Android build fails with AGP 9 because proguard-android.txt is no longer supported #4281

Environment

• React Native: 0.87.0
• @rnmapbox/maps: 10.3.5
• Android Gradle Plugin: 9.0+
• Gradle: 9.4.1

Problem

Android builds fail during Gradle configuration because the library uses the legacy proguard-android.txt file:

proguardFiles getDefaultProguardFile('proguard-android.txt'), 'proguard-rules.pro'

Starting with AGP 9, getDefaultProguardFile() no longer supports proguard-android.txt.

Error

getDefaultProguardFile('proguard-android.txt') is no longer supported.
Instead, use getDefaultProguardFile('proguard-android-optimize.txt').

Workaround

Replacing:

proguardFiles getDefaultProguardFile('proguard-android.txt'), 'proguard-rules.pro'

with:

proguardFiles getDefaultProguardFile('proguard-android-optimize.txt'), 'proguard-rules.pro'

fixes the build.

Additional information

According to the AGP 9 release notes, proguard-android.txt is no longer supported because it contains the -dontoptimize flag, which disables many R8 optimizations.

Google now recommends using proguard-android-optimize.txt as the default configuration.