAnimator();

        setLayoutManager(layout);
        setItemAnimator(animator);
    }

    /**
     * Don't use this method for setting your adapter, otherwise exception will by thrown.
     * Call {@link #setAdapter(DialogsListAdapter)} instead.
     */
    @Override
    public void setAdapter(Adapter adapter) {
        throw new IllegalArgumentException("You can't set adapter to DialogsList. Use #setAdapter(DialogsListAdapter) instead.");
    }

    /**
     * Sets adapter for DialogsList
     *
     * @param adapter  Adapter. Must extend DialogsListAdapter
     * @param <DIALOG> Dialog model class
     */
    public <DIALOG extends IDialog<?>>
    void setAdapter(DialogsListAdapter<DIALOG> adapter) {
        setAdapter(adapter, false);
    }

    /**
     * Sets adapter for DialogsList
     *
     * @param adapter       Adapter. Must extend DialogsListAdapter
     * @param reverseLayout weather to use reverse layout for layout manager.

View on GitHub (pinned to 3de8d90593)

Solutions

1. Call the typed overload: dialogsList.setAdapter(new DialogsListAdapter<>(...))
2. Declare your adapter variable as DialogsListAdapter<DIALOG>, not Adapter, so the typed overload is selected
3. Remove any framework/testing code that sets a generic adapter on the list

Example fix

// before
RecyclerView.Adapter adapter = new MyOldAdapter();
dialogsList.setAdapter(adapter); // throws IllegalArgumentException

// after
DialogsListAdapter<Dialog> adapter = new DialogsListAdapter<>(R.layout.item_dialog, null, imageLoader);
dialogsList.setAdapter(adapter);

if (!(adapter instanceof DialogsListAdapter)) {
    throw new IllegalArgumentException("DialogsList requires a DialogsListAdapter");
}
dialogsList.setAdapter((DialogsListAdapter<?>) adapter);

static boolean isDialogsListAdapter(@Nullable Adapter a) {
    return a instanceof DialogsListAdapter;
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling dialogsList.setAdapter(adapter) where adapter is declared as RecyclerView.Adapter/Adapter (raw), so overload resolution binds to the overridden base method; passing any adapter that is not a DialogsListAdapter, including a DialogsListAdapter referenced through a supertype variable.

Common situations: Porting a plain RecyclerView chat screen to DialogsList and keeping the old setAdapter call; Kotlin calls where the variable type makes the compiler pick the Adapter overload; test or data-binding helpers that inject adapters through the base-class signature.

Related errors

• You can't set adapter to MessagesList. Use #setAdapter(Messa
• Wrong message view type. Please, report this issue on GitHub
• You must pass either Activity, Fragment or SupportFragment
• content type must be greater or less than '0'!
• Somehow we couldn't create the ViewHolder for message. Pleas

AI-assisted analysis of yuliskov/SmartTube@3de8d90593 (2026-08-22). Data as JSON: /api/errors/56596d4bdc09f2c4. Report an issue: GitHub.