When does ADT set BuildConfig.DEBUG to false?

In the newest version of ADT (r17) a generated constant was added BuildConfig.DEBUG that is set according to the build type. The problem I have is that it is never set to false, I expected it to change when doing "Android Tools -> Export Signed Application Package" but it hasn't for me.

So how do I change the build type?

Added a feature that allows you to run some code only in debug mode. Builds now generate a class called BuildConfig containing a DEBUG constant that is automatically set according to your build type. You can check the (BuildConfig.DEBUG) constant in your code to run debug-only functions

Solution 1:

Currently you can get the correct behavior by disabling "Build Automatically", cleaning the project and then export via "Android Tools -> Export Signed Application Package". When you run the application BuildConfig.DEBUG should be false.

Solution 2:

With Eclipse, I always disable "Build Automatically" option before Exporting the app in release. Then I clean the project and export. Otherwise it starts compiling in debug mode, and then the value of BuildConfig.DEBUG may be wrong.

With Android Studio, I simply add my own custom variable in the build.gradle:

buildTypes {
    debug {
        buildConfigField "Boolean", "DEBUG_MODE", "true"
    }
    release {
        buildConfigField "Boolean", "DEBUG_MODE", "false"
    }
}

When I build the project, the BuildConfig.java is generated as follows:

public final class BuildConfig {
  // Fields from build type: debug
  public static final Boolean DEBUG_MODE = true;
}

Then in my code I can use:

if (BuildConfig.DEBUG_MODE) {
    // do something
}

I recommand to clean after switching debug/release build.

Solution 3:

It doesn't work properly:

Issue 27940: BuildConfig.DEBUG is "true" for exported application package

It's disappointing that they sometimes release buggy features.

Solution 4:

Check for imports, sometimes BuildConfig is imported from any class of library unintentionally. For example:

import io.fabric.sdk.android.BuildConfig;

In this case BuildConfig.DEBUG will always return false;

import com.yourpackagename.BuildConfig;

In this case BuildConfig.DEBUG will return your real build variant.

p.s I just copy this one from my answer here:BuildConfig.DEBUG always false when building library projects with gradle

Solution 5:

It does work, but note that the code file never changes, even when exporting the signed file. The export process changes the value of this variable to false, which might give you the false impression that it is not working. I tested this with logging statements like

if (com.mypackage.BuildConfig.DEBUG)
            Log.d(TAG, location.getProvider() + " location changed");

When testing, my Log statements no longer produce any output.