Android gradle build Error:(9, 0) Gradle DSL method not found: 'compile()'.

Question

I am getting the following build error when I try and sync my project:

Error:(9, 0) Gradle DSL method not found: 'compile()'
Possible causes:The project 'AlexTest' may be using a version of Gradle that does not contain the method.
The build file may be missing a Gradle plugin.
link: Apply Gradle plugin

I have tried applying every single gradle plugin they link me to in that link on the bottom, yet same issue, so I conclude that the first error is the cause.

Here is the build.gradle file for AlexTest (the project directory):

buildscript {
    repositories {
        jcenter()
    }
    dependencies {
        classpath 'com.android.tools.build:gradle:0.13.2'
        compile 'com.google.android.gms:play-services:6.1.11'
        // NOTE: Do not place your application dependencies here; they belong
        // in the individual module build.gradle files
    }
}

allprojects {
    repositories {
        jcenter()
    }
}

I think that was the gradle file it was having trouble with. But I'm not sure what method it is referring to.

Also here is the gradle-wrapper.properties which it also referred to:

#Mon Nov 10 01:06:12 PST 2014
distributionBase=GRADLE_USER_HOME
distributionPath=wrapper/dists
zipStoreBase=GRADLE_USER_HOME
zipStorePath=wrapper/dists
distributionUrl=https://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-2.1-all.zip

perhaps the gradle version in the distributionUrl needs to match the one in the dependency?

I also have a build.gradle file in the app directory itself - 1 level lower, though I don't think that is what it was referring to, but here it is:

apply plugin: 'com.android.application'

android {
    compileSdkVersion 20
    buildToolsVersion "21.1.1"

    defaultConfig {
        applicationId "com.snappiesticker.alextest"
        minSdkVersion 16
        targetSdkVersion 20
        versionCode 1
        versionName "1.0"
    }
    buildTypes {
        release {
            runProguard false
            proguardFiles getDefaultProguardFile('proguard-android.txt'), 'proguard-rules.pro'
        }
    }
}

dependencies {
    compile fileTree(dir: 'libs', include: ['*.jar'])
    compile 'com.google.android.gms:play-services:6.1.+'
}

Answer 1

I have tried applying every single gradle plugin they link me to in that link on the bottom, yet same issue, so I conclude that the first error is the cause.

Correct.

Here is the build.gradle file for AlexTest (the project directory):

You will notice that this file contains a code comment:

    // NOTE: Do not place your application dependencies here; they belong
    // in the individual module build.gradle files

Remove the compile 'com.google.android.gms:play-services:6.1.11' line from that file. Leave the compile 'com.google.android.gms:play-services:6.1.+' that you have in the other build.gradle file.

The dependencies closure in buildscript is for Gradle plugins only. The top-level dependencies closure, found in the module's build.gradle file, is for application dependencies.