How to make faster Android build without sacrificing new api lint check

howto.md

Original solution sacrifices new api lint check.

Here my solution:

int minSdk = hasProperty('minSdk') ? minSdk.toInteger() : 16

apply plugin: 'com.android.application'

android {
    compileSdkVersion 23
    buildToolsVersion "23.0.2"

    defaultConfig {
        applicationId "lt.neworld.minsdktest"
        minSdkVersion minSdk
        targetSdkVersion 23
        versionCode 1
        versionName "1.0"
    }
}

And just need to pass minSdk with preferred API version. I am using most recent that my device support.

CLI:

./gradlew installDebug -PminSdk=23

IDE:

This solution saves me at least 40 seconds for every build, and new API lint check still works:

Edit:

You can set default minSdk in global gradle.properties:

echo 'minSdk=22' >> ~/.gradle/gradle.properties