How to Fix Java Could Not Initialize Class org.codehaus.groovy.vmplugin.v7.java7

This tutorial demonstrates the could not initialize class org.codehaus.groovy.vmplugin.v7.java7 error in Java.

the Could Not Initialize Class org.codehaus.groovy.vmplugin.v7.java7 Error in Java

The error Could Not Initialize Class org.codehaus.groovy.vmplugin.v7.java7 occurs when we use the Gradle build tool. The error occurs when using an old version of Gradle with a newer version of JDK.

For example, if the Gradle version is 6.2 and the JDK version is 14, they would not be compatible. You have to use a version of Gradle which is compatible with JDK.

Here is a scenario in which this error will occur:

1. Try to do a build using the Gradle version 6.2 with JDK 14.
2. Check if Gradle works properly using the command gradle -version.
3. Now, the Could Not Initialize Class org.codehaus.groovy.vmplugin.v7.java7 error can immediately occur when we try to run a Gradle task. The exception will look something like this:

java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError: Could not initialize class org.codehaus.groovy.vmplugin.v7.Java7
        at org.codehaus.groovy.vmplugin.VMPluginFactory.<clinit>(VMPluginFactory.java:43)
        at org.codehaus.groovy.reflection.GroovyClassValueFactory.<clinit>(GroovyClassValueFactory.java:35)
        at org.codehaus.groovy.reflection.ClassInfo.<clinit>(ClassInfo.java:109)
        at org.codehaus.groovy.reflection.ReflectionCache.getCachedClass(ReflectionCache.java:95)
        at org.codehaus.groovy.reflection.ReflectionCache.<clinit>(ReflectionCache.java:39)
        ...

This error occurs because the system cannot find Gradle; the correct version of Gradle is not added to the Gradle properties. Follow the steps below to solve this error:

1. First of all, open the $PROJECT_ROOT/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties.

2. Look for the property distributionUrl.

3. Change the version of Gradle according to compatibility. For example, in the case of JDK 14:

   distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-6.2-all.zip
   

   to

   distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-6.3-all.zip
   

4. Now try to rebuild, and it will work fine.