How to configure an Android project to use Java 8

As a quick note today, if you need to configure an Android project to use Java 8, I found that adding this setting to the app-level build.gradle file worked:

compileOptions {
    sourceCompatibility = '1.8'
    targetCompatibility = '1.8'
}

You can also use this syntax:

compileOptions {
    sourceCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_1_8
    targetCompatibility JavaVersion.VERSION_1_8
}

That setting goes inside the android setting in the build.gradle file, as shown here:

android {
    compileSdkVersion 25
    defaultConfig {
        applicationId "com.alvinalexander.livenamesearch"
        minSdkVersion 25
        targetSdkVersion 25
        versionCode 1
        versionName "1.0"
        testInstrumentationRunner "android.support.test.runner.AndroidJUnitRunner"
    }
    buildTypes {
        release {
            minifyEnabled false
            proguardFiles getDefaultProguardFile('proguard-android.txt'), 'proguard-rules.pro'
        }
    }
    // THE JAVA 8 SETTING
    compileOptions {
        sourceCompatibility = '1.8'
        targetCompatibility = '1.8'
    }
}

If you need to configure an Android project to use Java 8, I hope that’s helpful.