Android Studio Google JAR Files: Addressing GC Overhead Limit Exceeded Error

You may encounter the "GC overhead limit exceeded" error while building Android projects in Android Studio due to excessive memory consumption during dexing processes. This issue often occurs when using large Google JAR files, such as the one located at http://grepcode.com/snapshot/repository.grepcode.com/java/ext/com.google.android/android/4.3_r2.1/.

The error usually stems from insufficient memory allocation for dexing. One common mitigation measure is to increase the xms and xmx values in the Android Studio.app/bin/idea.vmoptions file. However, as you have discovered, this may not always resolve the issue.

Alternative Solution: Setting Dex Options

Instead of adjusting the JVM settings, you can specifically configure the dexing process to allocate more memory. To do this, add the following closure to your android closure in the build.gradle file:

dexOptions {
    javaMaxHeapSize "4g"
}

This will set the maximum heap size for the dexing operation to 4 gigabytes, which should be sufficient to handle large Google JAR files.

Confirmation and Troubleshooting

Once you apply this change, rebuild your project. If the error persists, it's worth investigating other potential causes, such as outdated Gradle versions or conflicts between library dependencies. Additionally, ensure that you are using up-to-date Google JAR files and compatible versions of Android Studio and the Android SDK.