Share via

Debuggable Attribute

  • Article

To make debugging possible, Android supports the Java Debug Wire Protocol (JDWP). This is a technology that allows tools such as ADB to communicate with a JVM. While JDWP is important during development, it should be disabled prior to the application being published.

JDWP can be configured by the value of the android:debuggable attribute in an Android application. Choose one of the following three ways to set this attribute in Xamarin.Android:

AndroidManifest.xml

Create or open AndroidManifext.xml file, and set the android:debuggable attribute there. Take extra care not to ship your release build with debugging enabled.

 	<application android:label="@string/app_name"
               android:debuggable="true"
               android:icon="@mipmap/appicon">
    ...
	</application>

Add an Application class attribute

If your Xamarin.Android app has a class with an [Application] attribute, update the attribute to [Application(Debuggable = true)]. Set it to false to disable.

Add an assembly attribute

If your Xamarin.Android app does NOT already have an [Application] class attribute, add an assembly-level attribute [assembly: Application(Debuggable=true)] in a c# file such as, Properties\AssemblyInfo.cs. Set it to false to disable.

Summary

If both the AndroidManifest.xml and the ApplicationAttribute are present, the contents of AndroidManifest.xml take priority over what is specified by the ApplicationAttribute.

If you add both a class attribute and an assembly attribute, there will be a compiler error:

"Error The "GenerateJavaStubs" task failed unexpectedly.
System.InvalidOperationException: Application cannot have both a type with an [Application] attribute and an [assembly:Application] attribute."

By default – if neither the AndroidManifest.xml nor the ApplicationAttribute is present – the value of the android:debuggable attribute depends on whether or not debug symbols are generated. If debug symbols are present, then Xamarin.Android will set the android:debuggable attribute to true for you.

Warning

The value of the android:debuggable attribute does NOT necessarily depend on the build configuration. It is possible for release builds to have the android:debuggable attribute set to true. If you use an attribute to set this value, you can choose to wrap the attribute in a compiler directive:

#if DEBUG
[Application(Debuggable = true)]
#else
[Application(Debuggable = false)]
#endif