Android Build Compatibility Guide

How the Sorolla SDK interacts with Unity's Android build system across Unity versions.

Unity Version Matrix

Unity 2022.3 LTS Unity 2023.x Unity 6 (6000.x)
AGP 7.4.2 7.x - 8.x 8.10.0
R8 pin needed Yes (8.1.56+) Depends on AGP No
Activity class UnityPlayerActivity only Both available Both, GameActivity default
androidApplicationEntry 1 (only option) 1=Activity, 2=GameActivity 1=Activity, 2=GameActivity
Split manifest No Partial Yes (launcher + library modules)
Minimum Gradle 7.x 7.x - 8.x 8.x
JDK 11 or 17 17 17

androidApplicationEntry

This PlayerSettings field controls which Activity class Unity compiles into the APK.

It is a bitmask, not a simple enum:

  • 1 = Activity (legacy com.unity3d.player.UnityPlayerActivity)
  • 2 = GameActivity (com.unity3d.player.UnityPlayerGameActivity)
  • 3 = both
  • 0 = none (error: "At least one application entry has to be selected")

Unity 2022 only supports Activity (value is always 1). Unity 6 defaults to GameActivity (2) for new projects but preserves the existing value when upgrading, so upgraded projects keep 1.

SDK impact: The AndroidManifestSanitizer.GetExpectedMainActivity() reads this field to determine the correct activity class. Any manifest patching code must use this value, not compile-time version checks like #if UNITY_2023_1_OR_NEWER.

R8 / AGP Compatibility

Unity 2022 (AGP 7.4.2)

AGP 7.4.2 bundles an old R8 that crashes on Kotlin 2.0 metadata (mv=[2,0,0]). Libraries compiled with Kotlin 2.0 include AppLovin SDK 13.x and Firebase 23.x.

Required: Pin R8 8.1.56+ in baseProjectTemplate.gradle:

buildscript {
    repositories {
        google()
        mavenCentral()
    }
    dependencies {
        classpath "com.android.tools:r8:8.1.56"
    }
}

Unity 6 (AGP 8.10.0)

AGP 8.10.0 bundles a modern R8 that handles Kotlin 2.0 natively. The R8 pin from Unity 2022 must be removed - it causes NoSuchMethodError: setBuildMetadataConsumer because the old R8 is incompatible with AGP 8.10.0's dex merger.

Split Manifest Architecture (Unity 6)

Unity 6 builds Android projects with two Gradle modules:

launcher/          <- LauncherManifest.xml (if useCustomLauncherManifest=1)
  - Main activity, launcher intent filter
unityLibrary/      <- AndroidManifest.xml (if useCustomMainManifest=1)
  - SDK activities, receivers, permissions

Key behaviors

  1. Unity generates both UnityPlayerActivity and UnityPlayerGameActivity in the library manifest, with android:enabled="false" on the non-selected one.

  2. The launcher manifest must override enabled to true using tools:replace:

<activity android:name="com.unity3d.player.UnityPlayerGameActivity"
          android:enabled="true"
          tools:replace="android:enabled">

  1. The MAIN/LAUNCHER intent filter should be in both manifests - the library one for Unity's deployment checker, and the launcher one for the actual APK.

  2. Unity's deployment checker reads source manifests, not the Gradle-merged result. This is a known Unity bug (related to the activity-alias fix in 6000.0.63f1).

useCustomLauncherManifest

When this flag is 0, Unity auto-generates the launcher manifest. When 1, it uses Assets/Plugins/Android/LauncherManifest.xml. Studios sometimes enable this accidentally (along with all other custom template flags) without populating the file properly.

Manifest Patching Conflicts

Multiple systems may modify AndroidManifest.xml:

System When What it does
Palette AndroidManifestSanitizer Pre-build (IPreprocessBuildWithReport) Fixes wrong activity class, removes orphaned entries
Facebook SDK FacebookManifestSanitizer On asset import (AssetPostprocessor) Forces activity class based on Unity version
EDM4U On resolve Adds repositories and dependencies
Unity On build Generates library manifest, merges with custom

Conflict risk: If two patchers disagree on the expected activity class, they will revert each other's changes in a loop. The Facebook SDK's AssetPostprocessor fires on every import, so it always gets the last word before build.

Resolution: All patchers must read androidApplicationEntry from PlayerSettings, not use compile-time checks.

Upgrading Unity Versions

When a studio upgrades Unity (e.g., 2022 -> 6):

Checklist

  1. Remove R8 pin from baseProjectTemplate.gradle if upgrading to Unity 6
  2. Check androidApplicationEntry - upgrade preserves old value (1), decide whether to switch to GameActivity (2)
  3. Check useCustomLauncherManifest - if enabled, ensure LauncherManifest.xml has correct activity declaration
  4. Check AGP version - Unity auto-upgrades AGP, which changes Gradle DSL (deprecated attributes like aaptOptions -> androidResources)
  5. Run Palette > Run Setup (Force) to reconfigure EDM4U for the new Gradle version
  6. Verify manifest activity class matches androidApplicationEntry in both custom manifests
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