React Native Build Failed: mergeDebugJavaResource with VerifyException on MacBook Air M2

[anuchah]

I am encountering an error while trying to build and install my React Native app on a MacBook Air M2. The build fails with the following message:

info A dev server is already running for this project on port 8081.
info Installing the app...

Task :app:mergeDebugJavaResource FAILED
40 actionable tasks: 2 executed, 38 up-to-date

info 💡 Tip: Make sure that you have set up your development environment correctly, by running npx react-native doctor. To read more about doctor command visit: https://github.com/react-native-community/cli/blob/main/packages/cli-doctor/README.md#doctor

FAILURE: Build failed with an exception.

• What went wrong:
  Execution failed for task ':app:mergeDebugJavaResource'.

A failure occurred while executing com.android.build.gradle.internal.tasks.MergeJavaResWorkAction
com.google.common.base.VerifyException (no error message)

• Try:

Run with --stacktrace option to get the stack trace.
Run with --info or --debug option to get more log output.
Run with --scan to get full insights.
Get more help at https://help.gradle.org.

BUILD FAILED in 1s
error Failed to install the app. Command failed with exit code 1: ./gradlew app:installDebug -PreactNativeDevServerPort=8081 FAILURE: Build failed with an exception. * What went wrong:
Execution failed for task ':app:mergeDebugJavaResource'.

A failure occurred while executing com.android.build.gradle.internal.tasks.MergeJavaResWorkAction > com.google.common.base.VerifyException (no error message) * Try:
Run with --stacktrace option to get the stack trace.
Run with --info or --debug option to get more log output.
Run with --scan to get full insights.
Get more help at https://help.gradle.org. BUILD FAILED in 1s.
info Run CLI with --verbose flag for more details.
error Command failed with exit code 1.
info Visit https://yarnpkg.com/en/docs/cli/run for documentation about this command.

Environment Information:

React Native Version: 0.73
Node Version: v18.20.6
yarn Version: 1.22.22
Operating System: macOS Sonoma (MacBook Air M2)
Gradle Version: 8.3

Ask your Question

1. What could cause the mergeDebugJavaResource task to fail with a VerifyException?
2. Are there specific configurations in build.gradle or dependencies that might trigger this error?
3. Is there a way to debug this issue further?
   Thank you in advance for your assistance! 🙏